Cotton Mills

In the early 1800s in England, some children from 7 years old already had full time jobs.
They got little pay but they had to work so their families would not starve. Child labour was cheap, sometimes only earning a few pence for working 60 hours a week. The masters of the cotton mill could punish them cruelly if they did anything wrong. Most children barely had free time and didn't get educated at all. The machines didn't have safety guards, which resulted in many children being badly injured or even killed. Children were given boring jobs such as tying yarn threads together when they broke, carrying large objects, scavenging for loose bits of cotton, or cleaning the machinery. They worked from Monday to Saturday starting at six in the morning, an hour for lunch and finishing at 7 in the evening. You were fined if you were late for work.
Older children worked half of the day, then attended school.
In 1833, a new Factory Act stated that children aged 9-13 could only work 9 hours a day and children aged 13-18 could work a maximum of 10½ hours a day.
In 1844, Children aged 8-13 could only work up to 6½ hours a day.
In 1841, 22% of the population worked in the industry of cotton.




Dear Diary,
Master Dudley has beat me again, this time for walking slowly while I was carrying the cotton yarn slivers to my machine area. I cannot help it; I have not been getting good sleep for the last week. My older sister has been teaching me more about the English language after I get home. I try and read the book she has, even when she already falls asleep. My cough is getting worse. Mother says I'm breathing in too much fluff at the mill. Tomorrow I shall wear a scarf to cover my nose.
Two children this month have been injured by the machines, one getting their finger caught and the other tripping and hitting their head. I have been fortunate so far.

Bibliography
http://www.ourwardfamily.com/cotton_trade.htm#Children

Ship's Boy

 

If boys wanted to become an officer in the Navy, they had to start at 11 years old. The captain and the rest of the ship's crew were responsible for their general education and sea training. Most ordinary seamen didn't know how to read or write, so they didn't get promoted further than a petty officer status. Boys were taught to draw, knot yarns, make spun yarn, grease the masts etc. They would also sweep and scrub decks, hold the log reel, coil up rigging, loose and furl the light sail and stand watch. Sometimes on smaller ships, they were even allowed to take the wheel and steer the ship. Boys climbed the masts to help with the sails or to keep watch. Falling from the masts often resulted in death. Punishment was rarely used.
Boys joined ships for various reason ranging from seeking adventure, escaping the law, training to become officers or because they were press-ganged (forced).

Dear Diary,
Oh Joy! How wonderful it is that God has answered my prayers. The Royal Navy has hired me as a ship's boy! I don't have to go back to that old cotton mill. I will be getting a weekly pay of 4 shillings. However, I will not be able to see my family much, as I will be out at sea. All my brothers and sisters are happy for me, and my parents will not have to look after me any more. I've always liked the sea, the look and the feel of it. It is so wide and clean. I hear the crew will take care of me and maybe teach me more about the world. They will enjoy that I can already read and write. It will also be hard work though, but it is all worth it to be away from that cotton mill. I also hear they don't use punishment often at all! Mother made my favourite dish of mashed potatoes and beef for dinner, as a celebration.

Usual payment for a day: [1 pound could buy all your food for a week.]
Seamen: 8 pence
Leading Seaman: 1 shilling
Mates: 1 shilling, 6 pence
Masters: 3 shillings, 8 pence
Midshipmen: 4 shillings, 8 pence
Lieutenant: 10 shillings
1st Lieutenant: 15 shillings
Commander: 17 shillings
Captain: 1 pound, 4 shillings

Bibliography
http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=96098
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy
http://seachestsecret.questacon.edu.au/assets/the_life_of_a_boy_on_a_ship.pdf

Crimean War

On 11^th October 1854,
I have been injured in the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. France and the Ottoman Empire were also on our side against Russia. I got a gunshot wound to my leg, it is so lucky that it didn't get infected, & I was relieved to the hospital in time by my good friend Henry Worthington on his horse-drawn wagon with other soldiers.
I saw terrible things and I have done things of which I am not proud. During battle, I have never been so scared and terrified for my life. I am having vicious dreams and I can not sleep well.
I am being treated at South Malta Hospital. I have met some new friends, one of whom is an engineer. Dear Sister Fanny sent me some chocolate & snuff, & some good Samaritan sent me some shortbread & chocolate biscuits, which is nice.

He was 19 years old.

Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Balaclava

Thinking of Change

Dear Diary,
I have been thinking of moving to Australia.
It seems like a risk, but it also seems worth it. Many of Britain are leaving here, and not only because they are convicts. They want to start a new life they say. I see the government promoting it, my work mates are talking about it. They are saying how warm it is, how the land is bigger and better, also they want more people to work the seas. It shouldn't be hard for me to get a job there... I could work in the Victorian Navy. If I go, I may never be able to see my family again. I know I will have a better life and start a family. There won't be child labour, I don't want my children to go through what I did. The overcrowding situation in England is getting worse; people are being forced to move out and live in the filthy slums. I think the overcrowding is due to the Irish fleeing from their potato famine. I see homeless children, some found are basically skeletons. The air here is bad, there is pollution from people burning coal, just to keep warm. There are diseases, people are dirty.
Australia is clean, it's wide, it has space, it's warm, it has fresh air... There are also people finding gold and becoming wealthy.


Bibliography
my father, Alex Ovenden

In Australia

 

Dear Diary,
I have settled in Australia for a week now. Yes, the air is clean and the land is wide. The days are warm and dry. All of my essential belongings are with me including a picture of my family back in 1850. I was 15 years old, the youngest of 7 brothers and sisters.
On the voyage here, I was a crew member of the ship named Cairngorm, which earned me some more money to make a living here. I think I have found a place to live, it is selling for something affordable. The address is 13 Cox’s Gardens, Williamstown, in Victoria. Victoria is the southernmost colony of the mainland of this continent. On board the Cairngorm, I met a lady named Jane Speller, a governess, who was born in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, England.
I am missing my family, but I am used to being away from them for long periods at a time.
I am looking foward to working with new crew mates who have been living here for longer than I have. Maybe I can get some direction about how things work in this land.

Note: Governess was a private tutor who lived with the family.
James Joseph Ovenden later married Jane Speller in 1862 and had a son named George Thomas Ovenden in 1968.


Bibliography
Rose Ovenden, family historian

Family Tree

John Vans Agnew Bruce who lived around the same time as James Joseph Ovenden was a famous businessman in Victoria. He was an engineer who worked with the early railway systems and he designed bridges. For detail go here. He was on the other side of my ancestors to JJ Ovenden.

Bibliography

Rose Ovenden, family historian

Death

JJ Ovenden and his medals



Williamstown Cemetery



James Joseph Ovenden died on 6th October 1886 and was buried in Williamstown Cemetery.

JJ Ovenden liked to drink and someone, either as a joke or for a sinister reason, had substituted Hydrochloric acid for his usual alcohol. He died the morning after he consumed the 'drink'.
He was 51 years old and had settled in Australia for 25 years.







During the last months of James Ovenden's life:

Dear Diary,
I can not live down the things that I have seen, I am feeling emptier and sadder everyday. I lose focus during my training of other young navy sailors, although they haven't seemed to notice yet. Jane does not know anything, I could not break her heart to tell her that I am not a happy man. I cannot go on anymore...
If I do happen to take my own life, the Navy will not let Jane recieve any pension money. It is a horrible thing to do, to end your life. Something you have worked hard at to keep alive, eating vegetables when Mother told me to, walking for fresh air, all these years would practically be wasted. But just what if...




On the 6th October 1886 James Joseph Ovenden could have
mixed the alcohol for poison himself, to make it seem accidental. Consuming  alcohol would also dull the pain. The poison, which was hydrochloric acid, was the type that burned your stomach, and made you bleed from the inside. It was a very slow and painful death.





JJ Ovenden's own snuff box



Note: Snuff is powdered tobacco that you inhale or rub on your teeth and gums.

 



Bibliography

http://www.cerberus.com.au/muster_dadabik/index.php?table_name=crew&function=details&where_field=ID&where_value=947

 http://users.vic.chariot.net.au/~ianmac/odd.html

Rose Ovenden, who has read JJ Ovenden's last diary entries.