{"id":337,"date":"2020-04-16T13:00:53","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T11:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/lalp\/?p=337"},"modified":"2020-05-07T15:11:33","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T13:11:33","slug":"phyicaldistance-in-1832-leaving-the-workhouse-and-starting-a-new-life-in-the-new-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/lalp\/2020\/04\/phyicaldistance-in-1832-leaving-the-workhouse-and-starting-a-new-life-in-the-new-world\/","title":{"rendered":"#PhyicalDistance in 1832 – Leaving the Workhouse and Starting a New Life in the New World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Blog post written by Anita Auer<\/a> (16 April 2020)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 16 June 1832 Henry Goodwin sent a letter from his new place of residence in New York to the overseers of the parish of Bradford on Avon. He asks the overseers \u201cto send my wife and cheldren to New York in America as I was Ablige to leave them with you trade being so bade I could not soport them I was forst to sell all the goods I had to com my self\u201d. While many of the paupers applying for out-relief had travelled to different places in England to find work, it is unusual to find a petition for out-relief from somebody who had migrated to the new world. Henry Goodwin, who describes himself as apprentice to a cabinet maker, clearly states in his petition that he could not support his family and had to sell all goods in order to travel to New York. As he mentions that he left his wife and children with \u201cthem\u201d, we may assume that they stayed in the workhouse in Bradford. Henry Goodwin notes the following: \u201cI find I can soport them if I had them with me – But it will be A long time before I shall save enof money to send for them the lest expence to you whould be to send them at once\u201d. Goodwin is therefore optimistic to support his family in the new world but he cannot pay for their travel fare. In hope that the overseers will pay the fare, Godwin notes as follows: \u201cI shall stay in New York tell Septr then I shall go to the State of Oyho<\/s> Oiho if you send them please to send me word when and what ship that I may not go before they com I ham very sory to make this Apell\u201d. Unfortunately, we do not know whether the overseers paid for the fare and whether Henry Goodwin was ever reunited with his family in the New World. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can however give you an impression of what life was probably like for his wife and children in the workhouse through contemporary reports and surveys, some of which can for instance be found on the workhouses webpage<\/a>. In the 1797 report The state of the poor; or, an history of the labouring classes in England, from the conquests to the present period<\/em> [… ] by Sir Frederick Morten Eden, the following is mentioned in relation to the workhouse in Bradford on Avon (1797: 783): <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In 1784, an Act of Parliament was pa\u017f\u017fed, to enable this pari\u017fh to appoint a general over\u017feer, with a \u017falary of \u00a3 100. A year. Mr. Rainey, a gentleman of con\u017fiderable property, has filled the office ever \u017fince that period; but accepts only \u00a3 60. a year. Under his \u017fuperintendance the Poor are either relieved at home, or maintained, and employed in a work-hou\u017fe, which, although an old building, has been much improved by him. The apartments are now exceedingly neat and comfortable: the Poor are kept clean, and well fed: they mu\u017ft, however, perform with diligence the work a\u017f\u017figned them: idlene\u017fs, and di\u017fhone\u017fty, are inevitably puni\u017fhed, either by depriving the offender of a meal, or \u017fubjecting him to the mo\u017ft degrading offices in the hou\u017fe. Nor are the out-poor le\u017fs clo\u017fely attended  to; if they are idle, get drunk, or otherwi\u017fe mi\u017fbehave, or refu\u017fse to \u017fend their children to \u017fervice, at a proper age, they are immediately ordered into the hou\u017fe. Badging the Poor is \u017fupposed to have been of \u017fervice in reducing the Rates. Mr. Rainey, from his knowledge of law, often prevents u\u017fele\u017fs litigations; and, from being acquainted with the character and circumstances of every per\u017fon who applies for relief, can di\u017fcriminate, very fairly, between \u017felf-created, and unde\u017ferved, poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following is the Cour\u017fe of Diet ob\u017ferved in the Work-hou\u017fe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/td>Breakfa\u017ft. <\/td>Dinner. <\/td>Supper.<\/td><\/tr>
Sunday.<\/td>Onion-broth, which is made of water, onions, oatmeal, and the fat of meat broth: no meat broth is u\u017fed.<\/td>Meat, and vegetables.<\/td>Bread and chee\u017fe.<\/td><\/tr>
Monday.<\/td>Ditto.<\/td>Bread, and cheese. <\/td>Ditto.<\/td><\/tr>
Tue\u017fday.<\/td>Ditto.<\/td>Same as Sunday. <\/td>Ditto.<\/td><\/tr>
Wedne\u017fday.<\/td>Ditto.<\/td>Same as Monday. <\/td>Ditto.<\/td><\/tr>
Thur\u017fday.<\/td>Ditto.<\/td>Same as Sunday.<\/td>Ditto.<\/td><\/tr>
Friday.<\/td>Ditto.<\/td>Same as Monday.<\/td>Ditto.<\/td><\/tr>
Saturday.<\/td>Ditto.<\/td>Ditto.<\/td>Ditto.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2 lbs. of bread are allowed, every day, to tho\u017fe who work out of the hou\u017fe; and 1 1\/2 lb. to tho\u017fe who \u017fpin: children receive a quantity proportioned to their ages. The chee\u017fe is not weighed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Eden survey gives a fair amount of detail of the situation at the workhouse in Bradford on Avon as well as other workhouses in England. The pauper petitions in our collection provide us with snapshots of people\u2019s lives and allow us to investigate their language use based on the respective letters. In addition, we often dive into social and educational history to better understand the background of the letters and their authors\/writers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blog post written by Anita Auer (16 April 2020) On 16 June 1832 Henry Goodwin sent a letter from his new place of residence in New York to the overseers … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001230,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/lalp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/lalp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/lalp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/lalp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/lalp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/lalp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/lalp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/lalp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/lalp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}