2 May 12 ... * Spent a pleasant week in York with plenty to see and do, though research into John Taylor's sugarhouse was far from productive. As you'll see on the York page, facts are few, as is documentary evidence ... more questions than answers. More time needed in York ! * "The Sugar Girls" was rather narrower in scope and location than I'd expected. Limited to 1940s and 50s for the most part and to just the few departments where girls (many had to leave when they married) predominated. Disappointed there was not more on the roles of women across the company during WWII. Location was almost totally Plaistow Wharf (Lyle's), so actually a good modern compliment to Oliver Lyle's "The Plaistow Story". Name enquiries - BECKER, O'FLAHERTY, WERMERLING. ... comments ...

 

29 March 12 ... * New book arrived this morning (pre-publication order from Amazon) - "The Sugar Girls" by Duncan Barrett & Nuala Calvi, Collins, 2012. Memories and tales from mid-20C Tate & Lyle, Silvertown. That's my holiday reading !! Name enquiries - BATGER, CLARK, COLE, WEBB. ... comments ...

 

5 March 12 ... * Last year Graeme in Oz asked if I knew what a fugleman was as he'd found two relatives with such occupations working in the Australian sugar industry. I could not help other than point him to the popular book on the Australian sugar company, CSR. He found the book excellent and decided to contact CSR to see if they could help. Most of the company records are held at the Noel Butlin Archives Centre, The Australian National University, Canberra, and an archivist was most helpful, providing employment details for his relatives at the New Farm Refinery 1900-1930. Once Graeme saw the correct spelling of fugalman he knew just what they did ... operated the centrifugal machines ! Name enquiries - ANGELBECK, CARTWRIGHT, LANCKENAU, MARGETSON, MARTINEAU, RONALDS. ... comments ...

 

22 February 12 ... * Currently working on the 1911 censuses for Silvertown and Liverpool ... almost 500 entries on database in next couple of weeks. * The French, according to Daily Telegraph 11 Feb, have sugar cubes in five sizes ... they find it more accurate than our teaspoon ! Name enquiries - BOYD, BRUN(C)KHORST, DAUBENY, ILLIES, SEILER, WEYBECK. ... comments ...

 

26 January 12 ... * I've extracted just over 1300 "sugarbaker baptisms" from the parish registers of St George's in the East and St Mary Whitechapel 1831-1881. Once siblings were combined, this has provided some 750 new entries for the database ... all now added. * I'm in the process of searching the 1901 census for Silvertown sugar workers. In the few little streets opposite Tate's - Parker, Constance, Andrew, Drew, Gray - out of the 154 refinery workers living there an astonishing 119 were Polish ... with another 27 in Emma St. No mention of these in the Tate/Lyle histories. Name enquiries - ERMEL, SCHINARD/SCHONHERR, SCHMIDT, SCHRODER, WITTE. ... comments ...

 

1 January 12 ... * Happy New Year to all readers ... may your research progress ! * Currently working on parish registers for St Geo in the East 1831-81 ... database update soon. Name enquiries - BULLWINKLE, DAVIS, LEMMERMANN, UFFLEMANN, WALKER.   ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

1 December 11 ... ****** The new revised and updated edition of the SUGARBAKERS BOOK is now available. ****** Name enquiries - WESTHOFF. ... comments ...

 

28 November 11 ... * Edinburgh, I had always thought, had two sugarhouses, but on closer inspection, the earlier was actually a warehouse, a shop, an outlet in the city for the sugars of the South Sugar House of Glasgow. The later, in Sugarhouse Close in Canongate, began in 1752 and the first minute book of the company has survived giving us a day-to-day record of sugarhouse activity. The notes and findings from my short research time in Edinburgh are now on the Edinburgh page. Name enquiries - BRECHT. ... comments ...

 

13 November 11 ... * Ipswich page, with notes and transcriptions, now complete ... at least for the time being. Tremendous detail of 4 years business from late 1617 to late 1621. ... comments ...

 

27 October 11 ... * Fascinating stuff again from the Ipswich ledger ... "Paid to Robert Wilson cooper the 18 day of January 1618 for small hoops and great hoops set upon the great forms ..... the sum of 17s.6d" ... showing that the previously mentioned conical moulds (known then as forms) were cracking/breaking and were being strengthened with iron(?) hoops. Will add much more to Ipswich page soon. Name enquiries - DONNADIEU, HARDY, MOHR, WEBER. ... comments ...

 

14 October 11 ... * Excellent holiday, with a day and a half of research, in Edinburgh. My thanks to the staff of both the National Archives of Scotland and the Central Library. Both archives hold original 18thC sugarhouse 'books', and I hope to get round to writing up my findings for the website soon. * The Ipswich ledger transcriptions continue, and now much more on the Ipswich page. I'm now searching the general pages for more sugar info. The moulds and pots for the sugarhouse were made in Stoke-on-Trent.   * 1860s storage jar, abt 31cm high, wide neck, maybe cork stopper, Fryer, Benson & Forster. More details on the Manchester page. Anybody know what it originally held, please ? My thanks to Evelyn in Oz for the picture of a family heirloom once used to hold umbrellas near the front door.   Name enquiries - AHRENS, BACKER, BAHRENBURG, GERKEN, HOFFMANN, MUHM, STUHR, WAHLERS, ZWICK; 'FRYER, BENSON & FORSTER'. ... comments ...

 

2 September 11 ... * Have added to the transcriptions of the Ipswich account book. It contains more useful info than I first thought (that's perhaps because I can now read it !). Now getting a clear picture of just how many eggs were used per refine ... you have to wonder where Blois came upon a batch of 400+ eggs every few weeks. And the cost - 7 for 2d. Will add the other few pages I have in the next couple of weeks. Name enquiries - AHRENS, CLEMENTS, GILES, JOHNS, LIPPIEN, SEEGER, TIMCKE, WITTE. ... comments ...

 

31 July 11 ... * The Ipswich Record Office holds one of the earliest physical records of UK sugar refining ... an account book for the businesses of William Blois (Bloys) and partners of St Nicholas parish in Ipswich. They ran a sugarhouse there from 1617 to the death of William Blois in 1621. The sugarhouse was close to his dwelling house 'The Christopher' ... can this be located ? The accounts book has numerous entries related to the sugarhouse and I hope to transcribe many of them once I've become more familiar with the hand(s). Meanwhile, there are four of the entries on the Ipswich page including one that confirm that eggs were used in large numbers before it was found that bullock's blood would assist the initial clarifying of the raw sugar (probably) much better and much more cheaply. Name enquiries - HALLIDAY, MARTIN, MEIER. ... comments ...

 

5 July 11 ... * Sat in the garden this morning shelling peas (food-miles - 15 yards) considering the fact that I started this website 11 years ago with a "Locations" map showing just the 4 main refining centres. I've now just re-annotated that same map ... it now shows 30 refining towns and cities, plus the two for which I have info in Germany. I've added the latest 'finds' and I hope to get further info regarding Ipswich from research there later this week. ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

30 June 11 ... * Still no progress with the website, but cleared backlog of 'other things' (which included completing the revision of my book), and can now begin to catch up on those new refining locations. Sorry for the delay. Name enquiries - BUCK, KRAMER, MULLER, WATSON, WETJEN. ... comments ...

 

29 May 11 ... * "... and so many more still to find", I said in my previous post ... which should have begun with a research holiday in Greenock and Edinburgh, however a serious arm infection, with complications, put me in hospital for 10 days and so the Scotland trip was cancelled. Still not right yet, with writing and typing painful, so I'm sorry there'll be no progress on the website for a while yet. Name enquiries - BANISTER, CARTWRIGHT. ... comments ...

 

19 April 11 ... * 30,000 entries ... and so many more still to find ! Name enquiries - BOSTELMANN, FREUDENSTEIN, GIESE, HOLLINGS, HOUS(E)HOLD, MARTINEAU, PATTEN, PUGH. ... comments ...

 

18 March 11 ... * Two new refining locations just come to light ... IPSWICH and YORK. Both 17thC, though Ipswich is exceptionally early - 1617-21. Pages on these two, as well as Aberdeen and Dundee, will follow soon. Name enquiries - BOHLING, CORS, GOODHART, MEHRTENS, PECKSON, RIESS/RISCH, ROHLEDER/ROLLO, SPECKETHER. ... comments ...

 

17 February 11 ... * With kind permission of the Watt Library in Greenock, I've just finished extracting the sugar-related entries from their wonderful online BMD Index. These are now on my database, however there are undoubtedly many more entries in the Index regarding sugar people that do not actually say so. So don't assume I've listed them all, visit the website for yourself, download a 'letter' or two and have a good search of the newspaper insertions regarding births, marriages and deaths early 19thC to early 20thC. A great resource ... just CLICK. * Also from Greenock - the McLean Museum & Art Gallery - a bundle of images of refiners, broker, merchants, workers, etc., now on my Portraits page. ... and just a little snippet from sugar-ancestor researcher Carolyn in Brisbane regarding the recent flooding there. It helps restore your faith in folk ... "An amazing community spirit helped us cope with the floods. They asked for volunteers to help with the clean-up and they came in their thousands. Each day of the weekend following the peak of the flood, there were about 13,000 volunteers out and about. It was a pretty amazing thing to witness". Name enquiries - BEESWANK & WYDOWN, BRECHT, (EDEN), EGGARS, HOREY, KOHLER, LAUFER, REIMELS, WIGHTMAN. ... comments ...

 

31 January 11 ... * Oh Dear ! ... Sgt Pepper - track 9. Name enquiries - EDMUNDSON, ELMERS, FICKEN. ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

22 December 10 ... ** Best wishes to all for Christmas and New Year. My thanks to all contributors ... and my thanks for all the enquiries ... the whole website continues to grow and it could not do that without your help. Name enquiries - DUTHOIT, PELZER, WELBROCK. ... comments ...

 

28 November 10 ... * Some topical news ... ... our road salt has now got molasses in it !! ... and it is written that Kate Middleton has both the Martineau and Rankin sugar refining families in her ancestry ! * The Watt Library in Greenock has a wonderful BMD Index online ... information from local newspapers for roughly the 100yrs to 1913 ... click. Name enquiries - JOHN WALKER & Co, Greenock ; PEASE/T&L Transport. ... comments ...

 

4 November 10 ... * 76 Bangor Road, LEITH ... in the 1891 census this household included 48 sugar labourers - 36 from Austria, 7 from Hungary, 3 from Russia, and 2 from Scotland ... * ... and at the same time in Union Street, GREENOCK, there was the House run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, which had amongst its patients 29 former sugar labourers - 23 from Ireland, 5 from Scotland, and 1 from France. However, the records prove that at least some sugarbakers lived to a ripe old age ... 10 were in their 60s, 9 in their 70s, 7 in their 80s, and 2 in their 90s. [The Little Sisters of the Poor are still helping the elderly in Greenock ... having begun in Union St in 1884, they opened a new £12.5m residential care village on the same site in 2004.] Name enquiries - BORN, DOCKSEY, JAGELING, MYERS, SOLKHON, WHITWORTH. ... comments ...

 

6 October 10 ... * Believe it or not, the oldest refinery building still standing in UK was being used 1653-60. The Bishop's Palace in Exeter was not built as such, but was certainly used as a sugarhouse during those 'Cromwell' years. Is there evidence of an older refinery building still existing ? Name enquiries - FIX, FREEMAN, FRYER, KERN(E), MESON, WEIDEMULLER. ... comments ...

 

1 September 10 ... * Anybody know when the Greenock - Roxburgh St Refinery chimney was demolished ?? (photo) Name enquiries - BANKS, BRUCKER/HARRISON, RUDELHOFF, SHUM, SMEDES. ... comments ...

 

1 August 10 ... * 25,000+ !! Name enquiries - KNOOP, MUHL, NIALL, OETGEN, ROSE. ... comments ...

 

4 July 10 ... *** What would old Henry and Abram say ??? 130 years or so after they scrimped and saved to set up their individual businesses, which were joined long after their deaths, Tate & Lyle have announced the sale of their Sugars and Golden Syrup divisions to American Sugar Refining Inc for £211m in cash.    The end of an era !! ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

5 June 10 ... ** Emily, born this morning, a sister for Lucy. :-)) ... comments ...

 

1 June 10 ... * Mrs Jane Clowes, a Manchester confectioner in the early 19thC, would not normally figure on this website, but her business acumen and her dealings with Brancker's in Liverpool were worth noting then, and are again now. The interesting account is in Miscellany. * I have an original letter written by the Liverpool merchant Stanley Percival in 1830 to Sir Henry Fitzherbert of Tissington Hall, Derbyshire, regarding consignments of sugar and rum from his plantations in the West Indies. Details also in Miscellany. I'm trying to get to the bottom of the meaning of the codes/monograms/symbols used regarding the shipments. As Fitzherbert had Jamaican plantations named Blue Mountain, Forest, Grange Hall and Vere, perhaps the upper letter in each case refers to these (Blue Mountain and Vere). The lower 'letter' appears to be a monogram, maybe that of William Perrin, or his son William Philp Perrin, the previous owners from whom Fitzherbert inherited the plantations. Name enquiries - BRANCKER, DOUBLEDAY & EASTERBY, LUCKE. ... comments ...

 

12 May 10 ... * Having spent some hours with the Gloucester ledger and recorded much of the contents, I've added a summary of the accounts to the Gloucester page ... and they make interesting reading. However, I am now far less certain who was the original owner ... for it to have been that of James Lodge would seriously call into question the professionalism and integrity of Harman Samler !! Name enquiries - MAIS, POTTER, ROCK, STARTIN. ... comments ...

 

30 April 10 ... * Database just topped 24,000. * Further work on Gloucester ledger now on Gloucester page ... next job to analyse the accounts - details soon. Name enquiries - George CLARK & Son, GEISS, MILLAR, TASTO. ... comments ...

 

19 March 10 ... * Ancestry has added to its Immigration & Emigration section with "England, Alien Arrivals, 1810-1811, 1826-1869". This expands the dates covered by AGFHS Len Letzner's Ships Lists as well as adding the two early years although they are only for smaller ports. Ancestry has not recorded the professions of the migrants into their database so we cannot search by "sugarbaker/sugar refiner". I've browsed those early years as best I can and the results are on my database, but the rest will need searching by name (or a high degree of patience turning all the pages of all those books), so if you do find sugarbakers that are not on my website, please let me know ........... and for those who can't find their ancestor arriving when they should, it would appear that ships' captains did not consider it a necessity to record the names of sugarbakers, hence the entries that read - "H Mehrens sugar baker and 5 others", "27 sugar bakers", "a sugar baker", "10 sugar bakers" amongst others. Name enquiries - WARNCKEN. ... comments ...

 

2 March 10 ... * The Gloucester ledger I believe to be that of James Lodge, and for a few weeks, John Fendall ... more work to do. (see Gloucester page) "On the question 'Who were the emigrants?' we should note that they were probably among the most venturesome persons in their native district. Timid persons who thought about the matter too much preferred to remain at home. Since those who emigrated were used to hard work, and knew how to 'pitch in', almost all of them prospered in America." - W Klenck : 'Heimatkunde des ehemaligen Kreises Neuhaus an der Oste'. From : Jacob Adler - "Claus Spreckels - The Sugar King in Hawaii". (Spreckels was born in Lamstedt, Germany.) Name enquiries - BENDER, ILLIES/ILLIUS, LODGE & FENDALL, McBRIDE . ... comments ...

 

4 February 10 ... * Searching for info on Alexander Innes of St. Benet Paul's Wharf, London, Sugar Refiner, 1780s, if anyone can help, please. * More Will summaries on website ... Blancken, Bradburne, Handasyde, Lear, Wiple. * New ! ... Hull History Centre now open. Hopefully some more info from there next time I'm visiting the area. Name enquiries - BOSE, INNES, LUHRING, SIELING, VAUGHAN. ... comments ...

 

8 January 10 ... I've just finished reading "The Informant" by Kurt Eichenwald ... the huge 1990s investigation into global price-fixing in the food products industry. A 'cooperating witness', a major American food company, and the US law enforcement agencies ... an unbelievable comedy-of-errors by all parties, with, by today's standards, a predictable outcome at the initial trials. The knock-on effect of the fixing of prices and volumes saw ADM and their alleged worldwide competitors/collaborators, each in turn, settling lawsuits with US Department of Justice to the tune of many millions of dollars. In 2004, Tate & Lyle settled out of court for the alleged role of their US subsidiary A E Staley Manufacturing with regard to the production and sale of the sweetener high fructose corn syrup. They paid $100 million.* I wonder what the founders of the original, and separate, Tate and Lyle refineries in Silvertown would have thought of the ADM mantra - "The competitors are our friends and the customers are our enemies" **, and as for agreeing to fix prices ... "The competition between Tates and Lyles was always intense" and "Old Henry Tate is said never to have met Old Abram Lyle. There was never a meeting or discussion or a message passed between the heads of the two businesses ..." !! *** * Washington Post, 29 July 2004. (online) ** "The Informant" by Kurt Eichenwald, Portobello Books Ltd, 2009. p51 & p303. *** The Plaistow Story, by Oliver Lyle, Tate & Lyle Ltd, 1960. p40. Name enquiries - COATES, SCHULER. ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

22 December 09 ... *** My thanks to all readers and contributors, and may I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a very healthy and 'researchful' 2010 (doesn't time fly!). * The Will of George Shum has now been completed ... my thanks to TNA DocumentsOnline for their excellent response and hard work that recovered the two missing pages. * Circumstances dictated that the family got together for Christmas last Sunday. The little ones had one of their occasional meetings and were mesmerized by each other. Name enquiries - HEISSENBUTTEL. ... comments ...

 

8 December 09 ... * Now over 130 wills. The latest are those of George Shum 1805 (if anyone has the details from the missing pages, I'd be grateful to hear from you) and Samuel Buttall of Plymouth and Topsham 1723 that confirms the presence of a sugarhouse in Plymouth long before local literature suggests. * I've added a page of images of St George's German Lutheran Church, Alie St, London ... my thanks to Chris. * ... and some text and an image of New York waterfront 1877-86 on the Refineries page. * My thanks to Kaye for pointing me in the direction of the Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks Projects ... parish registers of Liverpool particularly interesting. Name enquiries - BACKHOUSE, NEWLANDS, PICKUP, WILKANS/WILKINS, WITTE. ... comments ...

 

8 November 09 ... * New Exeter page ... more detail needed, though. * John Gardner ran the Cheltenham Original Brewery as well as being a sleeping partner in the County of Gloucester Bank, but was he, or a member of his family, a Sugar Broker in London in the 1770s ??? Name enquiries - BUTTALL, SHUM, ZIEGLER. ... comments ...

 

26 October 09 ... * New Gloucester page now up and running ... one hundred years of refining - on and off; and an accounts ledger with a mysterious past. Name enquiries - BRUNS, DUTTON, EATMON, LONNON, LUCH, SCHULTZ, SHAW. ... comments ...

 

7 October 09 ... * Sorry, getting far behind with the work ... this is the start of me trying to catch up !! * Been on holiday, which if I can wangle it has to include a Record Office. Gloucester RO has some interesting stuff. Considering the city tended to be dismissed as a "failed attempt" where refining is concerned, there's evidence of sugarhouse(s) for almost 100 yrs. New page soon. * New page on St George's German Church, Alie St, soon as well. Name enquiries - BENNETT, BLANKEN, BURNELL & GIESS, GERKEN/WELBROCK, LOCKRIDGE. ... comments ...

 

30 August 09 ... * Not a lot going on on the website at the moment ... busy at home - heating, chimneys, kitchen, shower. * Lucy had her second birthday last week, and little Noah was six month old - his christening next weekend - doesn't time fly !! Name enquiries - GRASMEDER, HOMEWOOD, McLEOD, PEACOCK, REINCKE, SPENGLER. ... comments ...

 

21 July 09 ... * As 'regulars' will know, I try to answer queries both promptly and to the best of my ability. Even though I now try to reply using the name of the person being researched as the subject line rather than 'sugar' or 'research', which both get picked up by spam filters, the number of acknowledgments from new enquirers is still limited. Please remember to check your spam filters, and if you've not received a reply then let me know and I'll re-send. Name enquiries - DOH(R)MANN, LANCKENAU. ... comments ...

 

1 July 09 ... * The introduction of the wind-driven sugar mills to Barbados in the 17th century improved efficiency enormously but had the unexpected effect of reducing the productivity of the cane fields. The mills were previously driven by animals ... no animals, no manure for the fields, reduced growth !! Name enquiries - ATKINSON, CRONE, DEVITT, HAD(E)LER, HALLIDAY, REHNE, ROSE, von OHSEN. ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

21 May 09 ... * The Museum of London Archaeology has a large collection of pottery sherds, from sugar moulds and collecting jars, found during a recent dig on the site of the old Bishopsgate Goods Yard in Shoreditch. Centred on Patience St, the finds were spread over a considerable area as well as showing possible dates ranging from the mid-18th to mid-19th centuries. Just why the sherds were there is still being questioned ... there's, as yet, no evidence of a sugarhouse or a pottery in the immediate vicinity ... and I have suggested the possibility that such a huge quantity might represent the moulds and jars from a large refinery that closed in the 1850s and was used for hardcore under the new railway buildings. We'll see ! * I've added more detailed info to the page for Newcastle under Lyme ... my thanks to Barbara and Pam. Suor Maria Celeste, daughter of Galileo, wrote to her father from her convent in Arcetri, near Florence, on 4 January 1629, enclosing a short shopping list of the more costly items - "white sugar, almonds and fine confectioners' sugar" - needed "for making a platter of pastries" for the wedding feast at her brother's marriage later that month. From : Dava Sobel - "Galileo's Daughter". Name enquiries - BEESWANK, SCHOPPMANN, SCHWIER. ... comments ...

 

30 April 09 ... * Collections were often made in churches to provide financial help to those who had suffered tragedy and loss due to fire, storm, illness, etc. These can sometimes be found listed in parish registers under the heading of 'Briefs' or 'Collections', and were not just for local events but appear to have been for events much further afield. I have two references to a sugarhouse fire (the earliest found to date) at the premises of Juxon & Sheppard of Cole Harbour, London, in 1672. In September 1672 the Parish of Bunbury in Cheshire collected 11s 10d and in November 1672 the Parish of Uppingham in Rutland collected £1 0s 2d, with 77 good folk subscribing to the latter ... I wonder how many more parishes collected for the same fire? If anyone spots further collections referring to this or any other sugar-related event I'd be grateful to hear from them. * I've visited Newcastle upon Tyne ... little on sugar at Tyne & Wear Archives, but the wonderfully tranquil Lit & Phil Library has a series of early directories from which I've extracted the sugar info. My thanks to both for their help. New info now on website. If anyone has access to the 1811 directory (fiche missing at Archives) I'd be grateful if they could find any sugar refiners for me, please. * We've also made it onto Andrea Bentschneider's blog. She runs the German/English website 'Beyond History', so for those who can read German try this link to C12H22O11. Name enquiries - ROCK, WESTHOFF. ... comments ...

 

31 March 09 ... * Sorry, little new at the moment ... a touch busy, but I do have waiting some excellent info on Newcastle-under-Lyme and I'm building a collection of info on sugar moulds - just need time to write them up. Name enquiries - L(E)IGHT, RATHJEN, STRUCKMEIER/STRUTMURE, WADDINGTON. ... comments ...

 

23 February 09 ... ** Our second grandchild, Noah, born today ... a cousin for Lucy. :-)) Name enquiries - BROOMFIELD, FRIEAKE, GERKEN, KENT, RUGEN, SCHRODER. ... comments ...

 

17 February 09 ... * Thanks to Alan for prompting me to look in more detail at the refiners Wainwright & Gadesden. In doing so it has become clear that it was James Gadsden, refiner and partner at Thornton, Watson & Co in Hull, who ran this company followed by his son Augustus William Gadsden. The Gadesden and Gadsden surnames for this particular family appear to be interchangeable. * Have now added a Bremen page ... 9 sugarhouses, though Horst comments that sugar refining never had an important role in the city. Name enquiries - BETJEMANN, GADESDEN/GADSDEN. ... comments ...

 

31 January 09 ... * I've added a Deptford page, part of the London section. Some refining but more importantly, I think, its potteries supplied sugar moulds and collecting pots to the refining trade for maybe 150+ years. * My thanks to John Boden for the details of the will of William Boden of Friend & Boden of Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel. He retired to Bristol having made his fortune from sugar, but there is no mention of his past occupation in his will, although he did 'remember' some of his Whitechapel friends as well as the London Hospital and the Infants School. Name enquiries - BODEN, LIST. ... comments ...

 

17 January 09 ... * New Belfast page just added. 2 sugarhouses, much info, new map. Any more info gratefully accepted. Name enquiries - FITCH, FORTMAN, MEHRTENS. ... comments ...

 

8 January 09 ... * New info added to the Stockton page ... my thanks to Geoff. * Working on a lot of new info regarding Belfast ... my thanks to Steve ... and a much improved map soon. * Alan Godfrey Maps are now producing a series of very useful "A Yard to the Mile" OS maps of Liverpool ... every house, court, alley and sugarhouse !! Name enquiries - BASS, BATGER/MACHIN, STANBURY/STRANSBERG. ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

21 December 08 ... ** Merry Christmas to you all ** ... and many thanks for all the info, all the queries, all the compliments, and for keeping me busy ! And, of course, thanks for buying my book !! Name enquiries - STUHR, WARE. ... comments ...

 

3 December 08 ... * LIVERPOOL - Love Lane Lives ... The History of Sugar in Liverpool & The Continuing Effects of the Closure of Tate & Lyle's Love Lane Refinery. For a number of years now, Ron Noon, Senior Lecturer in History at LJMU, has been trying to develop a project highlighting the struggles of the former employees of Tate & Lyle's Love Lane Refinery in Liverpool, both before and after its closure in 1981. With invaluable help from others, and Lottery funding, the project website went online 1 Dec 2008. Still an ongoing project, the website already includes a 46 minute film, background notes and Ron's blog. A facility will be developed to enable people to submit video histories to the project team. These will be edited and made available on site. A 'must' for those researchers whose recent ancestors have worked at Love Lane ... talk to your folks and submit those oral histories. Click to visit Love Lane Lives, the film, the history, the blog.     ** Do watch the film ... highly recommended !! ** Name enquiries - BRUNS, HOWARD, WREDEN. ... comments ...

 

31 October 08 ... * Maps for Belfast, Cork and Goole have now been added. More research needed at Goole. Name enquiries - ADCOCK, DAVEY, DUNCAN, FITCH, O(H)LSEN, SMEDES, SWEENEY, von BARGEN, TILL/THILE. ... comments ...

 

18 October 08 ... * ... and the database has just nudged above 23,000 !! Name enquiries - BODEN, DOPSON, PUEST, RANKIN, ROBERTS, SCHULER. ... comments ...

 

18 September 08 ... * It is considered most likely that the TATE photograph previously discussed was taken on the occasion of the visit of King George V in March 1917, following the Silvertown Explosion of 19 January 1917. Name enquiries - DAMES, DAY, EHLERS, HILCKEN/HITCHEN, MOGGE, SAUNDER, TEAVES, WENDELKEN. ... comments ...

 

27 August 08 ... ** Lovely Lucy is one year old today :-)) Name enquiries - ZARFAS. ... comments ...

 

13 August 08 ... * Have placed the transcript of the Macfie letter 1839 (mentioned 30 April) on the Miscellany page. Name enquiries - UHTHOFF. ... comments ...

 

5 August 08 ... * If anyone had menfolk working at TATE's, Silvertown, 1905 to 1930, they might want to look at picture in Portrait Gallery to see if they recognise a familiar face. See previous two entries. Name enquiries - BADEN, FAIRWAY, FINCKEN, JENKINS, KELLER, WELBROCK. ... comments ...

 

11 July 08 ... * Re: previous entry ... I've added a cropped version (only the men) of the T&L photograph to the Portrait Gallery. If anyone can help with the date, it would be appreciated. Naming the men may take longer !! ........... Could it be the King's visit following the Silvertown Explosion in 1917 ?????? ........... Could it be at the end of WWI ?????? Name enquiries - PLAXTON, PUES. ... comments ...

 

3 July 08 ... * I have a new T&L (might just be Tate), Thames Refinery, photograph. Trying to date it. About 80 men ... in Saville St ... hats, coats, collars and ties, very wide flat caps ... one euphonium, one cornet ... wet, rainy, misty. No names, no date, but it still says Henry Tate over the gate !! * A large proportion of the site of the main Hull refinery in Lime St has been cleared ready for the building of a car park. Apparently planning permission was granted in 2005 but with no requirement for archaeological investigation before development takes place. I wrote to many last year, without reply, and I fear this month's letters and emails will be treated similarly ... but if you don't try !! All I ask is that somebody wakes up to the fact that this is an important site in Hull's industrial history and at least makes an attempt to see if any evidence remains underground before the diggers ruin any further chances. I visited again 2 weeks ago and have added a bit more to the Hull page; and I'll visit again in 10 days or so. Name enquiries - COAPE, COE, GERKEN, HAHN, HEARTZELL/HURDSALL, VON DOEHREN, WAHLERS. ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

7 June 08 ... * The number of sales ads. on the Sales page has just increased by almost 50% to 110+. These are a clear indicator of the state of the industry, as well as showing the developments of the machinery and hardware used within it. Often the reasons for the sales are given. Current listing - 1717-1913, but will keep searching for more. Name enquiries - 'firemarks', 'hogsheads'. ... comments ...

 

29 May 08 ... * Carolyn's newspaper info has added about 550 new entries to the db, and I'm still adding sales, fires and fatalities ... ... and then hopefully some more from various 19thC directories. Name enquiries - AHRENS, BASS, KNEBELE, OLDENBOTTLE, WILSHUSEN. ... comments ...

 

30 April 08 ... * So much for addresses! This is how William Macfie of Greenock addressed a letter to his brother John in Edinburgh back in 1839 ... ... William was clearly thinking of the new year. I'll transcribe the full letter when time permits !! * Carolyn in Oz, to whom I'm very grateful, has been searching the old newspapers for 'sugar' evidence. I'm slowly working through the files adding to the sales and fatalities pages and uploading to the website as I go, and to the database which may take some time to update. I've a further long list from Ann in Canada to add as well. Name enquiries - FINZEL, HIEN, MATTHEWS, THORNE, TIETJEN. ... comments ...

 

27 March 08 ... An interesting few days .... * I found that the website and book had both been mentioned in a podcast, 26 Jan 08, by the Genealogy Guys in US. * I was contacted by a descendant of one of the old Hamburg refining families of the 18thC. Four generations of the Bauck family refined there (in 1799 at Rodingsmarkt 63), until the business was destroyed by fire - possibly by the French (???). * I received pictures of another sugar flagon - Smith & Tyers again, but later - see Capillaire page. * And I found this little gem in a hitherto unknown (to me) history of T&L ... The personnel of a Bristol sugar refinery in 1878. No. of employees Occupation Weekly salary 78 unskilled workers 15s 6d 2 pan operators 50s 2 boiler-men 25s 1 person in charge of bone black filter 26s 1 head engineer 47s 6d 84 Total £87 4s 6d Source: Bristol Chamber of Commerce, 1879 - quoted in 'The Making of a Sugar Giant, Tate & Lyle 1859-1989' by Philippe Chalmin, 1990. Name enquiries - BAUCK, BECKMAN, HALBAUM, HELLBERG, HILLATT, MEHRTENS, REUTER, SANDER. ... comments ...

 

29 February 08 ... * Sorry, out of action for some time - back gone again. Just returned for occasional very short spells at computer. * Excellent, well researched, hype-free article about 125 years of Lyle's Golden Syrup in the Daily Mail 16 Feb 2008. I have their permission to include this as a link. Name enquiries - JOHNS, MORJEANSTERN, O'FLAHERTY, PETZING. ... comments ...

 

23 January 08 ... ****** AT LAST !!! The SUGARBAKERS BOOK is now in print. ****** Name enquiries - BEHRBOM, BROCKMAN, CHRISTIAN, DEARBERG, LEWIS, WEIR, WILKER, YOUEN. ... comments ...

 

1 January 08 ... * Happy New Year ... and if you're on this side of the planet, Lucy says "Wrap up warm for winter!" * The saga of the book continues. It should have been available the week before Christmas but an elementary error on the cover means it has to be reprinted. Definitely, probably, very soon, maybe !!!! Name enquiries - MELMOTH, MEYNCKE, WICKE. ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

18 December 07 ... ** Merry Christmas and best wishes for the coming year.** My thanks to all who have contacted me regarding their sugarbaker research and to those who have provided new info for the website. My thanks also to all those anonymous folk who have visited the website and hopefully found it of use and/or interest. ... comments ...

 

9 December 07 ... * Collected the various 'people pictures' together into a Portrait Gallery - can you add to it ? (jpeg / max 300 pix ht) Name enquiries - DOLGE, FRY, GERKEN, SMITH, VERNON. ... comments ...

 

3 November 07 ... * London's Museum in Docklands opens its new exhibition London, Sugar & Slavery on November 10. Full details at their website. Name enquiries - BRUNS, CAULFIELD, CROFT, GOLDMAN, LANGHURST, PINGEL, REUTER, RUWALD, SCHWIER. ... comments ...

 

14 October 07 ... * The news regarding the book is now somewhat more promising !!?????!! Name enquiries - ADCOCK, ASENDORF, BANKES, MEYER, RAWLINS, SACKMAN, WOHLGEMUTH. ... comments ...

 

17 September 07 ... * More than 15 months since the book went to AGFHS !!! Name enquiries - BENSEN, BRUNS, CARLILL, COLE, DAUBENY, FINZEL, GERKEN, HASHAGEN, IRESON, KOBS, MILLAR, WELLBROCK. ... comments ...

 

27 August 07 ... ** Our first grandchild was born today :-)) Name enquiries - TIELHEN, SANKEY SUGAR Co. ... comments ...

 

18 August 07 ... * James Vl of Scotland granted the sole right of refining sugar within the kingdom of Scotland to three gentlemen in 1619 for a term of 31 years, though as yet there's no evidence they ever produced any sugar. (See Glasgow page.) Could this, and maybe other such fruitless monopolies, be the reason refining began in Scotland some 120 years later than England ?? Name enquiries - BOOTH, GERDES. ... comments ...

 

21 July 07 ... "I did and do believe, after all that I've seen and done, that if you project yourself into the mass of things, if you look for things, if you search, you will, by the very act of searching, make something happen that would not otherwise have happened, you will find something, even something small, something that will certainly be more than if you hadn't gone looking in the first place ... . There are no miracles, no magical coincidences. There is only looking, and finally seeing, what was always there." Extract from : Daniel Mendelsohn - "The Lost ... A Search for Six of Six Million". Name enquiries - BENSEN, CHARD, JOBSON, SCHNACKE, THOMSON, WAGENER, WOHLGEMUTH. ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

27 June 07 ... * Slowly working through the London Gazette online ... bankruptcies, estates, executors, etc ... some interesting info. Have finished the searches for sugar bakers, and up to 1800 for sugar refiners ... these are on the db. When London Gazette completed will see what the Edinburgh Gazette gives us. Name enquiries - BRUCKER, HAMILTON, HARRISON, McKINLAY, OSBORNE, SMITH, VERDENHALM. ... comments ...

 

9 June 07 ... * The blog is one year old ... I hope it has been of use. The first thing mentioned was the 'Sugarbakers' book ... I look forward to its long-awaited publication !!! * The Hamburg maps are now loaded to the 'Locations' section of the website. Further info regarding Hamburg refiners would be gratefully accepted. Name enquiries - McMARTH, TRINGHAM. ... comments ...

 

23 May 07 ... * As 'regulars' will know, I have been answering queries to this website for seven years - I hope promptly and to the best of my ability. The last six months or so have seen a marked increase in the number of new enquirers who have not responded to my replies. I don't think the world is becoming more impolite, but I do think that maybe my replies are getting lost in spam filters, which are not being checked regularly. 'Sugar' and 'Research' are both words likely to be picked up by filters. If enquirers have not received a reply recently then let me know and I'll re-send. Name enquiries - BURMESTER, COMPTON, SCHUHMACHER. ... comments ...

 

13 May 07 ... * I've begun work on a set of Hamburg pages (similar layout to the East End ones). The Hamburg index page and the directory page are both now on the website and I'm about to start work on the maps of the 4 quarters of Hamburg, and those pages will go up as they are completed. I've located 100 of the 108 streets listed using an 1840 map ... if anyone has access to an earlier map, I'd be grateful to know the exact positions of the 8 missing ones, please. They are ... Ebräergang, Gäberstrasse, Hanckentwiete, Kannengiesserot, Kugelsort, Lieschengang, Scheelengang, Stavenpforte. Name enquiries - SCHWIER. ... comments ...

 

30 April 07 ... * Have added the findings from our visit to Lime St, Hull, to the Hull page . I wonder if it would be possible for there to be a professional look into this site once it is vacated and before it is inevitably redeveloped ... perhaps any new development might include the names "Old Sugar House" and "Sugar House Wharf". Name enquiries - MUHM, WHITEMAN. ... comments ...

 

19 April 07 ... * HELP wanted in Greenock. Ross Ahlfeld writes, "The old sugar warehouse in Greenock (image) is getting seriously dilapidated and in real danger of being pulled down. However, the local paper 'Greenock Telegraph' is going to start a campaign to try and raise awareness about the historical significance of the building." Also at risk in Greenock is Lyle's old Glebe Refinery building in Ker St (image). There is surprisingly little evidence left in the UK of a once important industry ... if anyone can help with case studies, family tales, pictures, etc, it would be appreciated. * On the same theme, Hannah & I visited the site of the Old Sugar House in Lime St, Hull, last week. Maps, the picture of its fall, pacing-out, photographs and chatting to local workers has hopefully got me closer to working it all out. One piece of old wall still stands, but I now have to try to decide which part of which building it was. Will add to website soon. * Have located the 1780 Stockton sugarhouse building on 1897 OS map, and found a picture. Have added a Stockton page. No info on who owned/ran it, though. Name enquiries - BULLWINKEL, FOOCHMAN, GREENE, MAYELSTON, MUENCH. ... comments ...

 

26 March 07 ... * On a number of occasions over the past few years I have tried to contact Tate & Lyle regarding their archives and public access to them. Having had no response, last month I wrote to Iain Ferguson, the Chief Executive, at Head Office. My letter was passed to the person responsible for the archives, from whom I have received a very pleasant reply clearly explaining the current situation and the future of the archives. If researchers with T&L interests wish for further detail, just email me. Name enquiries - BLANKEN, BRUNS, GOEBENER, MARTENS, O'DONNELL, RALPH, RUWALD, SACKMAN, and HOLMES, HILLATT & SANDERS. ... comments ...

 

12 March 07 ... * Peter has completed his very gentle editing of my Sugarbakers book ... and so to the printer. As promised I'll keep you informed of its progress. * Following the piece in Ancestors, there's a Google Blog of 20 Feb regarding sugarbaker Carl Reins. Both use the website heavily, but I suppose that's the risk of publishing on the Web. Name enquiries - GERDES, ELLMERS, RICHARDS and SMITH & DANVERS. ... comments ...

 

22 February 07 ... ***** Yesterday I was told about an article in Ancestors (TNA's monthly magazine) regarding London Sugar Bakers. Needless to say "A Sticky Business" is not mine, even though much of the detail is either on my website, in one form or another, or has been sent by me to members of the Almeroth family. I have good reason to doubt the author's desire to contact other researchers. ***** ... comments ...

 

19 February 07 ... Having transcribed the wills of over 100 sugar refiners, I have just come across the first instance of an owner leaving legacies to all his workers. Johann George Wicke wrote his will in 1828. He left £100 to each of his boilers and £100 to each of his clerks with £150 to his chief clerk, which was not unusual for the time, however he also left £12 to each of his labourers who had worked for him for 2 years or more, and £6 to each of those who had worked for less than 2 years. This was probably the act of a truly considerate man, for he also instructed that when he died all stock was to be worked up and sold, and then his executors were to sell his sugarhouse(s), possibly leaving his employees without work. [see Will summary.] ... comments ...

 

13 February 07 ... * Bristol Burgesses completed. Name enquiries - AHRENFELD, BOULNOIS, HOFFSCHMIDT, HOREY, SAMLER, SIEPP, TURNER, WICKE. ... comments ...

 

28 January 07 ... * Sorry ... new computer ... new things to learn. * Part way through uploading early Bristol Burgesses info ... thank you, Val. Name enquiries - BEHNKIN, MEHRTENS, RAWLINSON, REDPATH, SCHWAR(T)Z, STUTCHBURY, UTERMARCK. ... comments ...

 

4 January 07 ... * I last mentioned "the book" in August. I can't explain the hold up here, but it will be in print within the next few months. * Talking of books - the much-quoted 'Art de Rafiner le Sucre' by Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau, first published 1764, has been beautifully reprinted in Paris and is available for around 40 euros. Also reprinted, for around 30 euros, is the excellent 'L'Industrie du Sucre' by Louis Figuier, from 1870. Both are in French. I'll happily supply further info if you'd like it. The EoLFHS referred its members to a rather different book - 'The Small House in Eighteenth Century London' by Peter Guillery. This is very good, and just for good measure contains 2 pictures of Pennington St and one of Wellclose Sq. Built c1680, 109 & 134-143 Pennington St would have been similar to those lived in by the sugarbakers in the same street. The cover picture is of No.26 Wellclose Sq and typical of the timber houses built there, however immediately behind it can be seen the sugarhouse that had belonged to John Wagener. It exactly matches the plans of the 1850s held at LMA (MBO/Plans/440-2) for an extension to his premises [see Refineries page]. Name enquiries - ENGELKE, FERGUSON, GORDON, LIVENS, MAYELSTON, RUDELHOFF, SEMKEN, STRIPP. ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

20 December 06 ... * Merry Christmas to all researchers, contributors & readers ... and many thanks for your support throughout the year. We'll certainly see the book in print next year !! * I've just added some 400+ more entries from the London 1841 census, and will now go back and do further searches of the 1851. Name enquiries - BEHNKEN. ... comments ...

 

1 December 06 ... * Batger's CHINESE FIGS ... does anyone know if they or their like are still available, please. I've had two enquiries about them in the last month. * Added a couple more wills (Gadsden, Reimels). My thanks to Carolyn and Marge. * I've searched the 1815 and 1865 directories, added the info to the directory, and will now get on with adding it to the db and the maps. Name enquiries - BRUNS, BURGINGER. ... comments ...

 

11 November 06 ... * Added the entries from the 1846 London Post Office Directory to the db, directory, maps, etc. * (Are there any fireworks that don't go "bang"?? When I was a kid only 'bangers' did so ... and they weren't the sort of fireworks you had !) Name enquiries - SMITH. ... comments ...

 

1 November 06 ... * Very busy week or so with the enquiries, which included Peter sending info showing the inter-marrying of sugarbaker families - Muench/Mogge & Mogge/Uffelman. Ellen is looking for evidence of her Gumbel ancestors who she thinks worked in London, perhaps for Harman Harbusch, for a few years before continuing to New York. Marge sent a great piece of info found in Australian records whilst searching for Reimels that put Carsten Bulwinkle in Hall & Boyd, London, then New Zealand, and finally running a sugar mill in Australia. Name enquiries - BRUNS, BULWINKLE, GUMBEL, LYLE, MOGGE, MUENCH, REIMELS, SOLKHON, UFFELMAN, WEIDEMULLER. ... comments ...

 

19 October 06 ... * Chris has sent me a copy of George Blue's apprenticeship papers - 1905-12, Abram Lyle & Sons, Plaistow Wharf. It also includes a short testimonial from John Lyle, 1912. So now we have a new page ...Indentures & Testimonials... and I've moved Claus Schuhmacher's testimonial onto it too. There must be more of these documents lying around ... all would be welcome. Name enquiries - BLUE, SAY, SCHWIER, STUTCHBURY . ... comments ...

 

11 October 06 ... * I've just added a DIRECTORY of SUGAR HOUSES, which brings together onto one page all the info behind all of the maps. It's linked to each map, and the maps back to the directory. There's a direct link from the front page as well as the site map and history pages. I hope it will prove of use. Name enquiries - SCHWIER. ... comments ...

 

7 October 06 ... * A mere 68 entries from the Liverpool census 1841 - the enumerators did not identify the labourers' types of work ..... * ..... but better news ... Liverpool John Moores Uni are about to appoint a leader for an oral history project with the former Tate & Lyle workers beginning this December. As soon as I have details of the project website, I'll publish them here. Name enquiries - STUHR. ... comments ...

 

30 September 06 ... * Added more from London 1861 census, prompted by another enquiry regarding Dunk St, Mile End New Town. It's only that small area though. Name enquiries - BOGGAN, BRUNS, MULLER/MILLER, NOVAK, SCHLOBAUM, WOOLLEY, and Alex SCOTT & Sons (Greenock). ... comments ...

 

19 September 06 ... * I have my doubts regarding the 41 census for Liverpool ... I don't think the enumerators are identifying the various types of labourer. Whilst I'm picking up a few owners and a few sugarbakers (listed as such because that's what they called their occupation when asked), there are no 'labourers in sugar house' etc. * Just added another case study ... GERKEN ... thanks to Kaye in New Zealand. I'm hoping a WELBROCK one may follow soon. :-) Name enquiries - BOCK, CHARD, COLLENSO, and REINERS, COOK, DANNING & JOHNSON (London). ... comments ...

 

11 September 06 ... * I've added the entries from the 1861 Bristol census. If I've missed any, I'm sure you'll tell me. * Started scrolling through the 1841 census for Liverpool. * Back in June, I said, "... do some decorating or something." Well, I'm still doing it ... and I've found the excellent Ecos paints - odour-free - how pleasant. Name enquiries - GERKEN, WELBROCK. ... comments ...

 

31 August 06 ... * Needless to say, this blog is an 'unofficial' one that I add to only when I have new material or something to say. I've just noticed that Google allows you to specifically search (click 'more') the 'official' blog sites. A search for 'sugar refiner' produced this extract ... "... today I discovered that a lot of the ornamentation inside St Mark's building [Philadelphia] was designed by Charles [Eamer] Kempe, who is a rather distant cousin of mine: his great-grandfather was Harman Samler, a sugar-refiner in London in the 1780s, who was my dad's dad's mum's dad's dad's mum's dad. Why someone has seen fit to make a webpage about Harman I don't know, but it shows you can find almost anything on the web these days." Name enquiries - KURHT, MULLER, and the ALBION SUGAR Co. ... comments ...

 

19 August 06 ... * Sorry, folks ... been away in County Durham and Yorkshire. What a pleasant change from this neck of the woods ! * The book has hit a rather serious (in their eyes) and unexpected problem, but we'll get there in the end. I'm not going to let so much hard work come to nothing. * So it's back to the website and a lot to catch up on. Name enquiries - CHARD, DERX, HOPMAN, KRITE. ... comments ...

 

28 July 06 ... ** ... and our son was married today !! Name enquiries - BREYER, LOHDUR/LOHDEN. ... comments ...

 

20 July 06 ... * I've just been told, "It's very unlikely that the book will be ready for Christmas." Thoroughly disappointed and frustrated, but what can I do ... the editorial team at AGFHS is just 4 volunteers with an unbelievable workload; they desperately need more help ! Name enquiries - SCHULTZ. ... comments ...

 

14 July 06 ... * Just added some wonderful pictures of John Thomson, who ran the Sankey Sugar Works, to the Earlestown page. I'm assured it was spelt without the 'p', although the census enumerators wrote otherwise. Need to find him in Bury in the '51 census. * Also added to the Schwier page ... detail of the sugarhouse in Dunk St / Kingward St both before (Zabell) and after (Martineau/Tutte) the Schwier family ran it. * Last entry mentioned Althoff. I've now been sent John Althoff's will, and it looks highly probable that John worked for Harman Harbusch. Am about to decifer HH's will. Name enquiries - DAVIS (Bristol), HARBUSCH, HEUSER, MICHAELS. ... comments ...

 

6 July 06 ... * I need to research 2 more locations where refining is said to have taken place - Stockton and Exeter. - Stockton-on-Tees - around 1780, refinery at 'Sugar House Open' (1). Will visit next month, but in the meantime any help welcomed. - Exeter - basic archaeological evidence around 1700 shown at RAMM Museum, Exeter, and on a couple of websites (2). I think this will be researched from a distance, so would appreciate any help with further evidence, please.     (1) http://www.thenortheast.fsnet.co.uk/Stockton.htm      (2) http://www.exeter.gov.uk/timetrail/10_goldenage/object_detail.asp?photoref=10_118      (2) http://www.exeter.gov.uk/media/pdf/a/d/Exeter_Trail_print.pdf * By the way, I found the Monck info regarding his purchase of Tower Place (see 27 Jun) in 1668 in 'Sugar Spices & Human Cargo' - Joan Anim-Addo. Name enquiries - ALTHOFF, FICKEN. ... comments ...

 

1 July 06 ... * Uploaded the rest of the 1881 names, as well as a map & names for the refinery at Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire for the same year. The database has now topped 20,000. * New ongoing census search is for Bristol 1861. Name enquiries - WICKE. ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

 

27 June 06 ... * The book - I'm told publication will take some time. Be patient, Bryan - do some decorating or something. * There were more names than expected in the 1881 census, but they'll be finished by the end of month. English soldiers in Portugal in the 1660s were often paid in sugar, the London brokers then selling it on their behalf (1). I've read somewhere that George Monck, who could be said to have founded the British Army, apparently owned Tower Place at Woolwich some time before Wm Pritchard who in turn sold it to King Charles II for the building of Woolwich Arsenal. I have known for a while that Tower Place had "sugarhouses" when sold in 1676 (2), but this new info makes me think they were more likely to have been for storage than refining. Have not yet found a map or further info. (1) http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/298.php (2) LMA - E/MW/C/229. Name enquiries - ACKROYD, RIPPE, THOM(P)SON, WILSON, WOLFE, ... comments ...

 

8 June 06 ... ** The wedding day was a resounding success ...... * Finally relinquished my hold on my "Sugarbakers" book ... sent manuscripts, illustrations, etc to the publishers (AGFHS) today. * Decided to finish entering on to the database the 1881 sugar workers from the census - Scotland, Essex, etc. Name enquiries - BEHRENS, BRUNIGES, GADSDEN, MacDONALD, TANGEMANN. ... comments ...

 

31 May 06 ... Welcome! * The "Sugarbakers" book is finished, and I've thoroughly enjoyed writing it. I now need to get back to the work on the website, but how will you know what I've added? Whilst I update it almost weekly, now that the site is that much bigger it's not obvious where the updates are ... perhaps this irregular weblog may be the answer. * Well, off to our daughter's wedding this weekend, where Bryan has to wear a suit for the first time in maybe 35yrs! ... comments ...   ... top ...   ... sitemap ...

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