Monday, February 20, 2012

Joseph Buck was a Luddite


Lud·dite

  [luhd-ahyt]

A member of any of the bands of English workers who destroyed machinery, esp. in cotton and woolen mills, that they believed was threatening their jobs. 

I had no idea what a luddite was until one day in November Google led me to the blog Luddite Bicentenary - 1811-1813 while I was searching for my 4th great-grandfather Joseph Buck.
One of the aims of this blog is to document the daily events and uprisings on the 200th anniversary of the day they occurred.  If you had ancestors in the Nottingham area who were framework knitters in 1811-1813, I strongly suggest that you subscribe to their blog, follow them on Twitter, and like them on Facebook. Who knows, your ancestor may pop up there as well.


While on the hunt for information about grandpa Joe, I never even imagined that I would find him in this position. He was so afraid of losing his job and the means to support his wife and three small children that he felt it necessary to take up a hammer and smash the new machines.


To learn more about the history of Luddites and framework knitters check out the following links:

  1. The Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway
  2. The Luddite Link 
  3. Power, Politics, & Protest
  4. The Luddites and the Combination Acts



The author of the blog mentioned above was gracious enough to send me copies of two depositions mentioning Joseph Buck.  I would like to share a few snippets.
.....his master knew of his going, and was asked by Joseph Buck and
Joseph Kettledon to go with them and Buck told his master that if he did not go with them or give them money he would break his frame and he saw his master give Buck some money but can't say how much....
Taken from the deposition of George Jeffrey 14 November 1811.
 ....That about an hour before he left home Joseph Buck came into his Master's shop and asked him for some money for Ned Lud's family who were dry, and that his master gave Buck something.  Buck also said two men were come from Arnold to inform them "They were upon Papplewick Forest" waiting for some ____ going.
Taken from the deposition of Robert Hodges 14 November 1811.

 Joseph Buck was connected to two other Luddites who ended up doing some time in Australia. One was his brother-in-law George Spray and the other was George Green.  More on them in the next post.

I have not seen anything more on Joseph Buck so I don't know if he was ever tried or not.

 

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Missy Was a Good Dog

This weekend was a rough one.  We had to make a heart wrenching decision to let our baby go.

Missy
April 1999 - 4 February 2012

The first night Missy didn't greet daddy at the door we knew that something was wrong.  She stopped eating and wouldn't move from her bed.

It was a Saturday evening and there were no animal clinics open.  We found a pet emergency hospital and took her there.  The blood work revealed that she had cancer.  That thought had never even crossed our minds.

It took several minutes for the realization of it all to sink in. We didn't want her to suffer so we tearfully said our goodbyes.

Fifteen minutes into our drive home on I-10 around 3:00 a.m., a white dove flew toward our car and then took a sharp left.  We both felt that was a sign.  Missy was saying goodbye and letting us know that she was in peace.

We adopted Missy from the animal shelter in Pocatello, Idaho in November of 1999.  She was seven months old.  After we got her home I found this add in the adopt-a-pet section of the Idaho State Journal.  I am so glad we found her before this was printed. She would have been 13 years old in April.

I sure am going to miss the way that she demanded to get first hugs and kisses when hubby came home from work. She was definitely daddy's girl.  I know it is going to be hard on him when he walks in the door tonight.

We love you Missy.



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