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Such a perfect day, I’m glad I spent it with you…

It was during reading the following exchange that I realised that my great great grandparent’s love story was getting under my skin. Jane writes to Fred while he is still on his works holiday in Bridlington: “Handsworth Sunday Afternoon August 17/79 My Dearest Fred,    I wish I was at Bridlington the time goes so… Continue reading Such a perfect day, I’m glad I spent it with you…

Still on holiday, Fred turns fashion commentator just for Jane.

“Bridlington Quay August 14/79 My Darling Janie,    I think I left off in my last with our arrival at Bridlington. After tea we went where everybody else goes that is, to the Sea–wall Parade. I can’t describe the agony that I suffered in walking on that parade. Everybody walks so slow, without bending their… Continue reading Still on holiday, Fred turns fashion commentator just for Jane.

Scandal threatens the Warburtons

To understand the following newpaper report you need to remember that John George Herrod is the missing husband of Jane’s sister Emma – who I introduced in a previous post: https://mydarlingjanie.wordpress.com/2016/07/08/the-sad-story-of-emma-warburton-part-one/ From the Sheffield Daily Telegraph 14th August 1879: “ALLEGED  JEWELLERY ROBBERY BY A SHEFFIELD MAN.    Yesterday, at the Southport Petty Sessions, a well-dressed… Continue reading Scandal threatens the Warburtons

Fred goes to Bridlington (and seems to channel Jerome K Jerome)

For this next couple of weeks I am ‘handing over’ this blog to Fred and Jane and the events of the last two weeks of August 1879. I’ve also included Fred’s not-a-playlist at the bottom of the post: “Bridlington August 12th/79 C/o Mr Severs. 7 King Street My Darling Janie,    We arrived, or arove… Continue reading Fred goes to Bridlington (and seems to channel Jerome K Jerome)

Vlog – finding Fred in Attercliffe and Darnall

After I visited Handsworth which I wrote about in a post called Becoming Jane, I also visited Attercliffe and Darnall to try and track down some of Fred’s haunts. With my cousin’s help we managed to track down the remains of Christ Church, Attercliffe, The Wellington in Darnall, and Fred’s house on a street formally… Continue reading Vlog – finding Fred in Attercliffe and Darnall

The sad story of Emma Warburton (Part One)

Content warning: this post mentions domestic violence. At some point in either 1876 or 1877 my great great grandmother, Jane Warburton, at 16 years old would have discovered that marriages were not always happy, in fact they could be ruinous, particularly for a woman. I promised in my Becoming Jane post that Emma, Jane’s older… Continue reading The sad story of Emma Warburton (Part One)

The Spring, clad all in gladness, Doth laugh at Winter’s sadness

In the last post I wished I could have known more about the “Dramatic Entertainment” that Fred had persuaded Janie to come to at the end of February 1879. I was delighted to have that wish granted during some searching through the British Newspaper Archive, I actually found a write up of that event in… Continue reading The Spring, clad all in gladness, Doth laugh at Winter’s sadness

Fred’s money worries, and some tangential pigs

Fred’s accounts give me the impression that he’s a young man in a protected situation that gives him enough disposable income to fund his pursuits. He’s giving roughly half to his elderly mother – Ann Shepherd – for living at home. He has to look presentable for job as a Trade’s Clerk in the Rail… Continue reading Fred’s money worries, and some tangential pigs

The Diary of Fred Shepherd, aged 19 and a half…

Fred’s entries for the first three days of January 1879 are by far the longest entries he writes, taking up several pages and include lists of resolutions, a passage on personal “stocktaking”, and several tables reviewing his work attendance, study, and a breakdown of his expenditure. (I’ll split this into two posts, or it will get… Continue reading The Diary of Fred Shepherd, aged 19 and a half…