Visitors here in the past 30 days or so.

© www.bobog.org

Last Updated 28 Mar 2023

Capt. Charles Cunningham Boycott was born 12 Mar 1832, the son of a minister, at Burgh St Peter, Norfolk, England. He is my 2nd cousin. Our common ancestor is my 5x gt grandfather, Sir Thomas Beevor.

He grew up in the village of Burgh St Peter in Norfolk, England; the Boycatt family had lived in Norfolk for almost 150 years. They were of Huguenot origin, and had fled from France in 1685 when Louis XIV revoked civil and religious liberties to French Protestants. Charles Boycott was named Boycatt in his baptismal records. The family changed the spelling of its name from Boycatt to Boycott in 1841.

Boycott was educated at a boarding school in Blackheath, London.[4] He was interested in the military—and in 1848, entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in hopes of serving in the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners. He was discharged from the academy in 1849 after failing a periodic exam, and the following year his family bought him a commission in the 39th Foot regiment for £450.

Boycott's regiment transferred to Belfast shortly after his arrival. Six months later, it was sent to Newry before marching to Dublin, where it remained for a year. In 1852, Boycott married Anne Dunne in St Paul's Church, Arran Quay, Dublin. He was ill between August 1851 and February 1852 and sold his commission the following year, but decided to remain in Ireland. He leased a farm in County Tipperary, where he acted as a landlord on a small scale.

Charles became involved in local politics and was unpopular amongst the peasant farmers who were treated badly by Charles and the other land agents and lease farmers. He and his family were ostracised by everyone around him.

According to James Redpath, the verb "to boycott" was coined by Father O'Malley in a discussion between them on 23 September 1880.[18] The following is Redpath's account:[18]

I said, "I'm bothered about a word."

"What is it?" asked Father John.

"Well," I said, "When the people ostracise a land-grabber we call it social excommunication, but we ought to have an entirely different word to signify ostracism applied to a landlord or land-agent like Boycott. Ostracism won't do – the peasantry would not know the meaning of the word – and I can't think of any other."

"No," said Father John, "ostracism wouldn't do."

He looked down, tapped his big forehead, and said: "How would it do to call it to Boycott him?"

According to Joyce Marlow, the word was first used in print by Redpath in the Inter-Ocean on 12 October 1880. The coining of the word, and its first use in print, came before Boycott and his situation was widely known outside County Mayo. In November 1880, an article in the Birmingham Daily Post referred to the word as a local term in connection to the boycotting of a Ballinrobe merchant.

Still in 1880, The Illustrated London News described how "To 'Boycott' has already become a verb active, signifying to 'ratten', to intimidate, to 'send to Coventry', and to 'taboo'". In 1888, the word was included in the first volume of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (later known as The Oxford English Dictionary). According to Gary Minda in his book, Boycott in America: how imagination and ideology shape the legal mind, "Apparently there was no other word in the English language to describe this dispute."

The word also entered the lexicon of languages other than English, such as Dutch, French, German, Polish and Russian

After leaving Ireland, Boycott and his family visited the United States. His arrival in New York generated a great deal of media interest; the New York Tribune said that, "The arrival of Captain Boycott, who has involuntarily added a new word to the language, is an event of something like international interest."

In 1886, Boycott became a land agent for Hugh Adair's Flixton estate in Suffolk, England. He had a passion for horses and racing, and became secretary of the Bungay race committee. Boycott continued to spend holidays in Ireland, and according to Joyce Marlow, he left Ireland without bitterness.

If you are interested in More details of his life, please click here.

Since I have found something over 20,000 family members, it stands to reason that at least a few of them would have lead more interesting lives then you or me. I’ll try to highlight a one or two each update. Let me know what you think!

Norman E Harrison was born 15 Sep 1873 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He is my 2nd cousin. Our common ancestor is my 4x gt grandfather, Swainston Harrison.

He served his apprenticeship in the Turning, Fitting & Drawing office of Messrs Higginson & Co., Hurst Street, Liverpool between 1889 to 1894. After completing his apprenticeship he joined the line of Messrs Elder Dempster & Co., as a 4th engineer. He later rose to become 3rd and finally 2nd engineer.

He left the Elder Dempster Line about 1896 when, at the age of 23, he gained his Chief Engineer’s Certificate of Competency. He joined the White Star line as 3rd Engineer aboard the Delphic; he subsequently served on the RMS Athenic (3rd engineer), RMS Corinthic (2nd engineer) and RMS Adriatic (2nd engineer).

In 1907 he married Mary Clare Magee and they lived in Liverpool but had no children. On 17 November 1911 Norman was elected an Associate Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Norman initially joined the RMS Titanic in Belfast, signing-on on 2 April 1912. When he signed-on again in Southampton on 6 April 1912, he gave his local address as 30 Coventry Rd., (Southampton). As Junior second engineer he received monthly wages of £18.

On 15 Apr 1912 the RMS Titanic struck and iceburg in the North Atlantic Ocean and sank. Being an engineer and stationed below decks, Norman’s body was never recovered. I like to think he remained at his station keeping the lights on the the pumps working in a futile effort to save the ship.

The Hampshire Independent newspaper obituary publlished Saturday 17 April 1915 reads:

In most loving memory of Norman Harrison, second engineer of the SS Titanic, who laid down his life in the fulfilment of his duty when that vessel foundered off the coast of Newfoundland, on the morning on Monday, April 15th, 1912. ''Fidelis usque ad mortem.'' ''Steel true and blade straight, the Great Artificer made my mate''.

His widow received a pension of £7 13 2d

In addition to his empty grave in Liverpool, Norman is remembered via:

• Named on the magnificent Engineer's Memorial in East Park, Southampton.
• Named on a grave in Knotty Ash Parish Church Cemetery, Knotty Ash, Liverpool.
• Named on the Glasgow Institute of Marine Engineers memorial.
• Remembered on the London, Institute of Marine Engineers memorial.
• Remembered on the Liverpool Titanic and Engineers memorial.
• A brass memorial plaque in the church of St. Faithful, Crosby, Liverpool, to the memory of the Chief Engineer and his Engine Room staff.

From the Liverpool Echo newspaper 24 July 2004:

Byline: MARY MURTAGH

FOR decades, the grave of Titanic victim Norman Harrison has lain forgotten.

The occasional Titanic buff, or well-wisher, would visit the final resting place of the tragic second engineer who perished on the world's most famous shipping disaster in 1912. But now Norman's memory is to be kept alive after distant relatives of the merchant seaman.

Carol Lennon, of Mossley Hill, remembers being told stories as a child about her famous great-great uncle, whose body was washed up on the shores of Newfoundland, but she had no idea he had a grave at St John the Evangelist church.

The Lennon family visited the grave for the first time on Sunday to pay their respects. Now they will continue to tend the overgrown [grave].

[She] said of a part that has not been kept trimmed.

Mrs Lennon said: “I knew about Norman but didn't know about the grave until I spotted it in the ECHO and his name rung a bell. From quite a young age I was told about one of my relatives who had died on the Titanic. We didn't know much more than that because it was so far back. We always assumed he had been lost at sea. I think it is lovely that we have found him. It was nice to see the grave and slightly moving. My 13-year-old twin sons, Tom and Chris, were quite pleased to find him and intrigued. My husband Mike has always been interested in the Titanic connection. It will be nice to bring a wreath and lay it at Christmas. It is like a piece in a jigsaw puzzle has been completed. ''

The Lennon family, including their 14-year-old daughter Kathleen, hope to return to the churchyard regularly.

Norman was a married, but childless, 38-year-old when he died.

The Merchant Navy Association have visited the site to lay a wreath for one of their own.

Norman's closest living relative is his 93-year-old niece Margaret Christian, of Netherley.

She was a year old when he perished but remembers stories about him. She added: "I remember meeting Norman's wife once. I remember her telling me about the time Norman held me in the crook of his arm when I was just a tiny baby.

"This was just before he left for his trip on the Titanic. They chose their best staff for that voyage and lost most of them. ''

From Liverpool Echo newspaper 15 April 2002:

AFTER the collision, the one thing Titanic needed above all else was time. This could only be bought at the cost of sacrificing the entire engineering department.

Within ten minutes of the collision, under the leadership of Chief Engineer Joseph Bell, the 16 Titanic engineers and their teams had rigged the pumps that prolonged the life of Titanic by more than an hour.

They supervised the damping down of the boilers to prevent an explosion and - crucially - they preserved the slowly failing power supply by shutting down a host of useless ancillary services.

Through their efforts, the Titanic had light and wireless capability to the end. Because of their sacrifice - not one of the 16 engineers was saved - Phillips in the wireless room was able to summon help from the Carpathia.

These men were ultimately responsible for preserving the lives of every one of the 705 survivors.

The engineering team was composed mainly of Liverpool and Southampton men.

The Liverpool men who died were:

William Farquaharson, Senior Second Engineer, 39.

Norman Harrison, Junior Second Engineer, 39.

John Hesketh, Junior Second Engineer, 33.

Bert Wilson, Senior Assistant Second Engineer, 28.

Len Hodgkinson, Senior Fourth Engineer, 46.

Peter Sloan, Chief Electrician, 31.

A memorial on the Pier Head commemorates the matchless bravery of these incredible men

=

RMS Titanic Engine Department Watch Assignments

Norman worked 4am - 8am and again from 4pm - 8pm

The ship struck the iceberg at 11:40pm so Norman was not on duty.

=

The Titanic looks like a toy compared to modern cruise ships but was the biggest ship afloat in 1912.

If you want more information, try this link:   Encycploedia Titanica

Alabaster, as a family name, is unique. That is, everyone with the last name Alabaster, or its previous version Arblaster, is related. My maternal great grandmother was Clara Rose Alabaster (1881-1969) making them all part of my family.

Capt. Daniel Alabaster Jr was born 29 Jul 1833 in Yarmouth, Norfolk, England. He is my 1st cousin, 4x removed. Our common ancestors are my 4x (gt gt gt gt) great grandparents, Robert Alabaster and Mary Ann West.

In 1848 Daniel enlisted in the British Merchant Navy. In 1852 he moved to New Zealand, still working on the water. By 1860 Daniel had progressed to Captain.

Daniel is credited with the discovery (at least by a European) of what is now named Lake Alabaster.

From Wikipedia: Lake Alabaster, also known by the Maori name of Waiwahuika, lies at the northern end of Fiordland, in the southwest of New Zealand's South Island. The lake runs from northeast to southwest, is six kilometres in length, and covers 7 km².

Lake Alabaster drains, and is drained by, the Pyke River, a small tributary of the Hollyford River. It is one of two lakes (along with Lake McKerrow) found in the lower reaches of the Hollyford River system. A branch of the Hollyford Track, one of New Zealand's most well-known and popular tramping tracks, extends along the eastern shore of the lake.

He also discovered a natural Oyster Bed in Cloudy Bay, in the South Island of New Zealand, lying between a line drawn from Cape Campbell to Wellington Head at Tory Channel and the beach. It is now called the Stewart Island Oyster Beds.

He stayed closer to his new home after 1871 and became the ferryman and innkeeper at Brunnerton, New Zealand. A few years later in 1888, the Wellington, NZ Patent Office issued patent No. 2572 for a specification for an invention for spring and rubber drop fire escape. I wonder if something happened at the inn to cause this?

There is a story about Daniel discovering gold on the West Coast in about 1862, two years before the 1864-1867 gold rush.

Daniel had 3 sons and a daughter with his first wife, Isabella Murray Fenwick and a son with his second wife, Frederick William Fish. They all lived out their lives in New Zealand.

1907 Handbill From Daniel Alabaster

Lake Alabaster