• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Newspapers : From Birmingham Post 150 years ago

Good Morning Mike,
The Racket Court in Bath Street was also used as a venue for prize fighting. Benefits were often 'exhibition bouts' organised for ex-fighters. I have heard the word 'Fancy' used to describe supporters of the 'Noble Art' and presume that this refers to the boxing fraternity based in Birmingham. In the 1800's boxing was against the law so advertisements would not openly include the sport's name.
 
"...rally behind so deserving and brave men, and give them a bumper."

Brewer's Phrase and Fable...Bumper...

A full glass, generally connected with a “toast.” Dr. Arn says a bumper is when the surface of the wine bumps up in the middle. (French, bomber, to render convex, to bulge or swell out.)
 
IMG_1252.jpg
Lady Penelope said:
Good Morning Mike,
The Racket Court in Bath Street was also used as a venue for prize fighting. Benefits were often 'exhibition bouts' organised for ex-fighters. I have heard the word 'Fancy' used to describe supporters of the 'Noble Art' and presume that this refers to the boxing fraternity based in Birmingham. In the 1800's boxing was against the law so advertisements would not openly include the sport's name.
Click to expand...

1844 Bells Life in London and Sporting Chronicle.
 
When you see how much these fighters could earn from a match it's not surprising that they wanted to do it. I wonder how much £50 is worth in today's money?
 
Scotch snuff
[scots snuff; scotch rappee and portugual snuff; scotch & spanish snuff]

Sometimes reduced to 'Scotch', this is the purest kind of SNUFF made from the TOBACCO STEMS alone or stems mixed with a small proportion of TOBACCO LEAF. Although probably made in Scotland originally, where its popularity developed before it did in England [Goodman (1993)], it also became a type made elsewhere [Newspapers (1743)]. Scotch snuff was only lightly liquored in processing, which would have darkened the product, though further liquoring was done to make BROWN SCOTCH SNUFF [Dodd (1845)]. According to Angerstein, Scotch snuff had become more popular, after a factory in BRISTOL making SPANISH SNUFF was shut down 'during the war' (which one he did not specify), after it had been rumoured that the Spaniards had 'put poison in the snuff to kill Englishmen' [Angerstein (2001)].

OED earliest date of use: 1733

Found described as BEST, DRIED, FINE, High and low dried, TRUE
Found in units of POUND

Sources: Acts, Inventories (late), Newspapers, Tradecards.
References: Angerstein (2001), Dodd (1845).
 
Pedrocut,
I need to ask you a question but I think I'll be straying off topic too much so will send you a private message. Hope that's OK?
 
Am putting this post in in case anyone relies on receiving an e-mail of the thread they are interested in
This thread has now reached 2711 posts, so from 1st January am continuing on a new thread at https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...lly-birmingham-post-150-years-ago-1867.47344/ . Unfortunately the first six months of that year of the Birmingham post are missing online, so will be abstracting from the Birmingham Gazette , which is similar, but seems to have (so far) less interesting items and often has scanned less well and is therefore more difficult to read. Also they do not seem to have a Saturday edition
 
Last edited:
mikejee said:
22.3.1866
Hengler's circus generates a little more money with sideline horse riding.
Alfred Bird gains royal approval with his Rainbow Bubbles
Click to expand...
Hello and thank you for sharing this newsclip describing A. Bird's invitation to make bubbles for the Royals. This is a bit of history I've long been searching for as it ties a nice bow onto the true story of Alfred Bird being the first known inventor and manufacturer of bubble solution which was marketed as a toy.

Is it OK for me to share this clip (crediting you as the provider) with other bubblers over at my www.bubblemaker.us website? The site documents the evolution of soap bubble art, science, play, performance and culture.

With appreciation,

Keith
 
I have already replied by IM, but am always glad for people to find my meanderings in the archives of interest and am glad for you to use the cutting.
 
mikejee said:
I will be extracting interesting bits from the Post. A century and a half ago today the (later to be) Cardinal Newman was defending himself against claims that he was abandoning catholicism, The Royal Hotel was encouraging people to dine in the Coal Hole , and someone was looking for a velocipede (human powered vehicle according to Google) which could carry 4 to 6 people. I would be interested to know what the last referred to as it brings interesting cartoonish images to mind

john_newman_letter_4_7_1862~0.jpg


Royal_Hotel_temple_Row2C_the_coal_hole~0.jpg


john_newman_letter_4_7_1862~0.jpg
Click to expand...

Cor Ad Cor Loquitor translation Heart speaks to Heart , I wore that on the breast pocket of my blazer for four years . When I was at
Cardinal Newman secondary school Poplar Avenue , off Sandon Rd Edgbaston 1960-1964 , school motto . Also had the privilege of
viewing his study at The Oratory Hagley Rd with the young lady that was to be my future wife , the study is the same as he left it when he died
 
Astonian said:
Hi mike just a brief word on about the thread you are mentioning regarding the knibb family
I have not put the full story but what do you make of this bit of info, on the knibbs family of Shockley /hands worth
That during the war years and during a raid on the 4 December Mr Edward knibbs and 17 year old son was was summoned to London to see the king for an award
And it also states in this book he was one of the first of Birmingham men to go before the king to receive a George medal
As he was recommended for rescuing some people with out the regard for his own life
Its states Mr knibbs was a general dealer aged 55 years old and he was very nervous of meeting the king and never slept for days but he spent area days in London with his young son aged 17 years old and had a great time they seen all the sights of London
it states at the end of the story in the book that there is a picture of Mr knibbs wearing his three war medals at the top of the orininal story
Its not in this book thou ,so I can only presume its means it is in the news paper which states Birmingham dispatch 25 June 1941 page 3,1
I have not put the full story what do you think on that mike Alan. astonian,,,,
Click to expand...
Did you ever get a copy of the photo of Mr Knibbs wearing the medals? If not, I have one.
 
mikejee said:
24.10.1862
Wonder how you describe a pig and what weight is eight score. Never heard of that pub before, though that isn't surprising , as, although Thomas Wigley is listed as a retail brewer in the 1862 directory(at no 14 in 1861 census), no mention is made of any pub in the Rrow in directories from 1867
Conflict in the congregation at Willenhall
Not surprising that the theatre and actresses were considered not quite respectable by some
A painful surprise for a policeman

pig_found.jpg


conflict_in_the_chapel.jpg


regular_box_booking.jpg


police_got_a_surprise.jpg
Click to expand...
Hello Mike, I just found your very old post here - my grandfather was Thomas Wigley (see right at the top in your message) He owned a little place in the Jewellery Quarter doing chasing and embossing but previous so that around 1890's he managed The Bulls Head in Pope Street. He did very well for his family until the jewellery slump I understand (taken from a family history written by a great Aunt of mine).
 
Just found this earlier posting about Grange House and a map that shows the earlier site where the Grange Cinema was built on Coventry Road.
 
Jayell said:
Thanks for the picture again Mike. I have this from when you posted it quite a while ago, and was trying to find it to re-post!

I can't vouch for the price of the building when it was sold to the YMCA but can only say that the information came from Showells Dictionary! Agreed it does seem a very high price for the building.

In case its of interest, here is a link to advert for the Grand Sultan Divan in Manchester, which also mentions the Needless Alley one:
https://meethelocals.blogspot.co.uk...5/12/meet-local-joseph-bandano-of-africa.html
Click to expand...
Hello Jayell, in ref to the “Sultan Divan”….. I’m new to the forum, having stumbled across it while researching my family tree. To cut a long story short, Yousouf Heronimos, (Born in Turkey) who is possibly a Great Uncle, was living ( and possible owner) at the Manchester location, (1871 census). I‘m uncertain of it’s association with the Birmingham location but I think they are based on what I’ve read here. From what I gather
Yousouf was named a “restaurateur“ on his nationalization application in 1866.
He was manager of a “Turkish Bath” in London around 1860
……anyway not where I’m going with all this, but it‘s been fun to research.

Regards, Ray
 
Vivienne14 said:
Very interested in the visit of Brazil princess (post #2000) particularly in the merchant firm of F J Smith. I think it might be Frederick Joseph Smith, and they were probably connected to the Worcester family of Tustin Smith. If anyone has any further info about the firm or the royal visit, I'd be glad to hear about it. Please IM me. Many thanks. Viv.
Click to expand...
Hello Vivienne! How are you?

My name is André Studart. I am descendant of Mary's Tustin Smith and her son John William Studart. I am from Fortaleza/Ceará-Brazil and I saw your reply in 2015 about the Worcester family of Tustin Smith.
I would like to know if it was possible to get more information regarding the family or the royal visit. Any additional information would be great!
On the other hand, I have the background of my family here in Brazil with many doccuments. If that helps, I could also provide needed information

Newspapers : From Birmingham Post 150 years ago

Would I be right to assume that the Countess d'Eu mentioned in the article of post 2000 is from the Braganza line, and therefore related to Catherine of Braganza wife of English King Charles II. ?
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
Thanks in advance!
 
Pimpernel said:
Oh that's really terrific Vivienne, hello cousin! I'm only a very distant relation, but it's one of those stories that grabs you, when I first made the connection the research pulled me in :) Yes, let's talk. I'm not sure what connections there might be to Birmingham, though other Tustins moved there over the years. Mary Tustin-Smith's grandfather Thomas Tustin (1727-1772) is my 5th Great Grandfather.
Click to expand...
Hello Pimpernel!
We are distant connected as I am also descendant from Mary Martha Tustin Smith and her son's John William Studart from the brazilian part.
I'm very interested in knowing more about the family and their history, I sent you a pm! it's so good and interesting to find a distant relative when searching through history!Hope you can see this message!
 
Hi Andre. Welcome to this forum. I too am a descendant. My 4x great grandfather, Jose Pisa Pinto Sousa de Vasconcellos (b1767 Lisbon, Portugal) had a child with Marta/Mary Tustin of Worcester. That child was Jose Smith de Vasconcellos (b 1818, Portugal). Jose Smith de Vasconcellos’s daughter Cleonice, married my gt gt gt grandfather Frederick Joseph Ridgway. He was a merchant and had various joint business ventures with Jose (who was made a Baron by the Portugese) and they traded together in Brazil. I expect the family link with Jose is how FJ Ridgway (Smith) got involved in the royal visit to Birmingham in the UK.

Shall send you a link to my ancestry family tree.

Best wishes from Viv.
 
Last edited:
Vivienne14 said:
Hi Andre. Welcome to this forum. I too am a descendant. My 4x great grandfather, Jose Pisa Pinto Sousa de Vasconcellos (b1767 Lisbon, Portugal) had a child with Marta/Mary Tustin of Worcester. That child was Jose Smith de Vasconcellos (b 1818, Portugal). Jose Smith de Vasconcellos’s daughter Cleonice, married my gt gt gt grandfather Frederick Joseph Ridgway. He was a merchant and had various joint business ventures with Jose (who was made a Baron by the Portugese) and they traded together in Brazil. I expect the family link with Jose is how FJ Ridgway (Smith) got involved in the royal visit to Birmingham in the UK.

Shall send you a link to my ancestry family tree.

Best wishes from Viv.
Click to expand...
Thank you Vivienne!
That's really interesting! Amazing the amount of information we were able to gather together from such ancient times. Jose was half-brother to john william studart (the heritage line that I'm connected) and they both lived in Fortaleza, living from the merchant activity. Later on, jose went to Rio de Janeiro and John stayed in Fortaleza.
Interested to see that Frederick Joseph made trade with them and it seems that was the way they continued their lives.
Was he the "Smith" that received the royal visit. I mean, his Smith surname comes from Cleonice or was he from the family as well? Also, would have further information on F.J/Mary Martha Smith Tustin heritage? The family (smith or tustin), activities, something like this? I Imagine that Mary went to Portugal due to the peninsula wars, but could not find more information on this or on her family
I would def be keen to see your ancestry family tree! If there's anyway I could help, I'm here!

Cheers,
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow that’s fantastic ! Thank you. I haven’t looked at my family tree for some time, but this could give me the motivation to work on it again.

Yes, Frederick in the Newspaper report is certainly my 3xgreat grandfather. He had 13 (!) children in Brazil, so there are many, many ancestors living there. They lived out there in Rio and Fortaleza and had a place in Petropolis for the summer months. His grandson (my grandfather) who was born in Brazil married a woman from Birmingham, UK too. Amazing how it all interconnects. I think you’ll be interested to see the family tree. One thing I keep planning to do is to visit Broadway (Worcester) to explore where Mary/Martha came from. I believe she died in Brazil. I think she must have been a very adventurous woman.

Shall send the ancestry link through the messaging function called ‘Conversation’ on the blue bar above, next to your avatar.

Best wishes Viv.
 
Forgot to say I believe it was Cleonice who brought the name ‘Smith’ to the family. Frederick was born and raised in Lymm, Cheshire. His family were merchants, so I think that’s where the Brazil connection started. Viv.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Wow that’s fantastic ! Thank you. I haven’t looked at my family tree for some time, but this could give me the motivation to work on it again.

Yes, Frederick in the Newspaper report is certainly my 3xgreat grandfather. He had 13 (!) children in Brazil, so there are many, many ancestors living there. They lived out there in Rio and Fortaleza and had a place in Petropolis for the summer months. His grandson (my grandfather) who was born in Brazil married a woman from Birmingham, UK too. Amazing how it all interconnects. I think you’ll be interested to see the family tree. One thing I keep planning to do is to visit Broadway (Worcester) to explore where Mary/Martha came from. I believe she died in Brazil. I think she must have been a very adventurous woman.

Shall send the ancestry link through the messaging function called ‘Conversation’ on the blue bar above, next to your avatar.

Best wishes Viv.
Click to expand...
Very interesting! So it seems that the brothers united in their activities and rested on their ties with England. Considering that John William was Vice-Consul of England in Fortaleza and Jose was a baron with the "only castle" in Brazil, in Teresopolis, I definitely believe they were able to maintain this "bridge" with Brazil, Portugal, and England, principally considering Mary's merchant family and her influence during the peninsula war.
Fortaleza then was strongly developed by British money, which both brothers corresponded to a great part. Mary died in Fortaleza and so did John William and I have seen some documents showing that both (Mary and John) went to England sometimes and even to Lisbon (where one son of her's stayed), while Jose died in Rio and the rest is our story!
Vivienne14 said:
Forgot to say I believe it was Cleonice who brought the name ‘Smith’ to the family. Frederick was born and raised in Lymm, Cheshire. His family were merchants, so I think that’s where the Brazil connection started. Viv.
Click to expand...
Got it! Very interesting. It seems that Mary Martha's Tustin-Smith family was already an established merchant family and they united forces with Frederick's family. I would love to find more background on their story. Unfortunately I did not find further information on the background of Tustin-Smith's Family.

Definitely very interesting and keen to see your ancestry. Who knows, we might find more information
 
Would I be right to assume that the Countess d'Eu mentioned in the article of post 2000 is from the Braganza line, and therefore related to Catherine of Braganza wife of English King Charles II. ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top