Saturday, June 16, 2012

F is for FARMER and FERTILISER

"Ag Lab"

How many people have an "Ag Lab" as an ancestor?  I have many.

My Great Great Grandfather, James Pilgrim, was so much more than a farmer.  James was a visionary, an achiever and a leader.  He wanted to make a difference.  He was also stubborn and determined, which is reflected in a letter from home (Earls Colne, England) which states "but of course James will please himself".  Maybe that's where I inherited my stubbornness and determination from?

James Pilgrim
1836 - 1929
The title of this blog site "Strong Foundations" was inspired by James, who left school at a relatively young age and was apprenticed to the trade of stonemason, but after meeting with an accident and seriously injuring his foot, he took to gardening and farming.  In 1858 at age 22, James embarked on the long journey to Australia aboard the Lady Milton.

It is extremely difficult to summarise James' many achievements as he was actively involved in so many endeavours and community initiatives over his lifetime.  This prominence has made it easier to build a really good sense of his strong minded, generous and pioneering character as there were regular reports in local papers about his influence within the community, his charitable and helpful nature and his farming successes.

Before I get to James's farming and fertiliser achievements I must also share that James was a very religious man with very strong beliefs.  His granddaughter wrote, 
“He was very religious – no work on Sunday except the very necessary.  The cows were milked and the calves got milk.  Also no rowdy games. Dad said cricket was often played behind the stables and some one keeping nit.”  


Many of the letters written from England also included a reference to religion and made me very aware of how difficult it must have been for a mother to be separated from her children; "I hope the Lord will have mercy on you and I hope you will think of him. I hope that if we do not see each other in this world I hope we shall meet in heaven that will be joyful if we can do that and I hope the Lord will have mercy on us all and pardon our sins before he calls us hence which he will if we look up to him the right way”.

The first record and indication of James' leadership
In 1878, the Crown was releasing additional land and had eased the rules for selectors with lease periods being doubled and rents halved.  This is likely what attracted James to Winiam in Victoria (from South Australia) and he is listed as one of the early selectors to move into the district, first selecting land in 1881.

During the first year, James built a five room house of pug and timber with an iron roof, at a cost of £50.  Together with his growing family, he initially cleared and cropped five acres by hand.  He then used a team of bullocks and continued to clear more land each year until he was cropping 250 acres in 1888 with an average yield of wheat of 12 bushels to the acre.
The same year,
 Alexander Sutherland wrote about “the people of Victoria who are making a difference” in the book Victoria and its Metropolis.  James Pilgrim is mentioned and it is stated that he “has one of the nicest gardens in the Wimmera, fruit trees, grape vines and flowers growing luxuriantly”.


James Pilgrim's farm and orchard, Winiam

James Pilgrim's Garden, Winiam

James lost stock, feed and sheds in a fire, which was allegedly caused by his children playing with matches.  He also lost sheep due to "sand disease" and his wheat crops had failed due to drought and continuous cropping.  By 1895, he was having financial difficulties.  He was paying 3% interest on a £512 unregistered mortgage for both his and his daughter Emma’s selections. He also had other debts totaling £50.  

1900

However being such a determined person, James looked to alternatives to improve his farming fortunes.  When Dr. Howell, a chemist from the Victorian Agricultural Society visited Nhill, James was initially sceptical about his ideas. 

 “When Dr Howell gave his first lecture in Nhill, a few years ago, a neighbour of mine said to me when we came out ‘Well what do you think of that chap’s idea?’ ‘I don’t know.’ I replied. ‘It does seem stretching it a bit to say that 50lb of superphosphate spread over an acre would do any good.  Why, you couldn’t even see any trace of it; but I’ll give it a trial’ I did so, and so did some of my neighbours.  We all believe in it now.”

James worked with the Victoria Agricultural Society to test the impact of manure, superphosphate, crop rotations and tillage methods on 12 acres of his land over 6 - 7 years.  

In 1904 the Argus reports "Two acres are devoted to summer fodder crops, and the rest to wheat experiments.  There are wheat plots on stubble, on fallowed, and on sub-soiled land: some unmanured, some manured lightly, and others again more heavily; some horse-hoed during the growing period, and some left untouched.  The plots run side by side and were drilled in on the same day, and with the same variety of wheat.  When harvested the yield of each plot will be weighed, and duly recorded, and the work continued over a series of years.  But there is no need even to wait for the harvest to learn the striking lessons this living book of nature has to unfold."  

The experimental plots were very successful and James increased his yield to 24 bushels of wheat to the acre.  Many of the techniques trialed are routine procedure now, however at the time James's experimental plots were considered innovative and assisted improve and change the future of farming.


James Pilgrim is seated in the middle row on the far left at the Agricultural Conference at Noradjuha

In recognition of his farming services James Pilgrim was made a life member of the Nhill Agricultural society – a distinction conferred on no other member at the time of his death.  He officiated as judge for the Nhill show for years, and for 45 years did not miss attending once.  In addition to his farming pursuits and awards, James Pilgrim was very involved in all aspects of the community.  He was known affectionately as “Grandfather Pilgrim” throughout the Winiam, Winiam East, Nhill and Kinimakatka area.  He was well known for his generosity and willingness to assist the community and his neighbours however he could.

“His bright, cheery, optimistic disposition made him popular with all sections of the community, which regret the loss of a sterling upright citizen” 
Nhill Free Press 30 May 1929


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19 comments:

  1. Awesome post, it reminds me of my own Ag Labs. And I highly doubt that there isn't a family out there that doesn't have at least one Ag Lab in it.

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    1. Thank you. Yes, I used to get excited when I found a relative in a census who was something other than an "Ag Lab" as I have many.

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  2. How great to have such a visionary as your relative.
    Nancy

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    1. Thank you Nancy. This is only a very small part of what James did. He really did leave a footprint and has been the easiest of my ancestors to research as he was mentioned in papers, government gazettes and other books and article so often.

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  3. A tremendous story of a true pioneer. You can feel the strength of the man in his eyes in the first photo.

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    1. Glad to hear you say that Bob. Strength but Kindness. That's the way I feel when I look at that photo. I thought it was just me so it is good to hear someone else say the same thing.

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  4. I had to go look up what an "Ag Lab" was. Of course once I saw the definition I realized I've seen that on census forms. I like the letter that says, "but of course James will please himself." Reminds me of many of my own family members.

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    1. Sorry I probably should have explained rather than you needing to look it up. I have so many "Ag Labs" that I thought most others would too. Oops.

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    2. On the USA census, which are the ones I am looking, I've seen farm Lab(or) as opposed to Ag Lab I think.

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    3. I am afraid that I haven't seen the USA census records so I didn't know this. I've learnt something else :)

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  5. A great settler story, as I lived for a long time in a rural district on a grazing property, I know exactly how hard his life must have been in the 19Th century, especially in drought times. He was a pioneer in the truest. He build a really nice home and the garden was lovely too. We had an old settlers cottage on our property and I thought sometimes about the people who settled there in the olden days.

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    1. The house is long gone now but the property remains in the family, which is great. We intend on putting a commemorative plaque on the property so there will be reminder of James for many many years to come.

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  6. What a wonderful story. Your great great grandfather sounds like a thoughtful, purposeful person who really tried to gather good data for decision-making.

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    1. Thank you. I hadn't thought about the decision making side of it. But you are right, I also think he was very purposeful. He wanted (and did) build a community. He was also integral in establishment of the local school, church and cemetery.

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  7. What a bumper post - Great work

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    1. Thanks Jill. I have been looking for your next Family History through the Alphabet "Geniaus" post. I see that you have posted one today so will be visiting very soon :)

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  8. He makes me think of a famous horticulturist who once walked upon the land I live on, Luther Burbank.

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  9. Being an Aussie, I hadn't heard of Luther Burbank so just "googled" him. Imagine if James and Luther had met each other! There are so many similarities that they would have got along so well. Thank you for helping me to learn something new :)

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  10. Great story. Isn't it nice when a solid citizen leaves a trail, unlike certain scallywags!

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