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Ireland to Australia to California

9 May By Dwight Leave a Comment

An Irish ancestor in California may have spent time in Australia first. This migration began in January 1849 after gold was discovered in California. They came from New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria colonies. Aside from the miners, the gold rush opened up commerce by sea from Sydney to San Francisco, which was quicker than getting supplies from the eastern United States to San Francisco.

The Type of Australians Bound for California

From Tasmania, came many ex-convict Irish who had already served their terms or who had escaped. For escaped convicts, they would take small boats and when a larger ship was cleared to leave, they would then row out and board the leaving vessel. The Tasmanian penal colony in particular was brutal, which made any form of escape preferable.

Australians leaving for California upset the balance of power as people who could have stayed and helped build the colonies left. The lure of gold and commerce brought competition among the shipping firms to quickly gather passengers and cargo. Both common people and well established families headed off to California. It is estimated that between 1849 and 1851 alone some 6,000 left for San Francisco. From that number 900 were from the Hunter River area between Newcastle and Maitland, New South Wales, north of Sydney.

What the Australians Found in California

What these immigrants found upon arriving was much different than what they left behind. They learned about frontier justice and lynching; encountered Mormons for the first time; discovered Spanish speaking Mexicans and Chileans. They witnessed the plight of African Americans. They also met Americans arriving from the East. Some Australians had encountered American whalers before, but that was their exposure. On this frontier, they saw women auctioned off because they couldn’t pay their passage into San Francisco and indentured Chinese sold on the auction block as servants. They also drew parallels between the American Indians and the Aborigines back home.

When the Australian Gold Rush opened up in 1851, some Australians returned from California. However, many also chose to remain in California.

Evaluating the Australia to California Migration

When evaluating a migration such as this, it’s important to remember that Australia was a huge piece of real estate with a rather small population. The government kept records of both the convict population and free settlers. The chances of finding an Irish birth place, including the townland, preserved in an Australian records is far better than in a California record.

If you would like help tracing the migration patterns of your ancestors Contact Us.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Australia, Immigration and Emigration, Occupations

Glossary of Whores and Prostitutes (1811) – Part 2

11 Feb By Dwight Leave a Comment

In Part 1 of this blog, I introduced you to the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811). It is an invaluable source for hearing the voices of the common people in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This work provides insights into how men saw common women; whom they considered to be of ill repute, or at least on their way to becoming such.

Grading the Words Prostitute and Whore

Below is a list of how I have pieced together this complex topic. I have divided them by Whoredom and Prostitutes, grading them by how I see their usage, rather than an A-Z dictionary. An example of this comes from two whoredom words:

Buttock and Twang: A common whore, but no pickpocket.

Buttock and File: A common whore and a pickpocket.

The work liking these terms is “common” and the grading consists of the extra description. For example a Buttock and Twang was not a pickpocket whereas the Buttock and File was a pickpocket. The Buttock and Twang being higher on the scale than a Buttock and File by the fact this class of whores do not pick their customer’s pocket. This is based upon the assumption money was being passed which would link these terms to prostitution. This was the world our common ancestors lived in and how they classified the people around them.

The Worse Word to Call a Woman in 1811

While my grading of both prostitutes and whores is totally subjective; please be aware that as family historians we are trying to piece together the lives of people we technically only see as names on paper, microfilm or on a computer screen. However, saying this; while my ranking of whores and prostitutes may be subjective, the worse word of all was very clear cut! In 1811, there was no discussion that the worse word of all was bitch. The word was defined in 1811 with the following blunt definition:

Bitch: The most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore, as may be gathered from the regular Billinsgate or St. Gile’s answer – “I may be a whore, but can’t be a bitch.”

I have taken a few liberties with my glossary so that the modern mind can be wrapped around them. However, most wording has been left intact.

Grades of Whoredom in 1811

Whore: In wide usage with other words but not listed as word alone in the 1811 dictionary. General terms for a whore would include; Buttock, Covey, Crack, Madam Ran, Merry Arse Christian, and Punk. The terminology digresses from here.

Game Pullet: A young whore or forward girl in the way of becoming one.

Lewd Women: Ladybirds, Wagtail

Doxies: She beggars, wenches, whores.

Buttock and Twang: A common whore, but no pickpocket.

Blowen: A mistress or whore of a man who as he slept would rob him. Also refers to a prostitute who brings a man into a brothel and then robs him.
Buttock and File: A common whore and a pickpocket.

Dirty Puzzle: A nasty slut.

Drab: A nasty, sluttish whore.

Mawkes: A vulgar slattern (slut, harlot).

Fusty Luggs: A beastly, sluttish woman.

Trapes: A slatternly woman, a careless sluttish woman.

Wrinkle: A wrinkle bellied whore; one who has had a number of bastards.

Trumpery: An old whore, or goods of no value; rubbish.

Grades of Prostitutes in 1811

There are several generic terms for a prostitute and then the language becomes more colorful and descriptive. For present purposes, generic terms are kept separate from terms to describe a “common prostitute.” The common part adding at least one more descriptive term. One eyebrow raising word is “Barber’s Chair” which I have placed under the word Prostitute itself. However, the full definition is: Barber’s Chair: She is as common as a barber’s chair, in which a whole parish sit to be trimmed; said of a prostitute.

Prostitute: Barber’s Chair, Case Vrow, Covent Garden Nun, Curtezan, Drury Lane Vestal, Easy Virtue, Laced Mutton, Lady of Easy Virtue, Impure, One of Us (One of my Cousins), Public Ledger, Receiver General, Squirrel, Tail, Town, Unfortunate Women, Woman of Pleasure, Woman of the Town, Woman of Pleasure and Woman of the Town.

Mob (Mab): A wench or harlot.

Strumpet: A harlot.

Miss: A miss or kept mistress; a harlot.

Blowen: A mistress or whore of a man who as he slept would rob him. Also refers to a prostitute who brings a man into a brothel and then robs him.

Common Prostitute: Cat, A Female Screw, Fen,

Dopey: A beggar’s trull (low prostitute or concubine).

Queer Mort: A diseased strumpet.

Wasp: An infected prostitute, who like a wasp carries a sting in her tail.

Bunter: A low dirty prostitute, half whore and half beggar.

Quean: A slut, or worthless woman, a strumpet.

Click Here for professional help in documenting common ancestors.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Dictionaries, Glossary, Historical, Occupations

Glossary of Whores and Prostitutes (1811) – Part I

7 Feb By Dwight Leave a Comment

Often we create stories about our ancestors which paint them in the best light. We tend to forget this is our perception of how life should be, not theirs. Many of our ancestors belonged to a distinct underclass. Sometimes we get hints of this in census schedules, newspaper accounts, church registers and court records. What were their lives really like?

The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811)

One priceless work which provides a window into the world of the illiterate and semi-literate underclass is the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811). It remains in print and online. This work defines terms which were in usage among these common people throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, helping to place your ancestors in a historical context, this A-Z dictionary is worthless unless you already know the word.

I have created a glossary from this 1811 resource focusing specifically on the industry of prostitution and its related word whore. This dictionary reveals how the common people spoke of prostitution, thought about it and utilized it as a service. I have left out terms for madams and pimps as that seems to be almost a class higher being a business person.

The Complex Usage of the Words Whore and Prostitute

As I was compiling this dictionary, I realized by the very language used, prostitution itself was a graded industry. The more discriptions added to a term actually lowered a woman on the scale of perception. This makes both the terms prostitute and whore more complex than I even realized. They were definitely more complicated in 1811 than they are today.

Historically, a prostitute had to do with money and applies almost exclusively to women. A prostitute was also one who was either engaged in selling sex themselves or through someone else. Alternative words would include harlot from 1610 and strumpet which dated back to the 1300s. Prostitution is an institution even if the word itself does not necessarily focus on “sex for hire.” It can just as easily be “exposed to sex indiscriminately offered.” Another context was using oneself or another for money in an unworthy or suspect cause, which did not involve sex. An example would be someone selling a talent.

The term whore can also be used in reference to a prostitute. However, its usage was more complicated. For example, it references a promiscuous woman or man. One can “consort with whores” or be “out whoring all night.” Another usage can be to “make a whore of” which would mean to contribute to debauching someone (male or female). A whoremonger was a man obsessed with having sex as often as possible. In some usage a whore was equated with an adulterer.

While the exchange of money may or may not be involved in whoredom, the principle is similar to prostitution in that to “be a whore” or to be “out whoring” can become prostitution or the purchasing of sex. At that point, the word whore also became tangled in with strumpet and harlot. Whether calling someone a whore was better than calling someone a prostitute seems to have been a matter of perspective. It’s important to read words in the context being used in a given document.

Which Word was Worse Prostitute or Whore

My assumption is that in 1811, in certain usage, a prostitute was worse than a whore because the word whore was more ambiguous encompassing women and men involved in paid sex and unpaid sex. Yet, in other usages in 1811, whore was a straightforward derogatory insult. So much of this discussion has to do with in what context both words were used and how many additional descriptive words were added to them!

When attempting to understand old terms and dictionaries, it’s always important to place the author in a historical context. In this case, an educated man living in a world of early nineteenth century values. This means the source has preserved for us insight into how men, both educated and uneducated viewed common women.

In Part 2 of this blog, I will be presenting my glossary of terms from 1811 and provide a little more insight into how I saw the terms graded. Plus, I’ll introduce you to the worse word of all in 1811.

Click Here for professional help in documenting common ancestors.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Dictionaries, Glossary, Historical, Occupations

Royal Irish Constabulary (1816-1921)

14 Sep By Dwight Leave a Comment

The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) was Ireland’s armed police force. Some 85,028 men passed through its ranks. It operated alongside the Dublin Metropolitan Police (1836-1925) which had its own forces. Londonderry and Belfast also had their own forces, but they were disbanded by 1870. The RIC assumed their duties. The RIC included both Catholic and Protestant men. The RIC was used as a model in establishing the Canadian North West Mounted Police, the Victoria Police force in Australia, and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in Newfoundland, Canada.

It was created in 1816 and consisted of Irish born men. After 1900 they recruited men from England, Scotland, United States and Wales. The original records can be quite detailed including not only recruitment information, but also birth information and emigration data.

An ongoing index to the collection (1816-1921) is being created by Ancestry.com: www.ancestry.com from the microfilm of the records at the Family History Library (FHL). Their database “Ireland, The Royal Irish Constabulary 1816-1921” should be referenced constantly for updates. Without an index, the originals can be difficult to access. The Ancestry index lists the name, age, birthplace, year enlisted, FHL microfilm, and page number. It’s enough to get you into the microfilm of the original record.

This is an important genealogical topic; with no shortage of information online. There is an online “The Royal Irish Constabulary Forum” for descendants of the RIC: www.irishgenealogyqueries.yuku.com Irish genealogy blogger Donna Moughty also has a nice presentation on the RIC on her Monday July 18, 2011: www.moughty.com Other information can be found on the National Archives (KEW) website concerning their collection: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/royal-irish-constabulary.htm Also, do not overlook the RIC website: www.royalirishconstabulary.com

The RIC was disbanded in 1922 and replaced in the Irish Free State by the Garda Siochana and in Northern Ireland by the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Databases, Irish, Occupations

Dwight A. Radford

Dwight A. Radford is a professional family history researcher. Along with his staff they specialize in Ireland, England, Canada, African American, Native American, and United States. Connecting families together through historical documents and then creating a cherished family heirloom published book for generations to enjoy. Full bio…

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