1815 Info 1c for Richardson Crompton
The emigration of Richardson Crompton's children |
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Hypothesis
The UK 1851 census shows the family farming the 124 acre South Sea Farm, Flamborough, having
enough productivity to employ one man. According to the 1861 census, following Richardson‘s
death on 24 August 1859, Hannah, ran the 130 acre North Moor Farm, Flamborough. Since her children
were recorded as "farmer‘s children" and since she employed two "farm
servant" a degree of wealth is
suggested.
However in 1863 Hannah married Richard HUDDLESTON and four of her children emigrated to the
Christchurch area. They are not listed as passengers on assisted passages.
Why the children left a potentially affluent environment is a question to be asked. It would be
reasonable to expect the farm to pass to Hannah‘s eldest child Stephen
Clubley CROMPTON and for the
younger members of the family to disperse. Stephen‘s emigration and the fact that Hannah was
buried in Richardson‘s grave suggest that life with Richard Huddleston was not a bed of roses.
An enticement to emigrate?
Throughout the second half of the 19th century enticing advertisements appeared to attract
'labourers' throughout the United Kingdom to the 'promised land' of New Zealand.
At a time of agricultural uncertainty and pending rural poverty and when the
Colonies were expanding, agents for the various Government land agencies travelled the
country enticing the 'Working classes' to emigrate. The example below illustrates the
temptations for inhabitants of Lincolnshire to start a new life in the Auckland area.
Lincoln, Rutland and Stamford Mercury
27 May 1859
EMIGRATION to NEW ZEALAND PARADISE -
Free Gift of a Forty Acre Farm; Mr J. Jun, agent to the provincial Govt. of Auckland is
authorised to give the following notice: Every industrious Man or Woman of good character and
not through age, infirmity or other cause, unlikely to form a useful colonist, will, on approval,
receive a Free Gift of Forty Acres of Good Land in the province of Auckland New Zealand,
together with Forty Acres more for each person above 18 years, and Twenty Acres for each child
above and under 18 yrs of age, who he may take with him to the Colony.
The advert went on to say that emigrants had to pay their own passage and that female domestic
servants and agricultural labourers were especially eligible. Further down the same page the
cost of passage was advertised, being then (1859): 1st class cabin from 50 gns (guineas) and
2nd class cabins from 30 gns. It took over 80 days to get to New Zealand. |
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1815info3, sheet 2
It is with some certainty that, even after the sailing of the first four
ships in in late 1850, agents for the Canterbury Association visited parishes of the
Yorkshire Wolds to recruit, or entice emigration immigrants for Canterbury. It is possible
that Stephen Clubley CROMPTON, following the remarriage of his mother to Richard Huddleston,
was attracted by this new life.
Both advertisements call for trades within his agricultural experience: labourer, ploughman,
shepherd.
One 'Agent' was Mr. White, who encouraged people to leave Lincolnshire for the Tarnanki area
New Zealand in 1875. He describes not only the standards and requirements for the potential
emigrants but also the social status of the villagers, his methods of enticement and the
resentment of local landowners who saw a potential drain on their labour. See highlights
below.
Right: source:
New Zealand Yesteryears! |
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MR BURTON IN LINCOLNSHIRE
To the Editor of the Taranaki Herald.
Sir, - Having seen in a recent issue
of your contemporary, The Budget, some strictures and criticisms on your emigration agent
and his work while in England, and knowing how uninformed on the subject the writer must
have been, having myself been witness to the diligent, discriminating, and unremitting
toil with which Mr Burton has spread information, selected suitable emigrants, and the
remarkable success which has met his meriting labours, I feel I cannot do less than send
a short note of information ...
Some twelve months ago I was honoured
by appointment of Dr Featherston with commission for emigration work, and had the pleasure
of holding meetings and co-operating with Mr Duncan, from the Canterbury Province, in his
tour through North Lincolnshire. ... It so happened that the Agent-General mentioned North
Lincolnshire in connection with my name to
MR BURTON
who first ascertaining that the men were of the right stamp, and that there was probability
of ultimate success in the locality, went to work in good earnest until his name and Mrs
Burton's are household words through the whole district. ... First in |
1815info3, sheet 3
SPREADING INFORMATION
... advertisements are practically useless so far as the farm labourer is concerned, for as
a rule he does not read. The same class rarely assemble, as they have no political voice or
social standing, and there are few rooms available for any meeting on their account.
Then their knowledge is so limited that they can
hardly be persuaded of the truth concerning the Colony, and their means so small that it is
almost an impossibility to raise clothing for the voyage, let alone ship kits and railway
fares to the ship. ... Again in months of our winter, November to March, it is
impossible to get them to move; so that coping with these difficulties and others I will
point out it speaks volumes for Mr Burton's energy and discretion that
500 souls have left Lincolnshire for Taranaki
in April, May and June. Another difficulty and great one lies in the stern opposition to
emigration by the bulk of our influential dwellers in the rural districts. ... An incident
occurring not two days ago in connection with
THIS WEEK'S LECTURE TOUR
will best illustrate some of the difficulties under which the Emigration Agents labour ... .
Leaving Laceby, (the centre of our operations), a four mile dusty drive to Grimsby, brought
Mr Burton and myself to Grimsby, where taking train, we booked to Barton-on-Humber. Reaching
this place by twenty miles rail-travel, we walked after tea some four miles to a secluded
village further inland, also on the river bank, called South Ferriby. Here lay our night's
work -
A PUBLIC MEETING
duly advertised by the Labour League, to which many of the men of the district belong. The
place of the meeting was to be of necessity out of doors. No school-room was obtained and our
advent was evidently an audacious thing. Announced to be taken at half-past seven, the chair,
and being the only seat, well called the chair, was vacant till eight, no resident daring
to occupy it. By this time the tardy gathering counted some one hundred and fifty squatted
on the green bank of a retired highway leading from the village. The arrival of a brave
spirit, locally well known, was the signal for his immediate votal to the chair by more
timid villages. Giving a brief speech he called upon
myself to address the motley and moving group. This I did referring to the numbers gone to
New Zealand - the news of arriving to a good reception and prospects on arrival -
contrasting this with the helpless and hopeless condition of those before me, and giving
good reason why they should copy the example so bravely set by those who had already gone.
Mr Burton followed me, outlining
THE GOVERNMENT SCHEME OF FREE PASSAGES,
detailing its conditions, meeting English objections ad explaining the reason of the
difference of remuneration here and with you to the farm labourer was suddenly interrupted
in an unexpected fashion, as I will now relate. To my own eye, as witnessed.
THE SCENE WAS MOST LUDICROUS,
and even now, in recalling, I am terribly amused with the event. The chairman and speaker
were on one side of the narrow roadway, with some dozen or two aside and behind them. The
way itself was clear. The slope opposite was dotted some 20 or 30 yards along, and five or
six yards deep, with the then tolerably attentive listeners.
From the up the hill I saw coming, with somewhat martial bearing and very measured tread,
as if the comer meant something, a man I judged to be a farmer [who] ... cut quite an
imposing figure. The eyes of the audience glanced uneasily towards him, as if they
wondered what his coming boded. The suspense was short, for on reaching Mr. Burton's
standing place, he drew his straightened figure higher yet if possible, and turning round,
rudely faced the speaker, blurting out in a threatening attitude: "I authorise you to
move off this ground at once." ... Let me say that
MR BURTON'S LABOURS HAVE BEEN INCESSANT.
Long walks, and protracted meetings, repeated interviews, and tedious and multiplied letter
writing, besides a number of nameless yet necessary duties, have filled up his time as none
in the Colony can understand; nor will the worth of
his work be known till the physical, social, and moral value of the emigrants he has
selected is shown in a prosperous community, an increased revenue and the national
consolidation which will, I feel sure, ensure, and be owning to the conscience which your
agent has put into his work. ... Hoping some of my own late neighbours and friends
are amongst you ere this arrives, and that you will treat them well, as being good men they
deserve to be treated, - I am, &c., JOHN H. WHITE, The North Lincolnshire N.Z.
Emigration Agent. Laceby, near Grimsby, 8th July, 1875. |
Source:
Papers Past, Taranaki Herald
1815info3, sheet 4
It is not difficult to imagine, when considering the death of his father, his mother's remarriage
and the possible loss of his inheritance, his will and occupation at death, that Stephen Clubley
CROMPTON was one of these 'poor souls' who attended such a meeting, not too far away from Grimsby, and who
sought a new life in New Zealand.
The experiences of John HILLARY, reflected in his diary describing his emigration to New Zealand
on the "Westland", and of his attempt to settle in the Christchurch area must have
mirrored those of Emily Hyde. Apart from hearing news of New Zealand from her brothers it is
possible that she listened to the same Rev. J BERRY on his preaching circuit, as the East Riding
isn't far from Hillary's Durham home of Tow Law.
"In the year 1879 there
was touring this country the Rev. J. Berry who would seem to have been an agent for the New Zealand
Government. He extolled the virtues of that country and advised people to emigrate to New Zealand
and there make their fortunes. John Hillary, a shopkeeper in the small north eastern town of Tow
Law, being a deeply religious man, listened to the blandishments of the reverend gentleman and
being sure that only truth could come from such a source, decided that as New Zealand must be
"the promised land" he would act upon the advice given."
In order to be accepted as an immigrant to New Zealand occupations were often given as the much
needed agricultural labourers, for the expanding farmland, and domestic servants, for those people
who have established themselves in their new country. Emily changed from "farmer's
daughter" of the 1871 census to "domestic servant" on her wedding certificate and it
is possible that Paul Roach Glasson possibly changed his Cornish occupation from blacksmith to farm
labourer.
However Hillary and Emily Hyde CROMPTON had arrived at the wrong time. The Otago gold rush, which had
brought more riches than Alaska, was now ended. The Canterbury area was experiencing a drought,
which had reduced the crop yield, and the wool price had fallen heavily on the world market. Being
a new country much was imported creating a balance of payment deficit and reduced employment and
wages. Highly paid men in good positions in the UK and earning 50/- per week now earned 21/-.
"Having read Agent
General‘s Hand Book and Rev. J. Berry‘s Pamphlet, I expected statements therein made as
to abundance of work, high wages etc and general prosperity of New Zealand to be true. What was our
surprise on landing to find hundreds walking the streets who could not get a day‘s work.
Prospect beingso dark we saw the necessity of moving very cautiously ....
.... Much indignation is
freely expressed, several of the more conscientious tradesmen joining, and the newspapers
publishing letters and leaders charging home upon the Government the inconsistency of inveighling
people away from their comfortable English homes by means of exaggerated and one sided lectures and
pamphlets, to sorrow, untold suffering, disappointment and almost despair.
A clerk, a new chum, nor not
able to get work took to book hawking and the day he called upon us he said that from that day week,
he had not taken a penny. Another clerk called about the same time who having been out 15 months
and got nothing, was trying to sell vinegar at a small commission. Another, Mr. W. Raine, had only
a few hours carrying for the mason and returned with Mr Williams on the SS Cotopax.
Met a family of father, mother
and two sons who paid their passage and came out from Bradford shortly after us. They were printers
to trade and had been in one of the best establishments in England at a good salary, had read the
pamphlets and were persuaded. It was pitiful to hear their regrets. Could not get a day‘s work
and took to hawking tea, but found this a played-out game and next door to begging. The older son,
who was a widower, with much emotion and tears, told me they would never settle and be happy until
they were home again, and if friends in Bradford only knew their position they would subscribe to
pay their passage back. Mother was out at work and at harvest time the three men would go up country
harvesting, work hard and save every penny until they could raise passage money."
Abstract from: Hillary JH, 1979, "Westland Journal of John Hillary, emigrant to New
Zealand 1879", Acorn, Norfolk ISBN 0 906554 01 2
1815info3, sheet 5
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Our arrival in this
far-off land, after a passage of 104 days, having sailed on the 12th September 1849, and
landed at Port Chalmers on Christmas-day. Since that period I have been knocking about all
over the country, have examined the whole of the Company's block from end to end. Port
Chalmers, the only present-seaport of the settlement, is most beautifully situate in a small
bay. It is distant from Dunedin about nine miles, the country being all forest, or what is
here called "bush." The sail up the arm of the sea, here called a river, is
certainly very beautiful, until you come within sight of Dunedin, when one of the coldest,
bleakest, and most wretched looking counties opens out upon you that you could well behold.
The site of Dunedin itself is actually pitched upon a mass of hills, having such big gullies
between them, that nothing save an earthquake coming to level them could ever make it
suitable for the site of a town; early jobbing or ignorance and mismanagement, gained the
day, and the poor settlers are now reaping the consequences. "The theory of
concentration and contiguity," so urgently upheld by the leaders in this settlement, by
inducing the early comers to take up their abode near the town, has proved, and will
continue to prove, eminently ruinous to the colony, so long as such fatal counsel is allowed
to bear paramount away. The generality of the most
respectable emigrants who came out are supposed to bring with them from £150 to £250 in cash.
Of this sum £100 go to pay the heavy expenses of living in the town with their families
until they can get a house upon their suburban section; next comes the expense of transport
of their goods and chattels over a country where roads are promised, but where none exist;
erecting their house where all the timber has to be brought from a distance, and with a
multitude of other outlays, all of which when subtracted from his reduced capital, must
evidently leave him but a very small sum to commence his cultivation of the poorest land on
the whole block. Where, now, are his means for purchase of a few cows to breed stock
from, the principal return you can expect to get for your money in this country. But let us
take the more fortunate instances, where the settlers have, perhaps, either had a larger
capital, or, having managed more economically, have succeed in buying a few head of cattle.
The result has been, that some half-a-dozen of these individuals have, by overstocking the
suburban districts with their cattle, been compelled, with their diminished means, to move
inland, in order that their beasts should not stave in winter. ....
The climate is not nearly so hot as
represented, but from what I have seen, superior by far to our own at home. The Taieri plain,
and Tokomairiro also, no doubt contain much good pasturage on the ranges surrounding the,
but the plains themselves are too wet for any immediate use, and could only be brought into
cultivation, after an expense far beyond the means of a young colony...
The Mollineux district, is bounded on the
north by the Matau river, and on the south by a high range of hills which are suppose to run
as far as the west coast;...
All we want down here are roads, and
emigrants to stock the country, and then we are sure to go ahead.
If a man can begin with 400 or 500 sheep, his fortune is made in five or six years as
certainly as the ground exists on which he stands. ... |
1815info3, sheet 6
The previous extract from page 4 of the Otago Witness, although south of Christchurch, also
gives a flavour of what life may have been like for the early settlers to the north and may account
for the hard life experienced by Richardson's emigrant children.
Source:
Papers Past, Otago Witness Extract from a letter, dated Mollineux, New Zealand, March 1850
It was in to this economic climate that certainly Emily Hyde CROMPTON landed and Stephen
Clubley CROMPTON and
Thomas Richardson CROMPTON found themselves. One wonders whether Stephen‘s lowly position of ploughman
resulted from the economic depression of the late 1870s and early 1880s. It wasn‘t until ten
years later that refrigeration revitalised the meat and diary product trade to the UK and New
Zealand's prosperity increased.
The Spyglasses, that follow, describe the life of Richardson's four children in New Zealand.
