Journal/Spiritual Diary of William Dawson, Bandon
TitelJournal/Spiritual Diary of William Dawson, Bandon
SignaturIE 627/SM890
Datum
1812-1861 (1796-1914)
Datum 1796 - 1914
Form und InhaltJournal/Spiritual Diary of William Dawson.
The journal begins with a record of Dawson’s marriage to Rebecca Williams on 8 January 1812 and of the births, marriages, and deaths of his children, and deaths of other family members. He then gives an account of his life, focusing on his spiritual development. Born 7 April 1786, Mount Pleasant, near Bandon, into a Church of England family. In 1800 he and his older brother joined the Methodist Society, despite parental disapproval. He was apprenticed to a Methodist woollen draper in Cork in 1805, and began his own drapery business on South Main Street in 1811. In 1818 a division occurred in the Methodist Society in Cork, but he did not join the seceding group. He became a Leader in the Society in 1819. The next entries are for 15 February 1820 and 14 June 1831, in which he records spiritual distress and comfort. ‘Bandon, February 1843’ refers to ‘embarrassments in trade, and serious pecuniary losses’. 18 October 1846: he is heartbroken at his son’s waywardness and has consented to his going to America. This son later joined the army in Liverpool. 1 July 1847: ‘This is a year of great calamity occasioned by the entire failure of the potatoe crop’; he gives distressing examples. 8 May 1848: he speaks on ‘the disturbed state of public affairs’, and of considering seeking his livelihood in America ‘which we are hardly able to procure in the land of our birth’. 12 August 1848: ‘Thank God several of the rebel chiefs have been arrested... and the rebellion crushed before it assumed sufficient strength’. The entry for 24 October 1848 records that he and his family have moved to Dublin. On 2 January 1849, he reflects on an ‘eventful’ preceding year, noting developments affecting ‘the nations of Europe’, including France, the Papal States, and England, as well as Ireland. On 14 August 1849 he records buying his son’s discharge from the army to pursue a medical career, overcoming ‘his disobedient and foolish conduct’. The final entry is for 17 May 1860, followed by a copy of a letter dated 26 April 1861. On the last page are notes, in other hands, of the deaths of descendants in 1902, 1908, and 1914.
The journal begins with a record of Dawson’s marriage to Rebecca Williams on 8 January 1812 and of the births, marriages, and deaths of his children, and deaths of other family members. He then gives an account of his life, focusing on his spiritual development. Born 7 April 1786, Mount Pleasant, near Bandon, into a Church of England family. In 1800 he and his older brother joined the Methodist Society, despite parental disapproval. He was apprenticed to a Methodist woollen draper in Cork in 1805, and began his own drapery business on South Main Street in 1811. In 1818 a division occurred in the Methodist Society in Cork, but he did not join the seceding group. He became a Leader in the Society in 1819. The next entries are for 15 February 1820 and 14 June 1831, in which he records spiritual distress and comfort. ‘Bandon, February 1843’ refers to ‘embarrassments in trade, and serious pecuniary losses’. 18 October 1846: he is heartbroken at his son’s waywardness and has consented to his going to America. This son later joined the army in Liverpool. 1 July 1847: ‘This is a year of great calamity occasioned by the entire failure of the potatoe crop’; he gives distressing examples. 8 May 1848: he speaks on ‘the disturbed state of public affairs’, and of considering seeking his livelihood in America ‘which we are hardly able to procure in the land of our birth’. 12 August 1848: ‘Thank God several of the rebel chiefs have been arrested... and the rebellion crushed before it assumed sufficient strength’. The entry for 24 October 1848 records that he and his family have moved to Dublin. On 2 January 1849, he reflects on an ‘eventful’ preceding year, noting developments affecting ‘the nations of Europe’, including France, the Papal States, and England, as well as Ireland. On 14 August 1849 he records buying his son’s discharge from the army to pursue a medical career, overcoming ‘his disobedient and foolish conduct’. The final entry is for 17 May 1860, followed by a copy of a letter dated 26 April 1861. On the last page are notes, in other hands, of the deaths of descendants in 1902, 1908, and 1914.
Umfang71pp
PersonenschlagwortDawson, William | 1786-c1861 | draper | Bandon and Dublin
SchlagwortDiaries and Journals, Religion, Methodist Church, 19th century
AccessHard copies: Accessible to Readers by appointment. Access restrictions apply to some collections. Digital object/copy: see Download Media and/or Digital Reference
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