beginnings

St Editha's Church and the Old Paregoric Shop, Tamworth

Henry Lark I Pratt (1805–1873)

Tamworth Castle

found on https://artuk.org/about the paregoric shop,

One of the two subjects of the painting, the late mediaeval Paregoric Shop, on Church Street, was demolished in 1936. It sold soothing medicines and paregoric or camphorated tincture of opium was sold well into the last century, having been developed in Leiden in the early eighteenth century. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/st-edithas-church-and-the-old-paregoric-shop-tamworth-18712#

The painting is dated 1856, so gives a flavour of life i Tamworth around the time Ben was born.


So to the story....

this story; this journey to find Bens Dad started in a time before the www internet was in homes and workplaces. It started with  a school history project of Amy's in the  1990's, using UK Birth records microfiche, in libraries, in  New Zealand, and a remnant of the family bible recording in grand letterplate, births, marriages and deaths for Ben family, and as Bens decendants recorded their generations the handwriting changes till the final entries are in my Dads hand; flourishes in blue ball point.

As time went on this search became mostly about searching the internet,  and finished with a google search from the couch at Foxton Beach, in December, 2021. Some 30 years of looking and wham bam there he was, Ben's reputed father. 

I have to say it was a let down.

Yes a let down. 

Over 30 years, I had tried out lots of potential Dads: 

• French Dads,  
• Aristocratic Dads, 
• Soldier Dads, 
• Sailor Dads, 
• Married Dads, 
• Dead Dads and shamefully sssh, 
• Incestuous Dads; such was the search for Ben's Dad. 

A mix of historical factoring, and romanticism, lacking sometimes all objectivity. Doggedly maintaining the search while others subscribed to the fiction "created by" a mid century Ben, that his Dad was a chap named James Bodell.

And then there he was, Bens Dad, in the bastardy examination records for Ben and it felt like a bit of a let down, a servant, working for a mid level gent. And who cared? Well actually nobody, but me. It was my search and I finally found him, and now I could complete my distaff (as it turns out) Bodell family tree.  

Family history is about ordinary people living ordinary lives, in the period, with the mores of the time that they lived and the events that shaped their environment.

The microfiche records in New Zealand back in the 1990's were the  baptismal records from St Editha Church, Tamworth, were generations of the family were baptised, married, and had their deaths recorded. 

The microfiche record from LDS showed Benjamin Bodell, baptised 4/8/1816 , at St Editha, Tamworth. Elizabeth Bodell as his mother, where his fathers name should have been it was blank.  

We debated why his mothers name would be shown, when the other records showed a father, but did not always show the mothers name. 

Elizabeth's mothers name was Elizabeth  it was possible that Ben was  the youngest son of Elizabeth(nee Fairweather) and Thomas Bodell. The last birth registered to the couple was Samuel in 1808, so it was possible. But it was also possible that there second oldest, a daughter Elizabeth aged 19 ish was the Mum. 

This was the beginning, of the search for Bens Dad.