Hi John, Just thought to would deal with your: "how John wound up so far from home?" and "what would John the Elder have been doing there at the time?" Your ancestor's connection to the gentry and to the merchant class goes along way to explain why John Springham ended up in Barbados. There are two things to know about the English Gentry and other landed families. The first was the importance of Land and the institution of Primogeniture. Land for a long time had been a source of wealth and status. Long before the 1660's land was the most important item sold/bought/traded in England. Among the deeds of many families could be found deeds to several parcels of land in as many counties. This pointed to the need for more land, and colonisation abroad served the end of land acquisition and a possibility of land ownership, with the same status of land-owner, with lots of servants in a manor-like house. The problem abroad was that the land owned was a plantation and the servants were first bonded/indentured British labourers, sentenced to transportation abroad for some petty theft or even vagrancy, and after the early years of colonisation, the labourers became mostly enslaved Africans transported to places like the West Indies. So the attempt to ape the British Landed Class by other Britishers for long produced/supported a system of bonded service and slavery. And who were the ones that were in the vanguard of those aping the Landed British Classes? These were the sons of that class that were shut out of inheritance of the land and manor by the system of Primogeniture, i.e., the inheritance of property by the first born son, or next in line. As such the other sons basically had to fend for themselves, by going into the army, the clergy, the navy or professions like lawyer and Doctor, or the service of other Gentry and gentlemen and the Aristocracy, as Secretaries, tutors, managers of affairs etc. or as gentlemen settlers abroad. They were also able to marry into a developing merchant class which served to put money in the hands of the landless sons of the Landed Classes, (of Gentry and Aristocracy) which enabled them to live like gentlemen. In return the merchants and their daughters acquired status, plus an entree to the power-holders in British society - the landed classes. As a doctor in the West Indies, John would have been able to make a good living from treating other Europeans and the multitude of slaves on the plantations. That is, if he did not succumb to drink and debauchery and ended up a very poor human being, unworthy of status and respect. I think that by relative rarity as a Doctor abroad, he would have had a higher status than at home, where he would have also been a barber, and a surgeon, sawing of limbs. There would also have been more opportunity to make money, through making his own medicines. In his spare time, with the money he acquired, he could invest in some business scheme or other. Many opportunities would be available in importing the fineries in fashion at home, be it wines, alcohol or clothes, books etc. or taking shares in companies trading in this part of the world or others, in spices, or even in enslaved Africans, or speculating in land in the colony or other colonies. I hope this serves to answer your questions some-what. Best regards, Richard Allicock, Toronto, Canada ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Paul Bradford" <johnpaul.bradford@sympatico.ca> To: <CARIBBEAN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2003 7:12 PM Subject: New To List - SPRINGHAMS in Barbadoes > Holy Thursday > > Just came across a distant branch of the family which settled in > Barbados. John SPRINGHAM married Sarah Berry in 1663. He is referred to > as "Doctor". I have the will of one son, also a John and also a doctor > in the Royal Navy. Is it likely that I will find additional information > on these people beyond the parish records? Also, could anyone take a > guess as to how they wound up so far from home? What would John the > Elder have been doing there at that time? The area is new to me. Just > starting to scan through histories of Barbados on line. Not much there. > Most SPRINGHAMS in England were not exactly upwardly mobile but one > branch became involved in trade in the 1550's and seems to have produced > some important merchants over the next century and marrying into some > gentry families. Anyone able to hazard a guess as to what status > "Doctor" Springham might have had? > > God Bless > > John Paul Bradford > > > > ==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== > all messages posted to CARIBBEAN-L are archived at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ > Before posting a query, see if the question has already been asked > >

Holy Saturday Richard, I have had two fantastic replies to my query. One dumped a load of information on the Barbados Springhams in my lap and now yours has helped to put everything into perspective. It is exactly the kind of orientation I need to deal with this unfamilar area. I really want to thank you for the time it took to write up and I can assure you that it was worth it. You have a very happy researcher on this end. I can now look at one particular Springham line as the likely source of this Barbados crew. It also looks like you are right. John Springham did obtain land on the island, 22 acres in the census of 1679. Since his son went into the Royal Navy it is a good guess that the father did also. I wonder where he picked up his medical knowledge. I've read there were no medical schools and it was done by apprenticeship at this time. It is another thing to learn about. God Bless John Paul Richard Allicock wrote: >Hi John, > >Just thought to would deal with your: "how John wound up so far from home?" >and "what would John the Elder have been doing there at the time?" Your >ancestor's connection to the gentry and to the merchant class goes along way >to explain why John Springham ended up in Barbados. > >There are two things to know about the English Gentry and other landed >families. The first was the importance of Land and the institution of >Primogeniture. > >Land for a long time had been a source of wealth and status. Long before the >1660's land was the most important item sold/bought/traded in England. Among >the deeds of many families could be found deeds to several parcels of land >in as many counties. This pointed to the need for more land, and >colonisation abroad served the end of land acquisition and a possibility of >land ownership, with the same status of land-owner, with lots of servants in >a manor-like house. > >The problem abroad was that the land owned was a plantation and the servants >were first bonded/indentured British labourers, sentenced to transportation >abroad for some petty theft or even vagrancy, and after the early years of >colonisation, the labourers became mostly enslaved Africans transported to >places like the West Indies. So the attempt to ape the British Landed Class >by other Britishers for long produced/supported a system of bonded service >and slavery. > >And who were the ones that were in the vanguard of those aping the Landed >British Classes? These were the sons of that class that were shut out of >inheritance of the land and manor by the system of Primogeniture, i.e., the >inheritance of property by the first born son, or next in line. As such the >other sons basically had to fend for themselves, by going into the army, the >clergy, the navy or professions like lawyer and Doctor, or the service of >other Gentry and gentlemen and the Aristocracy, as Secretaries, tutors, >managers of affairs etc. or as gentlemen settlers abroad. They were also >able to marry into a developing merchant class which served to put money in >the hands of the landless sons of the Landed Classes, (of Gentry and >Aristocracy) which enabled them to live like gentlemen. In return the >merchants and their daughters acquired status, plus an entree to the >power-holders in British society - the landed classes. > >As a doctor in the West Indies, John would have been able to make a good >living from treating other Europeans and the multitude of slaves on the >plantations. That is, if he did not succumb to drink and debauchery and >ended up a very poor human being, unworthy of status and respect. I think >that by relative rarity as a Doctor abroad, he would have had a higher >status than at home, where he would have also been a barber, and a surgeon, >sawing of limbs. > >There would also have been more opportunity to make money, through making >his own medicines. In his spare time, with the money he acquired, he could >invest in some business scheme or other. Many opportunities would be >available in importing the fineries in fashion at home, be it wines, alcohol >or clothes, books etc. or taking shares in companies trading in this part of >the world or others, in spices, or even in enslaved Africans, or speculating >in land in the colony or other colonies. > >I hope this serves to answer your questions some-what. > >Best regards, >Richard Allicock, >Toronto, Canada >----- Original Message ----- >From: "John Paul Bradford" <johnpaul.bradford@sympatico.ca> >To: <CARIBBEAN-L@rootsweb.com> >Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2003 7:12 PM >Subject: New To List - SPRINGHAMS in Barbadoes > > >>Holy Thursday >> >>Just came across a distant branch of the family which settled in >>Barbados. John SPRINGHAM married Sarah Berry in 1663. He is referred to >>as "Doctor". I have the will of one son, also a John and also a doctor >>in the Royal Navy. Is it likely that I will find additional information >>on these people beyond the parish records? Also, could anyone take a >>guess as to how they wound up so far from home? What would John the >>Elder have been doing there at that time? The area is new to me. Just >>starting to scan through histories of Barbados on line. Not much there. >>Most SPRINGHAMS in England were not exactly upwardly mobile but one >>branch became involved in trade in the 1550's and seems to have produced >>some important merchants over the next century and marrying into some >>gentry families. Anyone able to hazard a guess as to what status >>"Doctor" Springham might have had? >> >>God Bless >> >>John Paul Bradford >> >> >> >>==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== >>all messages posted to CARIBBEAN-L are archived at >> >http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ > >>Before posting a query, see if the question has already been asked >> >> > > >==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== >all messages posted to CARIBBEAN-L are archived at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ >Before posting a query, see if the question has already been asked > >