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    Charles Babbage from the Beginning
    Charles Babbage from the Beginning
    Charles Babbage from the Beginning
    Ebook137 pages1 hour

    Charles Babbage from the Beginning

    By Lucy Simister

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    This is a three part story it deals with Charles Babbage's ancestors through the ages. Secondly, his own life as a child then as a teenager and going on to university, his family life. Thirdly  and his relationship with the remarkable Ada Bryon), and thirdly what inspired him to want to build a computer and his life as an inventor.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLucy Simister
    Release dateOct 11, 2015
    ISBN9781512149197
    Charles Babbage from the Beginning
    Author

    Lucy Simister

    Lucy Simister has written several biographical books and her subjects include John Keats, Elizabeth Barrett and Charles Dickens. In 2012 she wrote the book for the children’s musical ‘Trouble at Mill,’ and in 2014 wrote and published the comedy play ‘The Jolly Sailor’ - full of piratey goings on based in Plymouth. She works for Children’s Amateur Theatre Society and can be found most weekends on the road playing in one of several bands. With her writing, drama and gigs life can get pretty busy!

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      Book preview

      Charles Babbage from the Beginning - Lucy Simister

      Published by

      Moorside Publications

      moorsidepublications.com

      email:  moorsidepublications@gmail.com

      Chapter One... In the beginning

      To establish where a person comes from you have to look back at the family and the family's circumstances.  The fact that some of his ancestors became extremely wealthy meant he had the opportunity and advantages of education, which gave him the arrogance, tenacity and perseverance to succeed.  Charles opens his book ‘Passages from the Life of a Philosopher’ with a quote from Salmagundi: ‘traced his descent, through ages dark, from cats that caterwauled in Noah’s ark.’  For Charles an understanding of his ancestry gave life a sense of order.   

      Charles Babbage was interested in genealogy and the origin of his name.  He says that ‘the inheritance of a celebrated name is not, however, without its disadvantage.’  His father was a well known millionaire banker and this contributed to his own position in society.  He described living in the shadow of such a famous person as his father as being ‘deeply mortgaged [and] that he can never hope, by any effort of his own to redeem it.’       

      Charles Babbage wrote:  ‘What is in a name? It is merely an empty basket, until you put something into it.’

      The name Babbage appears to be an old Devonian name possibly deriving from the name Babb, which at his suggested was either from an established family who possibly named the lands they owned or perhaps they adopted the name of the area.  ‘The next step in my pedigree is to determine whence the origin of my modern family name.  Some would have supposed it to be derived from the cry of sheep.  If so, that would point to a descent from Shepherd Kings.  Others have supposed it is derived from the name of a place called Bab, or Babb, as we have, in the West of England, Babb Tor, Babbacombe etc.’

      three postcards0001.jpg

      A Combe is a Devon word for valley it could therefore mean this is the valley of the Babb’s.  It would make sense that the Babb family who were settled in that area made it known to others which land they considered theirs.  The Babb family do have ancient lineage in Dartmouth, Wolborough and Newton Abbott dating from 1500’s.  We know that the de Babecombe family that lived in the Babbacombe area were ousted from their lands by the Anglo Saxons and they took to the hills.  One forwarding address for them was found in 1523 at Saint Meacombe’s farm in Mortonhampstead.

      The name of both Babb and Babbacombe changed over the years with many variants such as Babbatt, Babbridge, Babbage, Bawbych, Bobbish, Babecombe and even Yabbacombe. Low levels of literacy and regional accents often meant the spellings and pronunciations of the name varied from place to place.  It was not until Government personal taxation was introduced that surnames became a necessity and it became law to write surnames on marriage records and oaths.  Even within Charles Babbage’s known ancestors the spelling changed. 

      Derivatives of the actual spelling of Babbage date back to the 8th century and are predominantly found in Totnes, Stoke Gabriel, Newton Abbot, Chudleigh, Ashreigny, Thorverton, Teignmouth, Mamhead, Ashprington, Dartmouth, Brixham, Mortonhampstead and Exeter.

      The earliest evidence in Europe of settlements was found in the Torquay in the Babbacombe area.   Later ones were found at Plymouth, Brixham, Haldon Hill and Grimspound where the remains of seventy five huts can still be found.  Early life was establishing itself in Devon. 

      Charles wrote `the heartland of Babbage territory is the triangle defined by Totnes, Dartmouth and Teignmouth, rich farming country largely formed of small fields and winding lanes typical of the land.  What open fields there had been in Devon were probably enclosed by the end of the 14th century.  From Totnes one can pass down the winding estuary of the Dart to Dartmouth, perched on the cliff, where Thomas Newcomen lived and worked.  To the north, past the fishing village of Brixham is the expanse of Torbay, used during the Napoleonic wars as a naval base. [Source, Pioneer of the Computer, by Anthony Hyman] 

      An early recording of the name Bawbych, bych being an old English/Celtic name for person, appears to be Stoke Gabriel in 1210, a spelling that does not survive today but is known to have evolved into the spelling of Babbage.  The village of Stoke Gabriel is found in a river creek along the River Dart it is three and a half miles from Totnes.  There are several ancient cottages and large manor houses, several pubs and an old church with a thousand year old tree.  Legend has it that if you walk around the tree backwards seven times it will grant you a wish.  It was then and still is popular for its fishing and boating.

      Charles had a mixed ancestry they started as non-conformist then became traditional church goers.  Some were extremely militant Catholics with involvement in the Gun Powder Plot some were extremely militant Protestants that went to America because of tolerance being showed to Catholics.  Some started off on parish poor relief but within years worked themselves up to being part of the Totnes guild.  Some of them arrived to England seeking exile from persecution others arrived as conquerors.    

      Babbage wrote that many years ago he met he was at a party and talking to a Mr Rodger, ‘somebody introduced the subject of ancestry.  I remarked that most people are reluctant to acknowledge as their father or grandfather, any person who had committed a dishonest action or a crime... that no one scrupled to be proud of a remote ancestor, even though he might have been a thief or murderer.’ 

      Charles wrote `in recent times, that is, since the Conquest, my knowledge of my family history is limited’.  Charles was referring to the unfortunate omission of his name from the Domesday Book, [p4] though a Richard Babecombe signed up to pay his taxes in April 1440 at Kingsteignton.  Devon was sparsely populated at this time - depleted by war, followed by the plague, which was usually the result of war.  No harvests were being attended to, livestock was neglected and society had become generally lawless.  Only the extremely wealthy were reasonably secure, with 60% of the population employed as servants.     

      Some of Charles’ ancestors were immigrant families who felt it expedient to anglicise their names according to the political climate.  In 1465 it was made law that all Irish settlers take an English surname and after the war with France it was far safer to anglicize French sounding names.  Charles’s great-great-great Grandmother Elinora Ashellayes’ family changed theirs to Ashley and his great-great grandmother Margaret Laverse’s family changed theirs to Lavers.  These new hybrid names often became the adopted definitive.

      Devon was doing well trading internationally in leather and cattle until the discovery of tin.  This high grade tin was essential in the process of making copper, bronze and pewter.  The tin found in the Devon Rivers was of the highest quality as all the impurities had been washed out.  This discovery brought prosperity trading through places such as Bantham, Stoke Fleming and Plymouth.

      When the Phoenicians arrived they brought lots of goodies, some nice glassware and timber.  They brought over some oil and purple dyed cloth and ivory, silver and copper.  They bought with them the recipe for ice cream which became very popular, not being a particular warm country we had just not got round to inventing it.  They introduced the Devon Red Cow and that made such a difference too. 

      Gradually the Celts moved in, this was less of an invasion then a collective migration.  They were a rowdy lot the Celts they were ruthless warriors that warred with anyone and everyone particularly themselves.  They had already invaded most of Europe, including Rome, so by consequence of their actions they are considered the ‘founders of Europe.’

      It was quite possible it was our high quality tin that was making us popular with the Celts.  There are many records of Celtic battles being stopped whilst their swords were bent back into shape, which could be a disadvantage at such a critical time.  Both men and women warriors coveted quality swords, shields and jewellery.  Many women chose to be buried with their weapons of choice.  

      In return the Celts introduced to Devon to the iron plough and the potter’s wheel and the spinning of thread and the weaving of it into cloth.  The name Devon is Celtic for dark valleys and any place name with a ton in the spelling is Celtic for farm or settlement. Once the Celts had told the Romans where Britain was and how cheap the tin was they decided to pay a visit too.  And like the Celts there were various foreign exchange trips over a period of seventy years to see if what they had said about our bread and wheat and tin was true and if it really did rain that much. 

      Eventually someone high up in Rome decided even though it did rain, it could still be a handy little out-post and being so thinly populated it should not be too difficult.  So in 43 A D on the coast of Kent an impressive and organised army of 40,000 troops arrived.  At the time their only resistance was an alliance of tribes lead by the warrior Queen Cartimandu of the Brigantes tribe.  Given the enormity of the invasion she was defeated.  However she continued to rule as client-queen and reported back to Emperor Claudius - a strategically tricky position.

      Later on as more Roman troops arrived, Boadicea, who was slightly less compromising, got up an army and regained Colchester in what must have been the bloodiest of battles as 70,000 Roman troops were slaughtered.  This made Emperor Nero very angry so he doubled the

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