A Victorian Scrapbook of Newspaper Articles by George Burgess (1829-1905)

The scrapbook of over 500 Victorian newspaper articles collected by George Burgess during his working life between the 1840s and 1900s are mostly undated from British and American newspapers which he collected from when he was America completing his apprenticeship in stonemasonry. When he ran out of space in his Victorian Scrapbook he stuck the newer newspaper articles over the older ones; a few have come adrift over time and most of the newspaper cuttings have deteriorated with age.

19th Century American and British Newspaper Articles Saved By George Burgess in His Scrapbook

The Complete Copy of this Victorian scrapbook (Victorian Newspapers) can be viewed on Nathanville (my genealogy website).

The Victorian Scrapbook is notable as it gives insight into George Burgess as a person and shows what his interests were.

These Victorian era newspaper articles saved by him in his Victorian Scrapbook cover the following subjects:

• Family
• Health
• Education
• Humour
• Poetry
• Politics
• History
• Religion
• Science
• Nature
• Temperance, and
• Victorian Culture (Society)

Phrenologist

George Burgess was a phrenologist by profession. He was born into Victorian society and he loved reading and writing.

When he was young, and before settling down to married life in Bristol (his birth place) he visited America three times, which is where he developed his views on life and learned the art of phrenology. Not only did he compile his own scrapbook but he also wrote his own diary, poems, his religious thoughts and at least two books on Phrenology.

In his diary he wrote about his life and his family; his children, his parents and his grandfather, John Willis (a farmer at `The Batch', Hanham, near Bristol).

In his diary George Burgess wrote his family history and family tree back to his grandfather. On my genealogy website not only have I transcribed his diary and most of his writings but I have also expanded upon his good works in a comprehensive genealogy section which now contains thousands of related people in an extended family.

In this article I’ve included selected extracts of articles from my website on:-

• 'Mothers Last Words' by Mary Sewell (1797-1884), a touching story cherished by George Burgess
• `The Stickler Roots' and Thomas Arthur VC, one of his daughters (Maud Lilley Burgess) married into the Stickler family and Thomas Arthur VC become her grandfather-in-law.

To read the full articles and see more on genealogy use the link below to my website.

George Burgess loved reading and one of the booklets he cherished and kept, and which has since been passed down through the generations is Mother's Last Words by Mary Sewell.

Mary Sewell, the mother of Anna Sewell (the author of `Black Beauty') was born into the Quaker faith in 1797, and lived at the Blue Lodge, Wick from 1858 to 1864. She had a great love of poetry and wrote `Mother's Last Words' (which sold millions of copies throughout the world) while living at Wick, near Bristol. George Burgess, himself a great lover of poetry spent his earlier years reading and writing down that which appealed to him, including `Mother's Last Word' which he copied word for word into an exercise book. The booklet reproduced on Nathanville is a copy of that original booklet which George Burgess bought for his enjoyment.

Pvlcrecerce to Brigstowe

Maud Lilley Burgess (a daughter of George Burgess) joined the Stickler family when in 1906 she married Albert Thomas Arthur Stickler (grandson of Thomas Arthur VC).

On Nathanville read the full story of the Pucklechurch Stickler's; the history of the Stickler family from Thomas Stickler and Jane Mealing in the 18th Century to their descendants around the world. In this journey follow the lives of:-

• The Joint & Richard families as they join the Sticklers
• The Stickler families in America and Canada
• Thomas Arthur VC (real name Thomas McArthur), and
• The Australian Stickler branch as they join the Bang family from Denmark, and their Australian descendants.

Gunner Thomas Arthur of Abbotsham, VC of Bideford

Thomas Arthur VC (aka Thomas McArthur) being the grandfather of Albert Thomas Arthur Stickler (son-in-law) of George Burgess.

It was June 1855 and twenty-year-old Gunner and Driver Thomas Arthur (aka Thomas McArthur), a member of the Royal Artillery Regiment, was with his artillery battery in an advanced position at Sebastopol. The British were attacking the Russians in an endeavour to capture a place known as the Quarries. Thomas Arthur was in charge of the ammunition magazine but his deeds went well beyond that call of duty. The fighting was intense and he realised that infantry of the 7th Fusiliers were short of ammunition. Despite having to cross open ground, under fire from the enemy, he made repeated runs carrying supplies of ammunition. Eleven days later, he volunteered to lead a party to spike the guns of the Russian artillery positioned at the Redan Fort, a fortified gun position. On top of this, there were numerous times when he left the trenches to bring in wounded officers and men. For this combination of heroic actions, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

A Period in History of Political and Social Reforms and Technological Achievements

Many civilisations across the world saw great advancements during this time, but what do you think.

Grand Daughter-in-law of George Burgess

This short video was made by me in honour of Florence Jenner 1901-1994. Florence Jenner married Edward William Burgess Baglin, the grandson of George Burgess (son of Gertrude Rosa Burgess). In this video (a slideshow of Florence Jenner) she speaks a little welsh before playing the accordion.