The 'Lincolnshire Farmers' in Paraguay

Who were these emigrants and their backers?

Background to the list    Notes to the list    A list of names   A—K    L—Z

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Background to the list

Two of us have been researching this question for many years: Mary Godward in Buenos Aires, a descendant from one of these settlers; I first came across this subject when I was sent the text of an anguished letter by Tom Shrewsbury and wanted to include it on my website on British settlers in Argentina.

As our studies developed, our curiosity grew as to whether we could reconstruct the list of names of these would-be settlers in the Paraguayan Chaco. At first it seemed an impossible task. None of the earlier researchers, Harris Gaylord Warren, Juan Carlos Herken Krauer and Andrew Nickson, offered much help for this project.

The basic problem is that passenger lists for vessels leaving the United Kingdom in 1872 no longer exist. However, the first suggestion of a breakthrough came when a friend in Buenos Aires discovered in the Archivo General de la Nación a list of those immigrants that arrived in Rosario. This was contained within a report sent by the immigration authorities in Rosario to Buenos Aires.

In 2008, a fellow researcher, Professor Juan Delius, tracked down in the Ibero-Amerikanische Bibliotek, Berlin the complete official report from which the Rosario report was only a small part. It was entitled Memoria del Encargado de la Repartición de Inmigración, 1874 and Appendix A consists of a transcription of the handwritten register Entrada de Pasajeros maintained at immigration control at both Buenos Aires and Rosario. It appears evident that each ship’s captain submitted a copy of his passenger list on arrival.

But our problems were not yet solved, valuable though this document discovered in Berlin is. We had to try and solve the mysteries made by the distortions in the spelling of names caused by multiple misreadings of the ship’s captains handwriting. In brief, what seems to have happened is that: (a) the passenger list was copied into the Entrada de Pasajeros volume; (b) when the printed report was being prepared, the person responsible had to interpret the handwriting in immigration records; and (c) the typesetter had to convert into type accurately what had been prepared.

The evidence shows clearly that some very serious errors were made. For example Kettle had become Kethe, Wainwright had become Wamuright, Vinicombe had become Viniconeb and Butterworth had become Buternarht. In contrast, many other names had come through unscathed.

This printed list, despite its shortcomings has proved to be important, especially as it gives the names and ages of both adults and children, details of occupations, the name of the river ship on which they arrived and details of where the newly arrived settlers were sent on to. However interpreting the names has been an unsatisfactory obstacle.

The next discovery has altered the whole picture. In July 2010, continuing research at The National Archives in Kew, London has brought to light in the volume FO 118/150 ff. 261-269. Here are many of the lists made by the captains of the ships as they received these settlers onboard in Paraguay. The handwriting is clear and unambiguous.

So at last we have now clear contact with the families.

The passenger lists made by the ship’s captains are restricted to include only the name of each head of the family and how many children that were travelling with them, with their ages. But, usefully, they include the name of which settlement in Paraguay they were living, information previously unknown.

Combining the information given by both sources has opened the possibility of locating those families living in England at the time of the national census of 1871. This has given a mass of new information about the composition of each family, their ages and place of birth and occupation. It is, additionally, possible to tell a little about the conditions under which each family was living.

The tables of names and details that follow are a summary of our researches. As more information comes to light, so it will be added.

Jeremy Howat

NOTES on the headings

Names—Women appear by their maiden name, when known. Their married name, when known, appears between brackets.
Age/Year of birth—Age as shown on the passenger lists; year of birth as it appears in other documents, shown between brackets.
Occupation in 1873—As shown on the passenger lists.
Employment in 1871—As shown on 1871 UK census.
Marital status—As shown on the passenger lists. Corrections appear between brackets.
Nationality—As shown on passenger lists. Corrections appear between brackets.
Residence in UK in 1871 where known—Place of residence in the UK before travelling to Paraguay.
Paraguay—Where known, name of colony in Paraguay.
Port of arrival—Port of arrival in Argentina after leaving Paraguay.
Steamer—Name of the river steamer bringing the immigrant to Argentina.
Date of arrival—Date of arrival in Argentina of the steamer after leaving Paraguay. All colonists arrived in 1873 in Argentina.
Destination—As shown on the passenger lists and decided by the Immigration Commission in Argentina.
Permanent residence in subsequent years—Information gathered from later documentary sources.

REFERENCES

#   1861 UK census.
*   1871 UK census.
**   UK Birth, marriage and death registrations.
***   1881 UK Census.
****   1891 UK Census.
*****   1901 UK Census.
@   Other sources of information.
+   1895 Argentina Census.
++   Births, marriages and deaths in Argentina found in British Settlers in Argentina and Uruguay.
(1)   Managers of the Lincolnshire Farmers scheme. Do not appear on original passenger list.
(2)   Do not appear on passenger ships arriving in Argentina but mentioned by other sources.
(3)   Itapé - All other immigrants arriving in Rosario came from Itapé, including another Brownlow family.
(4)   Itapé - mentioned by Annie Kennett as neighbours.
(5)   All the rest of the family went to this colony.

Mary Godward