Thomas Poole, or ‘Big Tom’ as I would have affectionately called my Great Great Grandfather, is one of the main inspirations for this ancestral odyssey. In May 2020, my father handed me a beautifully bound farming ledger spanning the latter half of the 19th century. It’s not a page turner containing page after page of income and expenses for Thomas’ farm in Aston-on-Clun, Shropshire. But it is still a thrill to hold what Big Tom had held in his toughened hands. But the book holds a surprise; half way through after the final accounting entry (recording a loss of 329 pounds 4 shillings and 10 pence for 1876), he writes the paragraph below (pictured in the header above):
On Feb 3rd 1900 being kept in the house under the Doctor, with influenza, I have copied out in this Book some of the events that concerned me & my friends in a quick Farmers Life also the year and dates of them. As some descendant in years to come may look them over & think about Old Farmers. Thomas Poole Aston on Clun
It is 120 years since he filled the rest of the book with diary extracts spanning 1857 to 1894. We are ‘the descendant’ and I hope you enjoy looking over his life and thinking about Old Farmer Big Tom.
