Notes for Charles Duffin Barstow: Charles Duffin was born on 22 March 1834. He is the sixth boy: Tom, Robert, Michael, George, Lewis (in that order) precede him> The family had moved from Naburn to Blossom St in 1831 so he was born in York. In Elizabeth's diary she records in 1842 that 'CD to Wakefield' which fits in with your evidence. he was therefore only 8 when he went off to school there. In 1855(he was 21 then) she records that he went off to farm at Howe Thirsk. He goes to school at Rugby (I must look him up in the Rugby records when I am next in Cambridge). I have the cutting of his obituary notice from the Whitby Paper dated Friday, May 30 1890, which refers to his death at mignoght on the previous Wednesday, 28th.
The obituary notice is a hoot: talk about damning with faint praise!. ' He nevre married and led what may be termed a bohemian life.' The notice states that after leaving Rugby he spent several years touring the continent (presumably until he was packed off to work on a farm aged 21). ' He spent much of his time in the study of the art work of the old masters, and there are few amateurs who acquired and retained a more thorough knowledge of the subject than did Mr Barstow. Mr Barstow had intellectual gifts of a high order. He was a ripe scholar, being familiar with Greek and Hebrew in the vernacular......He was a sound mathematician and possessed considerable knowledge, by individual research and experiment, of the sciences, particularly geology, astronomy and chemistry...........It is somewhat surprising that a man endowed with so many gifts, and whose range of knowledge was so wide, did not make a distinst mark for himself in some particular branch of the arts or sciences. Perhaps it was because he lacked the power of concentration on any given subject or perhaps it was because of the lack of any necessary incentive. Beyond contributing a few papers to some of the scientific journals.......we do not believe Mr Barstow contributed much to the world's store of scientific or art knowledge' Ouch!!!! It continues by saying that he was well off, he spent most of his time in outdoor sports and pastimes, he had a farm 'and for several years assumed the position of a country gentleman' So, in short, he was an idle bastard, a ne'er do well who spent his time hunting, shooting and fishing - and sailing - and contributed precious little to the great Victorian Progress, and by the time he came to Whitby (aged 46) he was past his best. I would have thought there were many others of the upper and middle classes who had little to show on their CVs so why was the reporter so scathing about CDB? I will bring you a copy of this obituary notice: it is an interesting reflection on the attitudes of small town Yorkshire in late Victorian times.
Actually, there is tinge of sadness in one respect. It seems that he had apartments in 4 successive hotels in the ten years he was at Whitby and died in the Talbot Hotel having had a stroke several months earlier. There is no mention in Lizzie's diary of anyone going to Whitby to see Charles whereas in the previous year when Tom was dying, Lizzie herself dashed down to Elstree. Nor had Charles spent the previous Christmas at Garrow Hill, and only once in the previous few years. Had he drifted away from the close family circle?
There are some other cuttings, including an article by CDB on 'going up in a balloon' and a couple where is he making speeches in support of the Conservatives.
Charles Duffin Barstow (b. March 22, 1834, d. May 29, 1889)
Notes for Charles Duffin Barstow: