John Stokes Bagshaw

John Stokes Bagshaw (15 August 1808 – 1 January 1888) was a manufacturer of agricultural machinery in South Australia.

Career

He was born in Chetwynd, Shropshire, the son of Edward (19 May 1776 – 4 February 1889) and Margaret Bagshaw. He trained as a millwright, engineer and patternmaker and migrated to South Australia in 1838, arriving in the Eden at Port Adelaide in June 1837. He was involved in setting up flour mills at Noarlunga, Port Noarlunga and Encounter Bay. He set up a workshop in Elizabeth Street, Adelaide, making windmills. He invented a winnowing machine which met with some success. His first two sons, John Augustus and Thomas Henry joined the business. The business expanded into Crowther Street.

In 1843 John Ridley commissioned him to build the prototype of his famous "stripper" reaping machine. His winnowing machines, corn crushers, chaff cutters and churns won prizes at the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Show in 1867. He also built baggers, elevators and mill machinery at his "Pioneer" works.

His son John Augustus joined the business in 1852 and proved his father's equal in design and manufacture of farm machinery, taking out several patents, and taking control of the company.

In 1893 the company demonstrated a greatly improved disk threshing header.^[1]

In 1910 a fire in the Adelaide factory forced the implementation of a long-planned move to Victoria Street, Mile End between King Street and Hilton Road, once a wheat paddock. In 1911 Thomas H. Bagshaw's two sons Edward G. Bagshaw and Thomas Stokes Bagshaw, took over management of the company. In 1920, with the death of John A. Bagshaw, Vincent A. Zed (1885 – 15 August 1930), a longtime employee, was appointed governing director.^[2] In 1920 Bagshaws bought the Balaklava business of Illman and Sons. In 1924 the company was taken over by J. H. Horwood and Co. Ltd., and continued to operate as Horwood, Bagshaw Ltd.

Interests

He helped found the Ancient London Order of Oddfellows in Adelaide.^[3]

He helped found Trinity Church, later named Holy Trinity Church, on North Terrace, Adelaide.

He was elected to the Adelaide Municipal Council in 1870 and served as councillor for six years.^[3]

He was a member of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society.^[4]

Family

His only brother, William Edward Bagshaw jr. (ca.1801? 1807? – 2 February 1889), was married to Ann (died 24 September 1873) and migrated to South Australia around 1860.

In 1836 he married Jane Dale (ca.1811 – 27 February 1884); they arrived in South Australia on the Eden on 24 June 1838 with a daughter who was born in UK ca.1837 and presumably died while young. Their home was "Chetwynd" in Franklin Street. Their children were:

• John Augustus (26 September 1838 – 22?23? May 1920) was one of the first Europeans born in South Australia. He was educated at James Jolly's school in Waymouth Street and the Pulteney Street School.^[5] He joined his father's business in 1852. He married Helen Drummond (ca.1838 – 30 October 1920) on 24 May 1869. Their home was "Crail Brae", Great Downing Street, Brighton. They only had one child, Nellie, who died on 21 September 1940. J. A. Bagshaw served as mayor of Brighton, was president of the Brighton Institute for 13 years, and was a longtime active member of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society and the Chamber of Manufacturers.
• Georgina Bagshaw (1840 – 31 January 1928) never married.
• Rosetta Bagshaw (ca.1841 – ca.1915) married William Henry Gray (1808–1896) at the Unitarian Church, Wakefield Street on 16 January 1861.^[6] Rosetta Street, West Croydon was named for her,^[7] as was Bagshaw Crescent and Rosetta Street in the Palmerston, Northern Territory suburb of Gray.
• Indiana Jane Bagshaw (ca.1842 – 30 July 1884) married Robert Smith on 1 January 1864. She married again, to H. Dean on 14 March 1868. Their home was on Fisher Street, Fullarton.
• (Elizabeth Ann) Clara Bagshaw (ca.1843 or 1845 – 6 March 1902) married Thomas Duell on 12 June 1865.
• William Edward Bagshaw (ca.1850 – 7 July 1895) married Ellen Nicholl on 4 December 1874. He was a farmer at Morphett Vale, and had a home "The Dale", Plympton or Dalesford. He died after being thrown from his trap. Reginald Stokes Bagshaw (7 April 1889 – 12 January 1941) was one of his ten children.
• Thomas Henry (16 May 1856 – 20 March 1936) married Louie Olive Gtray (ca.1821 – 17 August 1934) on 16 June 1877. He was a partner in Bagshaw & Sons and for a time ran a farm in Clare. A keen fisherman, he retired to Port Noarlunga
  • Edward G. Bagshaw (10 July 1880 – ) succeeded his uncle John A. Bagshaw as managing director.
  • Thomas Stokes "Tom" Bagshaw (ca.1883 – 4 June 1951) married Annie Margaret Turnbull on 9 February 1905. Their homes were "Kuranda", Park Terrace, Wayville, then Laurel Avenue, Linden Park

References

1. "Bagshaw's Header.". South Australian Register (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 11 February 1893. p. 1 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
2. "Australian Commercial Houses". The Advertiser (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 7 April 1923. p. 18. Retrieved 14 June 2012. This article contains much interesting background detail.
3. "The Late J. S. Bagshaw". South Australian Register (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 2 January 1888. p. 5. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
4. "Royal Agricultural Society". South Australian Register (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 28 January 1888. p. 6. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
5. "Concerning People". The Register (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 26 September 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
6. The disparity of their ages may have prompted fellow-Unitarian Catherine Helen Spence to write Hugh Lindsay's Guest, serialised in The Observer in 1867.
7. Hasenohr, E. W. H. Gray – a pioneer colonist of South Australia Adelaide 1977 ISBN 0 9596673 0 X

• Zalums, E., 'Bagshaw, John Stokes (1808–1888)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bagshaw-john-stokes-2917/text4209, accessed 15 June 2012.