The Life and Times Robert Fuller 1615 - 1706
HIST 150 | The Life and Times Robert Fuller 1615 – 1706 | | | | 11/30/2010 |
The historical account of Robert Fuller, farmer, bricklayer, seaman and Constable, will cover many fascinating events that occurred during his lifetime, including migration from England and a pioneering life in the New World. is seven generations removed from Robert Fuller. |
The Life and Times Robert Fuller 1615 – 1706
Robert Fuller was born in 1615, the oldest son of Thomas Fuller and Audrey Gylman Fuller (Farabee, 1997). The Fullers lived in Southampton, Hampshire, England, and the family name was derived from their primary occupation of “fulling”. Hampshire, England was well known for its many woolen cloth manufacturers.
The occupation of fulling was part of the cloth making process that was important to the refinement of finished cloth. The job consisted of compacting woollen fibers to make the cloth whiter, tighter and more durable. Wool has tiny scales all along the fibers, and when the woven wool is 'worked' by being scoured and beaten, the fibers ratchet together and the cloth becomes more compact and solid. If continued for a long time, the end result is felt for heavy clothing or hats. Woven cloth off the loom, say four to five inches wide, is washed and while still wet, is passed through an 'eye' at the top of the fulling machine. It is then sewn into a loop that may be 30' long. Rollers pull the cloth through the eye and it is 'thumped' by heavy wooden hammers tripped by a rotating drum with pegs on it. The cloth is kept moist and soapy, and is repeatedly passed around this circuit, becoming more compact and narrower in width.
The process, which could take as long as 26 hours, was carefully monitored until the desired degree of compaction was obtained. The cloth was then washed and cleaned with ‘fuller's earth’ (diatomaceous earth) and finally dried while being stretched back to its original width on a big frame with
The historical account of Robert Fuller, farmer, bricklayer, seaman and Constable, will cover many fascinating events that occurred during his lifetime, including migration from England and a pioneering life in the New World. is seven generations removed from Robert Fuller. |
The Life and Times Robert Fuller 1615 – 1706
Robert Fuller was born in 1615, the oldest son of Thomas Fuller and Audrey Gylman Fuller (Farabee, 1997). The Fullers lived in Southampton, Hampshire, England, and the family name was derived from their primary occupation of “fulling”. Hampshire, England was well known for its many woolen cloth manufacturers.
The occupation of fulling was part of the cloth making process that was important to the refinement of finished cloth. The job consisted of compacting woollen fibers to make the cloth whiter, tighter and more durable. Wool has tiny scales all along the fibers, and when the woven wool is 'worked' by being scoured and beaten, the fibers ratchet together and the cloth becomes more compact and solid. If continued for a long time, the end result is felt for heavy clothing or hats. Woven cloth off the loom, say four to five inches wide, is washed and while still wet, is passed through an 'eye' at the top of the fulling machine. It is then sewn into a loop that may be 30' long. Rollers pull the cloth through the eye and it is 'thumped' by heavy wooden hammers tripped by a rotating drum with pegs on it. The cloth is kept moist and soapy, and is repeatedly passed around this circuit, becoming more compact and narrower in width.
The process, which could take as long as 26 hours, was carefully monitored until the desired degree of compaction was obtained. The cloth was then washed and cleaned with ‘fuller's earth’ (diatomaceous earth) and finally dried while being stretched back to its original width on a big frame with