Chapter 8: From poteen, to coffee and green tea - ‘scattering the seed’

The early Bickerstaffs being crofters would have known well the phrase ‘the scattering of seed’.

The McQuoids of Scotland and those who later moved to Ireland in search of work and religious freedom would also have been aware of the act as they tilled the earth along the East coast of their new-found land.

The word diaspora is unlikely ever to have entered their everyday speech.

They would not have known that the ancient Greek διασπορά was then, and now, used to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional homelands; being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture.

It would not be too long before new generations would demonstrate their early participation in this particular act. Among the first was one of the two sons of Joseph Bickerstaff.

In 1870, at the age of 18, Andrew emigrated to Montana, USA, where he died in his eighties, never returning to his homeland.

John Joseph (1881 – 1949) the youngest member of the family followed his example and emigrated to Boston where he joined the Mormons in Salt Lake City becoming an editor of one of its journals for which they were becoming famous. He later married Deborah, a Roman Catholic.

The McQuoid clan also made their mark in this early exodus. Thomas McQuoid was born in Ireland and joined the British Army.

In a book by D M Campbell, ‘Java past and present’, he is described as one of the first Europeans to take office when Java was annexed by the British in l811.

He became president of the committee for the sale of lands at Buitenzong, Java, and is mentioned in connection with Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles, whose international recognition is still intact in the famous Raffles hotel.

Thomas had been in the army in Batavia where he had been helpful to Raffles and in turn was promised a piece of land when the empire builder was founding Singapore.


Raffles appointed Thomas superintendent of the coffee culture over the whole island.

An able businessman, Thomas married Elizabeth Frances Kirwan and had a daughter, also Elizabeth Frances, who was born on 2 March l822 in Krawang and christened in Batavia on 3 August of that year.

Thomas’ seal was three towers with a cross in between the towers. He came to England in 1827 but returned to Batavia in 1830 where he remained until his death.

The link with Singapore continues to this day.

Alistair Duffield, the only son of Cecil and Phyllis Duffield, achieved distinction when he graduated from Campbell College to Leeds University where he read law.

His early career was in London but he graduated through an international law firm to his present post in Singapore. He married Pamela, with whom he had two daughters Olivia and Isabella.

Pamela, a native of Singapore, is also a solicitor.

The aboriginals of Australia were the subject of a BBC documentary when Aislinn Duffield, the daughter of Norma and Gordon, travelled there.

Aislinn is married to Peter Somersett, currently an assistant editor in the Corporation. They have two children – Elisha and Oisin.

The East also captured the attention of Nigel, her brother, who after winning an exhibition from Campbell College to Cambridge University, read modern and medieval languages.

After his PhD at the University of Southern California, he subsequently became a professor of linguistics at McGill University and married another linguist, Ayumi Matsuo from Kobe, Japan (the land of the green tea).

Nigel is now professor of linguistics at Sheffield University and his wife, now Dr. Matsuo, is a lecturer in the same department. They have two sons, Sean and Julian.

Their publications include a joint one on ‘ellipsis and anaphora in first language acquisition.’

Not a subject that would have been much talked about in the fields of East
Ulster.