George Brown (1857 - 1926), Tailor & Draper

Bishop Wilton East Yorkshire

George Brown (1857 – 1926) Tailor & Draper

George Brown (1857 – 1926), Tailor & Draper of Bishop Wilton

First Sighting But for the Bishop Wilton postmark on this postcard it might have ended up in a box marked “Unidentified”:

Warranting a second look, it was possible to recognise the building as numbers 13 and 14 Main Street, Bishop Wilton, although it has become one dwelling and changed a lot since the photograph was taken. As to the gentleman on the step, there is no problem identifying George Brown standing as he was under his Tailor & Draper sign:

The postcard was a common type, a bit like a business card, where a tradesman or farmer was photographed outside his place of work.

The entrance that George Brown was standing at led to a passage that split the building into two dwellings (notice the different window frames) with George Brown and family living to the right of the passage. If you look closely you can see that one window didn’t have curtains. That was where George Brown worked.

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George Brown (1857 – 1926), Tailor & Draper of Bishop Wilton Incidentally, there was a story about the passage that there was a right of way through it to lead livestock to the beck for water.

Second Sighting It wasn’t long before there was another possible sighting, outside the house part way down on the right:

Not so obvious this time but pretty convincing on closer inspection:

The sign is there (and, by the way, outside shutters at the workshop window). It is an earlier photograph of a younger man but the height and bearing suggest George Brown.

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George Brown (1857 – 1926), Tailor & Draper of Bishop Wilton

Third Sighting Things would have rested there without a request for help with identifying people on a postcard taken at the dedication of the newly built vicarage in 1907:

It was at the Bishop Wilton Show in 2000 that the first person to see the postcard, Christine Dinsdale (nee Bellamy) of York, was able to identify her grandfather, George Brown! Not only that, it is highly likely that he was standing there with his family: his wife to his left and their two young daughters; next to his wife, a daughter and a son by his previous marriage:

So that did it, three appearances on different postcards was unusual enough to warrant finding more out about George Brown, Tailor and Draper of Bishop Wilton and George Brown’s granddaughter agreed to share what she knew about him.

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George Brown (1857 – 1926), Tailor & Draper of Bishop Wilton

Memorabilia One of the most poignant items George Brown’s granddaughter, Christine, has in her possession is an entry George Brown left in an autograph book:

She also has his tailor’s scissors:

… and his fireside chair:

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George Brown (1857 – 1926), Tailor & Draper of Bishop Wilton

Ancestry Trade directories for the 1800s give some clues as to George Brown’s ancestry. There was an Edward Brown with entries from 1840 to 1879 variously described as a boot & shoemaker, shopkeeper and farmer and also a William Brown with entries from 1857 to 1864, described as a tailor. To complicate matters there was also a George Brown i with a directory entry for 1857 who was described as a boot and shoemaker. But William Brown seemed the most likely possibility for our George Brown’s father given that he was a tailor.

Checking the Bishop Wilton baptismal records the following is revealed: · ·

George Brown was the son of William and Mary Brown ii with a baptism dated July 9, 1857.

William Brown was the son of Edward and Esther Brown with a baptism dated March 19, 1833. iii

One interesting item thought to relate to Edward Brown was unearthed when the building where the Browns lived was being renovated. It is a bill iv to a Mr Brown from a Mr Allanson, dated 1840, for various medications. According to a trade directory, Mr Allanson was a surgeon living in Bishop Wilton, perhaps next door to the Browns at No 12 which was known to have been built as a doctor’s house. Also, the fact that there is a charge for what must be 3 Leeches at a cost of 1/6 ties in with a story that No 12 had “a cellar where a 19th Century village doctor kept leeches in a shallow well”.

Also, it is very likely William Brown who is mentioned as playing cricket for Bishop Wilton in August 1865, against a team called the Free Rangers. “The Thixendale drum and File band was in attendance” and the Bishop Wilton players were: T. Radge, H. Pearson, F. Wilson, A. Collinson, F. Coot, J. Foster, W. Wilson, H. Holderness, J. Pailing, J. Cook and W. Brown v.

The Family On April 17, 1883, at the age of 25, George Brown married Sarah Adamson, age 23, daughter of John Adamson, labourer. This was witnessed by John Peacock and Dorothy Ann Dales. According to the church records, George and Sarah went on to have Blanche Ketureh (baptised July 2, 1885) and Elsie (baptised October 16, 1887).

George’s granddaughter also knows of a son, Ernest, who served in the 1914 -18 war and whose name appears on the Bishop Wilton Memorial.

Sarah Brown died on January 24, 1891, at the age of 31.

George Brown then married Emily Hardy and they went on to have Betsy Norah (who was baptised on August 3, 1895, and who died at the age of 4 vi), Doris (baptised June 28, 1899) and Freda (born 1902). Doris and Freda are pictured below with mother Emily:

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George Brown (1857 – 1926), Tailor & Draper of Bishop Wilton

Going back to the postcard of George Brown standing outside his house (which was found at a postcard fair), it is interesting to look at its back:

It was written by Emily to her daughter Doris, and her daughter Freda is referred to as “F”. Freda, who was Christine Dinsdale’s mother, became Freda Bellamy.

George Brown died at the age of 69 on November 28 1926 vii and he was buried in Bishop Wilton churchyard with his first wife Sarah.

Emily Brown, who was a mid-wife viii, continued to live in Bishop Wilton until around 1938. She then moved to Albermarle Road in York where she died in 1957.

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George Brown (1857 – 1926), Tailor & Draper of Bishop Wilton Information assembled by: Mike Pratt Bishop Wilton June 2001 Version 1.2 November 2002 i

George Brown, boot and shoemaker or cordwainer (as described in the baptismal records), was also married to a Mary. They had Ann (March 8, 1851), John (March 27, 1853) and another Ann (March 5, 1854). ii

The 1861 census shows William and Mary Brown’s family to be: Esther age 6, Louisa age 5, George age 3. Interestingly, only George was born at Bishop Wilton. Esther and Louisa were born at Grimsby.

It can be speculated that William went to Grimsby to serve his apprenticeship as a tailor. In 1861 the Brown household also included an apprentice Tailor and Draper, William Wilson, age 13, from Bishop Wilton. By 1871, there were two apprentices: David Thompson, age 19, from Brandesburton and Ingrham Dale, age 17, from Thixendale.

William and Mary Brown are buried in Bishop Wilton churchyard. William died on April 15 1872 aged 39 and Mary died on December 24 1893 aged 66.

iii

According to the baptismal records, Edward and Esther then went on to have Jane (February 23, 1835) and Frances (August 11, 1837). But the census of 1841 gives a more complete picture of the family: George age 11, Charlotte age 9, William age 8, Jane age 6, Frances age 3. This solves a problem, it identifies George Brown the boot and shoemaker as our George Brown’s uncle.

iv

Here is a copy of the bill, addressed to Mr Brown, showing amounts due to Mr Allanson for treatment covering a number of days. The word “Leeches” is slightly obscured but reasonably convincing:

v

“East Yorkshire Cricket 1778 – 1914” by Peter Howorth (Lowndes Publications, Driffield, 1995, page 149) vi There is a flower holder with Betsy Norah’s name on it in Bishop Wilton churchyard on the grave of George and Sarah Brown

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George Brown (1857 – 1926), Tailor & Draper of Bishop Wilton

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A press cutting from the time lists those attending George Brown’s funeral as: Rev. G. H. Stock officiating Mrs Brown (widow) Miss Brown (daughter) Mrs Watson (daughter) Miss F. Brown (daughter) Mr Watson (son-in-law) Mrs Pearson (Scarborough, niece) Mrs Walker (Bishop Wilton, sister-in-law) Mrs Young (Seamer, sister-in-law) Mr James Hardy (Ruston, brother-in-law) Mr John Hardy (Seamer, brother-in-law) Mr T. Young (Seamer, brother-in-law) Miss F. Millgate (niece) Mrs Harding Miss Wordsworth (Garrowby) Mr and Mrs J. Jebson Mr Barker Mr W. Lawson Mrs and Miss Harrison Mrs Fletcher Mr R. Sandiland Mr Q. Adamson Mr Metcalfe Mr Fugill Mr and Mrs Chittendon Mr and Mrs F. Foster Mr C. Johnson Mr Craggs Mr Walkington Mrs Wilkinson Mrs Flint Miss Slater Mr Cook Mr H. Cook Mrs Squires Mrs Ward Mrs J. Johnson Mrs Delittle Mrs Pickering Mrs Oxtoby Mr and Mrs Foster Mrs W. Cook The bearers were: Mr F. Harrison Mr T. Oxtoby Mr J. Johnson Mr J. Barnes The undertaker was: Mr Walker of Bishop Wilton

Another press cutting says that George Brown had been “a sidesman in the church for some years”.

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George Brown (1857 – 1926), Tailor & Draper of Bishop Wilton

viii

Christine’s grandmother told her that premature babies were put in the oven of the kitchen range to keep them warm.

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