John Traviss Squire was born in 1855 in Barnsley, Yorkshire. His parents were
Alfred and Agnes Squire. In 1871, he was a solicitor's articled clerk (effectively an apprentice lawyer). He was boarding with a surgeon dentist at 3 Howard Street, Sheffield.
Harriet Green was born in 1854 in Stainborough, Barnsley. Her parents were
William and Mary Green.
John and Harriet were married in 1880 in Wortley, Barnsley. John took an opportunity to work in London and the couple lived at
33 Birdhurst Road, Wandsworth. He was working at the Inland Revenue at Somerset House. In 1891, he is described as 'Solicitor, Assistant Inland Revenue".
Somerset House is interesting as it was originally built to front the River Thames (it was a Georgian rebuild of one of a row of palaces belonging to Tudor aristocrats). From the beginning of the new Somerset House there was a fiscal presence in the shape of the Stamp Office and the
Tax Office, the former occupying the eastern part of the South Wing from 1789 and the latter occupying part of the East Wing. One of its duties was the collection of income tax, introduced in 1842.
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| The Thames from the Terrace of Somerset House Looking Towards St. Paul's (Canaletto, c. 1750) |
In 1880, the
Victoria Embankment - the magnificent feat of civil engineering, under the direction of
Joseph Bazalgette, which narrowed the river, was only ten years old. The District railway was built in the newly reclaimed land, and roofed over to make the street and promenade. It also provided a modern sewage system, to prevent the problems (such as the Great Stink) discussed in earlier chapters. It was also the first street in Britain to be lit by electricity - in 1878.
Now, when I started family research, I had to visit St Catherine's House, Aldwych to view the indexes and order certificates. Some people still referred to it as 'Somerset House'. In fact, the
Registrar General of Births, Marriages and Deaths
set up his office in the North Wing of Somerset House from its inception - and the start of compulsory registration - in 1837. This office held all birth, marriage and death certificates in England and Wales until 1970.
In the relatively early days of the Internet, we discovered that John had taken an interest in these records while he was there, and had undertaken a local study of the area in which he now lived. This makes him a very early family history researcher! It is still being used as a source, e.g. "In 1889 a careful transcript by John Traviss Squire of the first three surviving registers was printed, and
we have now indexed it...", and cited in Wikipedia. The study is available as a
reprint. Interestingly, I've just found that he made a special study of the Huguenots in Wandsworth in 1885, which is also still being used as a
source.
John and Harriet had six children in Wandsworth:
- 59.1.1 - Mary Squire (1881).
- 59.1.2 - Cecil Edward Squire (1882)
- 59.1.3 - Rupert Henry Squire (1882)
- 59.1.4 - Alfred Eustace Squire (1885)
- 59.1.5 - Phyllis Margaret Squire (1886)
- 59.1.6 - Rowland Henry Squire (1888)
These were touchingly recorded in the family bible, which survives.
More on these individuals in
Chapter 59.
John liked a pint - actually a quart! We still have a tankard of his. I remember cleaning it up a bit years ago, gradually making out the words chiselled on the base. "Duke" looked promising...
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| John's tankard |
Eventually, I worked out that it says 'Duke of York, Cheapside, Barnsley' around the outside. There are
pictures of it being knocked down... Across the middle, it says 'Cricketers, Kingston'. More luck here - the pub still exists, although it is closed again now. The local paper shows it as having a very chequered history as music venue, drugs den and centre of massive fraud. Still, I managed to visit in 2015 and take a pint from John's tankard.
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| Taking Courage via John's tankard (my photo) |
John also played the violin - I think his instrument may have survived - does anyone have a picture? This was probably one of his music books.
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| Songs Compleat and Set to Musick |
He was a learned chap, and liked his old books. A Pope with the plea to 'Return Duly with the corners of the leaves NOT TURNED DOWN, a Voltaire in French, and sundry Latin tomes with 'patina'. Notable survivors are the family bible, with the family births and deaths written out: I've always found this touching. And a doodled Byron.
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| Crede Byron |
John died in 1894, aged 39. As is often the way, less is known of Harriet. It wasn't easy as a young widow. In 1901, She was at
7 Brunswick Road, Kingston with her surviving sons. Phyllis was there too in 1911. She died in 1941, having lived through one World War, and part of another.
According to Joan Squire Harriet "spent her time between a private hotel (residential club) in Kingston and Sheffield; she changed over at a car park near Rugby. She dominated the toilet at night." She was thin, Joan remembered her wearing a black feather boa on the beach at Bridlington.
ReplyDeleteJoan also thought that John Traviss and Harriet had bought a staircase from the great exhibition.
I have John Traviss' violin and clarinet. They have both been restored, the luthier who worked on the violin t5hough that the instrument was made in 19th century, either in France or Engladn. If you let me have your email, I'll send you photos.
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Hello - really pleased to hear from you. I'd heard tell of the violin but thought it was lost - would love to hear more! Thank you also for the history. Sorry I missed the comment. It's only the second and I wasn't notified. E m a i l is mark at wheaver dot net. Best, Mark
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