WHITTLE family fairground connection

[deb usa]

wooohoooooo Edwina .... look at this;

1891
Berks, Maidenhead, Cookham
The Moors, Bridge rd
George a Whittle head mar 23 or 25 ? Traveling showman b Uxbridge
Lavinia wife 22 assistant b Surrey Egham
George A son under ? months
/
William Smith head mar 68 Steam Circus proprietor
Mary A wife assistant 58
John 27          "
Albert 17        "
Amy 14           "
/
Rowland family ...also travelling showmen

so it seems that the Whittle's may have got into the circus/showman business through the Smith's

will search further

deb 

[deb usa]

Hi again ...

I think the circus was in Essex in 1901 

RG13/1611 fol 48 pages 41-44

Yes there are 4 pages of all the travelling showmen 

George Whittle  21  travelling showman b N.K.  telling fibs about age , I think
Lavinia  wife 29 b Surrey Egham
Lavinia A dau 6 b Surrey Woking
Lewis W son 4 B     "           "
Violet dau 1 b Stratford Essex
Ellen Smith 16 Niece helper in show b Windsor, Berks

on the same page there is an Albert Smith 36, Glasgow who is a Cinematographer

deb 

[EAP]

Have now ordered marriage certificate for George and Lavinia, to see if his father was George WHITTLE, boatman. Fingers crossed.

Edwina

[TJW]

I might have some information for you

I have a newspaper cutting recording the death of Mrs. Rebecca Whittle.
in it there is reference to her husband A. H. Whittle and how they worked in the Smith and Whittle Show
before the 1914-1918 war. Rebecca used to run the shooting range!

I have some other newspaper cuttings......The death of my great grandfather George Alfred in 1942 and another cutting about the wedding of Mr. Herbert Turner to Miss Violet Whittle, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Whittle the well known show people of Blackwater in 1933. Gifts included a Musquash coat and a Wolsley Hornet car.

I am happy to pass on any other information if it helps

Trevor Whittle

[EAP]

Dear Trevor,

Thank you so much for your posting. This is really interesting, and I shall pass your reply over to my husband for him to look at. I suspect his family had lost contact with the WHITTLEs by the 1930s or 40s, though perhaps his grandmother had not.

We are still waiting for the marriage certificate. IF it shows a connection with George WHITTLE the boatman, you and my husband may be connected. If not, we are still searching, though it still seems likely that these families must mesh together somewhere down the line.

I'll get back to the list in a few days, to report back about the marriage certificate and to let you know what my husband says about the newspaper cuttings.

Best wishes,

Edwina 

[EAP]

Dear Trevor and Perry,

I have just been browsing again on freeBMD, and wondered whether either of you were related to Minnie WHITTLE? If so, she is quite a scoop  .

Marriages Sep 1916: Smart William G; Whittle; Bristol, 6a, 347. married Whittle Minnie; Smart; Bristol, 6a, 347.

If this is Minnie WHITTLE marrying the famous Billy SMART, whose son ran the big circus, then this is quite something. Unfortunately a bit too far removed from my husband for us to bask in any of the fame!

Edwina 

[TJW]

Sorry, but I don't recognise the name Minnie.
We live in West Sussex. We moved down from London just before I was born (1966)
I still have family in London. I will ask my parents for more info!

Regards

Trevor

[EAP]

I now have a marriage certificate for George WHITTLE and Lavinia SMITH (1889). He says he's 22 years old, (ie. born about 1867) which is about right for being the son of George WHITTLE, boatman, and Emma ALLOWAY.

His occupation is 'Carman' (ie. a jobbing cart driver). His father is George WHITTLE, occupation 'Carter'. I believe a carter could be transporting goods either by road or water, but I am not sure about that.

Lavinia's father is William SMITH, 'Traveller'.

They were both living at 21, Wellesley Street, Holborn, London, and the witnesses were W. Grafton and M.A. Grafton - no idea who they could be.

So the certificate is not as conclusive as I had hoped, though the dates tie up nicely. 

I think the 1891 census that Deb transcribed shows that, even if he wasn't in the fairground business when he got married, he soon teamed up with Lavinia's family, as we thought.

More thinks needed now... 

Best wishes,

Edwina

[TJW]

hi,
have a look! Does this help anyone