"After further research of foreign born men with names not in any way similar to the name Seth Davy on the 1901 census I drew up a list of possible candidates. I looked at where they lived and any other records available for them. I was left with two possible candidates who were living near to Bevington Bush in 1901. One was an American man who was actually lodging at Bevington House Hotel. He returned to the USA in 1903 and died in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA in 1913. The Death Certificate tells us that he was born in South Carolina and he was white! The other candidate died in Liverpool Workhouse in 1902 and I think he is the real Seth Davy.
The man in the photograph was thought to have lived in Maguire Street and this led me to George Smart, a West African born man who lived in Maguire Street in the early 1890s, near to Bevington Bush. On the 1891 census he was a dock labourer, born in Africa, living at house 1 in 10 court in Maguire Street with his wife Mary Ann. Like some versions of the song, he died in 1902. On 14th May 1902 he left his home at 34 Gildarts Gardens and admitted himself into Liverpool Workhouse while suffering from heart problems. He died there on 11th June 1902."
https://merseysidebiographypages.weebly.com/seth-davy.htmlC
