eric kingsley
Well-Known Member
Hello again. This is a long story. My barber told me his cousin had told him that he (the barber) had an ancestor called Edward B Crichton who was a contortionist who had travelled widely and often been photographed. He went on to say that his (the contortionist) photo was part of the personal collection of the famous American photographer Richard Avedon and that it could be seen in an on-line slide sequence on the lensculture web site.
The shot is titled Harlequin, but it's easy to spot, it's a contortionist.
Away from the hurly-burly of the barber's shop I looked at the photo and its caption again and it became clear that there had been a misunderstanding. The 1st name in the caption for each slide is actually the photographer and the 2nd name is the subject. So, in fact, it's the photographer that is Edward B Crichton not the contortionist. My barber said there was a Crichton forebear on his Mum's side and he'd be interested in seeing if there was a family connection, even if Edward was not a renowned contortionist after all. I offered to have a look.
I found Edward B Crichton (in my barber's tree I guarantee), it was hard. Ancestry has him mis-transcribed as "Edward Blrichton" in the 1871 census at 94 Shrubland Grove, Dalston, Hackney. In 1881 him and his family (minus daughter Louise) are living in 40 Parkholme Road, Dalston, Hackney which is a pub called the "Prince George". It's still there. Edward is the "licensed victualler". No signs of photography in 1871 or 81. However there is something unusual about his household.
Three of the children were born outside the UK. In the 1871 census Louise (Louisa) (17yrs) has the birthplace Breslau,Prussia (which is now Wrocław in Poland), Alexander (13yrs) was born in Russia and Harriett (9yrs) was born in France additionally there is a "Visitor" whose name is unreadable who is also from Russia. In 1881 Alexander's birthplace is refined to "Russia , St Petersburg" and Harriett's to "France, Paris". Why might this be?
Initially I thought Edward and his wife, Agnes, were "citizens of the world" and she had given birth in 3 different countries. But this is highly unlikely. I don't think they are their children. So, what's going on? Adopted orphans? The Crimea War lasted from 1853 to 56 and the Franco-Prussian War from 1870 to 71. If Edward was just the cheery local landlord why did he have children from all over the globe living in his household? What were they all living on in 1871 when he wasn't running a pub? Any suggestions gratefully received.
NOTES
*There is no photographer called Edward B Crichton as far as I can see. There is a Thomas B Chrichton who produced "cartes de visite" in the 1860s. Maybe the curators of the exhibition just made a mistake.
*1871 - Registration district : Hackney, Sub-registration district : West Hackney, ED, institution, or vessel : 14b, Household schedule number : 335, Piece : 323, Folio : 80, Page Number : 64
*1881 - Registration district : Hackney, Sub registration district : West Hackney, ED, institution, or vessel : 17b, Neighbors: (etc), Piece : 301, Folio : 5, Page Number : 3
Code:
https://www.lensculture.com/articles/richard-avedon-richard-avedon-s-private-collection-of-photographsAway from the hurly-burly of the barber's shop I looked at the photo and its caption again and it became clear that there had been a misunderstanding. The 1st name in the caption for each slide is actually the photographer and the 2nd name is the subject. So, in fact, it's the photographer that is Edward B Crichton not the contortionist. My barber said there was a Crichton forebear on his Mum's side and he'd be interested in seeing if there was a family connection, even if Edward was not a renowned contortionist after all. I offered to have a look.
I found Edward B Crichton (in my barber's tree I guarantee), it was hard. Ancestry has him mis-transcribed as "Edward Blrichton" in the 1871 census at 94 Shrubland Grove, Dalston, Hackney. In 1881 him and his family (minus daughter Louise) are living in 40 Parkholme Road, Dalston, Hackney which is a pub called the "Prince George". It's still there. Edward is the "licensed victualler". No signs of photography in 1871 or 81. However there is something unusual about his household.
Three of the children were born outside the UK. In the 1871 census Louise (Louisa) (17yrs) has the birthplace Breslau,Prussia (which is now Wrocław in Poland), Alexander (13yrs) was born in Russia and Harriett (9yrs) was born in France additionally there is a "Visitor" whose name is unreadable who is also from Russia. In 1881 Alexander's birthplace is refined to "Russia , St Petersburg" and Harriett's to "France, Paris". Why might this be?
Initially I thought Edward and his wife, Agnes, were "citizens of the world" and she had given birth in 3 different countries. But this is highly unlikely. I don't think they are their children. So, what's going on? Adopted orphans? The Crimea War lasted from 1853 to 56 and the Franco-Prussian War from 1870 to 71. If Edward was just the cheery local landlord why did he have children from all over the globe living in his household? What were they all living on in 1871 when he wasn't running a pub? Any suggestions gratefully received.
NOTES
*There is no photographer called Edward B Crichton as far as I can see. There is a Thomas B Chrichton who produced "cartes de visite" in the 1860s. Maybe the curators of the exhibition just made a mistake.
*1871 - Registration district : Hackney, Sub-registration district : West Hackney, ED, institution, or vessel : 14b, Household schedule number : 335, Piece : 323, Folio : 80, Page Number : 64
*1881 - Registration district : Hackney, Sub registration district : West Hackney, ED, institution, or vessel : 17b, Neighbors: (etc), Piece : 301, Folio : 5, Page Number : 3
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