John Allen Lechmere Is Told to Reprimand His Son

[rjpalmer]

John Allen Lechmere ought to severely reprimand his son.

[rjpalmer]

Henry is obviously genetically predisposed to committing violence in the public streets...

[rjpalmer]

Although the account gives Henry's age as 'about twelve,' our young matador would have been closer to 11. His birth was registered the 2Qt of 1864.

The father is John Allen Lechmere, born Fownhope, Herefordshire in the 1871 census. Henry is Lechmere's half-brother.

[Ally]

Great... now they'll turn from blaming all of Charles 'murderous impulses' on his predatory, boy-loving ho of a mama to "bad blood" from the patrilineal line as shown by his homicidal younger brother. I mean, this is clearly proof that he was doomed to murderous ways.

[MrBarnett]

An excellent discovery, RJ. Let’s just hope that nobody in Herefordshire read it and put 2 and 2 together.

[rjpalmer]

Evidently young Lechmere's coat trick was not unique in the annals of Victorian crime. Indeed, assaulting bicyclists appears to have been a relatively popular pastime.

[MrBarnett]

‘predatory, boy-loving ho’? You’re so funny, Ally.

[Ally]

Evidently young Lechmere's coat trick was not unique in the annals of Victorian crime. Indeed, assaulting bicyclists appears to have been a relatively popular pastime.

I imagine this was the Victorian era equivalent of mailbox baseball or T-Ping trees.

[rjpalmer]

I imagine this was the Victorian era equivalent of mailbox baseball or T-Ping trees.

Yes, here's a final case from 1882. Three laborers knock down a bicycle-riding surgeon using a variant of the coat trick and a well-placed foot.

One might theorize that class-warfare was an element in these assaults, but young Lechmere's prosecutor was a twenty-something boot clicker, so by no means a toff.

[MrBarnett]

This is from 1895.

I assume from this (haven’t checked it out) that JAL’s wife remarried John Barber.

I couldn’t have found anything sweeter.

[MrBarnett]

I started looking for Tommy Cooper. :-)

John Barber it was. I haven’t found the marriage yet. Perhaps there wasn’t one, but our ‘enry told the world (or at least that part of it that had a connection to Northampton) that his Ma had married JB.

Just think of the trouble that might have caused if his Pa had still been alive…

[rjpalmer]

our ‘enry told the world (or at least that part of it that had a connection to Northampton) that his Ma had married JB.

Why wouldn't he? She did.

You'll need to peek into a different keyhole.

[MrBarnett]

Well done.

But Ann never did Mary JAL, did she? I wonder how she was described on the marriage cert - as a widow?

I wonder if Henry knew he was illegitimate.

[Fiver]

Well done.

But Ann never did Mary JAL, did she? I wonder how she was described on the marriage cert - as a widow?

I wonder if Henry knew he was illegitimate.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

If we don't have any birth records for John Allen Lechmere, that doesn't mean he was never born. Maybe records for JALs second marriage never existed. Maybe they were lost. Maybe they exist but haven't been transcribed yet.

[MrBarnett]

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

If we don't have any birth records for John Allen Lechmere, that doesn't mean he was never born. Maybe records for JALs second marriage never existed. Maybe they were lost. Maybe they exist but haven't been transcribed yet.

There’s a cliche for every situation.

‘Haven’t been transcribed yet?’ What on earth does that mean? Do you somehow imagine someone somewhere is working their way through transcribing 19thC marriage records and they haven’t reached Northamptonshire or the 1850s yet?

I’m beginning to think Ally may have a point about about the Lechmere bad blood. It sounds like someone poisoned John Barber. Why not ‘enry, his coat-chucking step-son?