Lenard, John
* Information provided by Rob Tindall 15/10/23
In 1891 John was a 60 year-old hawker lodging with Daniel McKie in Cruddas Terrace, Bellingham. He was single and had been born in Roscommon Ireland. Tracing the life of John involves a fair degree of speculation as there is a fair number of John Lenards (or homonyms) recorded in censuses – including three who were born in Ireland in the same year as ‘Bellingham John’. In 1841 a John Lynard was living with his mother Margaret in Manchester – she isn’t given an occupation. In 1851, John was aged 20, working as a labourer but it may be significant that his mother was a hawker. He may have been working as a dock labourer in Liverpool in 1861 but the given age doesn’t fit. More certainly our man is the John Lenar who was living in what is almost certainly a doss house in Bedlington and trading as a hawker. It seems that John Lennard had ideas above his station since the John in the Union Workhouse in Hanover Square, London is described as ‘formerly a commercial traveller.