Memories of John G

Memoirs of John George Beales Written March 1952 – Age 75 (As copied from his handwritten document. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar retained as originally written.) Memoirs of John G. Beales son of Jane Scott and Daniel Beales. Born February-1- 1877 in Normanby a small village Nr Middlesbro, Yorkshire, England. My mothers parents John and Ann Fishburn Scott resided in Easton near Middlesbro. I do not remember my father for he passed away when I was but a small child leaving my mother with seven children as follows, Mary Ann, Emily, Lucy, Herbert, Louisa, John G. and Ernest. I do not know how long it was after my fathers death before my mother married again a man by the name of Simon Watson Plewes a widower with two sons, Robert and Samuel and to this union one son was born, Horace, who died in 1921 at the age of 38 years. Samuel has been dead for several years, and his brother Robert now a widower 76 years of age and at this writing March 1952 is living at No. 2 Moor Top, Low Moor, Bradford, Yorkshire England. He has one son Ernest who with his wife and family reside at 173 Wyk Lane, Wyke. As I remember my step father was employed at some iron ore mines in Eston this being about the only kind of work procurable where we were located. This of course was a great hardship for those with large families because there was not much work for them to do except hire out as servants and farm hands. For this reason children old enough to work had to leave their homes at a very early age. It was this condition that prompted my parents to leave Normanby and settle in Low Moor Bradford, where work was more readily obtainable in the weaving, spinning, and wool combing factories. There was also a large iron works, coal mines, and dye works. Low Moor, is in easy reach of Bradford City which is a great wool center with many textile mills, large dye works, foundrys and various kinds of industries that employ thousands of workers. In what year my parents left Normanby for Low Moor I do not exactly know but I think it may have been about the year 1884. My father left some weeks before the family and had rented a house and secured work at the local gas works. Soon after we arrived in Low Moor, my oldest sisters started to work in a spinning factory which was close by and which as we often quote was a “God send”. How ever it did not last very long for sickness and death came into our home and took away Lucy at the age of 20 years. Six months later Herbert passed away age 18 years. Two years later Louisa died at the age of 19 years. Six years later Ernest died at the age of 16. My sister Emily died in the year 1922 age 57. My oldest sister Mary Ann married William Pickard and to them were born two children namely Wilfred and Edith. Soon after their birth she died being but 26 years of age. This sickness and death was a cruel blow and it left our home in a state of poverty I think I shall never forget. But in spite of it all my mother took the two children Wilfred and Edith into our home and reared them as her own. Wilford died in 1914 age 24 years. Edith my niece at this writing March 1952 is 59 years of age and is living at 16 Lower School St., Hill Top, Low Moor in the same house we lived in when she was a child and where I spent my boy-hood days. Edith married William Ormerod. She had four children, her two sons are married and have families of their own, one of the girls, Gladys died. It was owing to the conditions just mentioned that my education was very meager for I never got beyond fourth grade in school. At ten years of age I went to work in a spinning factory working half time (that is working a half day of five hours then going to school a half day). My wages were one shilling and three pence a week or 31¢ in U.S. currency. This system was not so good for me because I had to walk a mile to work and be there at 6-30 in the morning, getting thru at 12-30 noon then have to walk back home which left me practically no time for lunch before I had home again for school which was another mile from where we lived. When twelve years of age I left school altogether and went to work in a coal mine, but this did not last very long for I was not particularly strong and the work proved to be too strenuous for me to accomplish. When it became necessary for me to leave school and go to work ten hours a day I tried to get more education by going to a night school but this was not so easy for me to do because I had to walk almost three miles to school which began classes at 7- pm lasting two hours then another long walk home. This state of affairs left me no time for studies. Not only that but there were some other students who seemed to be there for what they thot was real fun in throwing snuff and strong black pepper in the rooms in such large quantities we could do nothing else except sneeze. It was really funny and I have to laugh when I think of it. I attended this school one winter session. My subjects were Typing, Book-keeping, Shorthand, and French. But I have to confess I did not make much in any one of these subjects and they are now all forgotten. At this time when I was going to night school I was working at a local wire factory learning the trade of wire drawing, but after I had been with the firm about six months or so I was considered by the foreman as not being strong enough for the job and so I got my discharge. My next job was working for the firm of W. T. Breaks and Co. Commision weavers at Hill Top Mills Low Moor, and it was at this place that I not only learned a trade but I met and became acquainted with Eliza Knowles who later became my wife. I left this firm and went to work at Wyke Mills, Wyke, near Bradford which is some distance away from where I lived at the time. I had not been there long when a wage dispute came up and the union called us out on strike, our places were soon taken up by “black legs” (that is strike breakers) and so we never got back to work there again. In my youth I played Cricket, Soccer and Rugby Football, and indulged in a little wrestling as well as in friendly boxing bouts. I was not much of a boxer tho, for I usually ended up with thick lips and a bloody nose and my wrestling career came to an end when at one time I had a small bone broken just back of my heel and my ankle bone cracked. I also did a lot of running, racing and walking, in fact I was so slim and my weight so light I could run and jump almost like a gazelle. I have walked for miles in country lanes, thru fields and meadows with running brooks by my side observing the grandeur that nature so lavishly endowed the surrounding country within a short distance of where I lived. During these walks that I would often go alone I have been thrilled with the song of a sky lark as it soared heaven-ward until it looked like a mere speck in the sky and at eventide with admiration have I listened to the song and call of a thrush. To me these things are marvelous and they have enriched my life beyond measure. I enjoyed good music very much and quite often I would walk to Bradford City which was three miles from where I lived to attend Chamber Music Concerts which were free to the public and paid for by the city. At Christmas my chums and I 2 would get together and go out caroling and on this business we would start out singing at 12 pm Christmas eve and then go the rounds till 12 noon Christmas day. I played the concertina very well and so was accompanist for the group. I used to play billiards quite a lot and also various card games in a working men club of which I was a member. My age at about this time was 17 or 18 (I do not remember exactly). I had no religious affiliations for I never had any use for any of the different sects and creeds, I was agnostic in my belief. How ever I was in any way prejudiced towards any of these sects. Once a year these various Denominations would have a special sunday for anniversary services in order to raise and collect funds to enable them to carry on their religious activities. The singing of these Church Choirs which were usually augmented with an orchestra was something to be remembered. It was the singing of these Church Choirs that appealed to me and what drew my attention to them.

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