My Great Uncle Fred told my dad (in a phone call my dad recorded for family history purposes) that 'Granpapa' Trevor (David, the magician) had his own horse and cart for travelling around. However, that might have been just for local events in later life, as Fred was still quite young when David died in 1916. At the time of the phone call Fred was the last surviving member of my family to have known David in life. I made a digital copy of the Dictaphone original recording but some of it is indistinct.So it looks like it is the one by the post box. Well spotted. It's in the middle of nowhere! I don't know how he got there from Birmingham. How he got around anywhere quite frankly.
Probably touring with his magic/ventriloquism show, as his daughter Phoebe was left in Birmingham with family, but I have no way of confirming that short of delving into 1861 newspapers for clippings about performances in Wiltshire.It looks a lovely old world village. I agree - I am not sure why he would have been there.
I definitely think he was a mould-breaker within his family, when you consider that virtually all of the other members were provisions retailers, bakers and wholesalers, which to be fair was a perfectly sensible choice in a rapidly growing industrial city. Whether David had a musical talent that was recognised early and he was allowed to develop, or whether he had a bust-up with his parents who wanted him to run a local shop like everybody else I don't think we will ever know. He was however the third son in a large family, so maybe there was less pressure on him to follow the family tradition. I can see the sense in having many strings to the bow, and his entrepreneurial spirit certainly stands out - perhaps that's something he learned from his father and mother?Thank you for the advertisement. I think that David was incredibly driven as we have seen that he was determined to become an entertainer at a young age (which was completely unknown in his family tradition) but was also a pragmatist. Like most people in the entertainment industry, unless you become a wealthy and famous star you need other work to fall back on between stage jobs and David had many strings to his bow and he used his real name for them.
If you don't mind my saying, some of his more grandiose claims might need to be taken with a pinch of salt though. His other work included the music lessons and instrument repairs above, photography and picture framing etc. He was running a picture framing shop when he died.
My impression is that he didn't wait for work to come his way via an agent or audition but set up his own gigs. He posted endless flyers for his act in newspapers and booked his own venues I suspect. With advertisements, venue hire, travel and props he must have had quite a few expenses.
He never seemed to be part of a music hall variety show but was either hired for private performances or performed in local community, assembly or concert halls and county fairs, summer fetes and shows. During the day on tour he would put on his Punch and Judy shows for the children and there probably plugged his evening ventriloquist act nearby.
He was prepared to travel anywhere and great distances for his work. He played extensively around England, some parts of Wales and even Ireland. There must have been few cities, towns or even villages where he did not perform. In terms of scale, one day he was at the village hall in Berkswell, the next he was filling Birmingham Town Hall with his audience. He turns up just about everywhere, from Street in Somerset, Norwich, ‘all the towns in Essex’, Derby, Wolverhampton, Abergavenny, Ashby de la Zouch and so on practically infinitum.
Apart from 'Louisa', he had other sidekicks. In 1857 it was an Alsatian dog called German Picco.
His next sidekick of many years was Toby, ‘The Wondrous Singing Dog’. David put an advert in a newspaper saying that Toby was the best performing dog in the world and he would give a prize of steak, beefsteak and German sausages to any dog that could beat him. It would appear that no dog came forward to claim the prize, thereby proving his point. The high point of Toby’s career was when he performed his singing dog act at a dog show in the Midlands. In the Punch and Judy shows, Toby ‘kills’ Punch’s baby and batters the policeman (puppets).
Later on, on some occasions David performed with an entire pack of dogs. How he got them all on the train with his luggage, instruments, props and conjuring equipment and put them up in a hotel one can only speculate.
The photo in post #34 is on a tree on Ancestry.
Absolutely thrilled, thank you - this forum has proven invaluable. Hopefully some of the information I've posted will help others too, at some future point.Hi MSB
Just had to let you know that I have found this thread absolutely fascinating. Could not stop reading. You must be thrilled with all the knowledge that the members have been able to supply.
Good luck in your further searches and thank you. Regards Sue
That is so nice to hear Susan.Hi MSB
Just had to let you know that I have found this thread absolutely fascinating. Could not stop reading. You must be thrilled with all the knowledge that the members have been able to supply.
Good luck in your further searches and thank you. Regards Sue
Dear Susan Shaw,Hi MSB
Just had to let you know that I have found this thread absolutely fascinating. Could not stop reading. You must be thrilled with all the knowledge that the members have been able to supply.
Good luck in your further searches and thank you. Regards Sue