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Durows

Bob Davis

Bob Davis
I had a previous post on this name, but one evening recently gently wandering through the forum, I came across Kellys entries. On chance I put in Durows and came up with Francis William Durows my great grandfather being a shop owner at 145 Grosvenor Street West. In the 1881 census, although identified as Durries, he is shown as living at this address as a silversmith. Other entries for him in censuses show him as a silver plater. The family is extremely hard to trace as there have been so many misspellings of the name and in later days some members changed their name to DuRose (whether by accident or not is not known) My question is where was Grosvenor Street West and what sort of shop did Francis own. He was born in 1852 and died in 1915 in the lunatic asylum at Rubery and is buried in Witton cemetery. If he was a silver plater, would there have been noxious substances that he could have inhaled? I remember from my time at Cannings, tales of plating liquids have strange effects or being dangerouse (this was of course in the days before COSSH and HASAW) and I regularly heard tales of Triclorytheleyne sniffers. Greetings to cousin Peter if you read this, still no luck in finding Francis's mothers or father's roots beyond what we have put on the family tree. If any one had a relative born about 1820 called Jane Webb, like to know, my Jane is nowhere to be found in FreeBMD or censuses. Birthplace Worcestershire (King's Norton probably)
 
Hi Onceabrummie ( always a brummie

Grosvenor Street West is still there near the new Sea Life Centre (Broad Street are ) off Ryland street AA Route finder on Comp ok,

Mercury (jewelry cleaning) & Arsenic just two of the many noxious substances used & metal plating (Epns & other metals)
gave off toxic fumes pre Health & safety rules of course,

Best regards John ( have a Durose somewhere in my "tree" now a Jungle to sort through)
 
John
Many thanks, I lived Birmingham many years before escaping to God's own county, and the Durows have proved to be a problem. I know that Francis William's father was Henry b.1809 (Staffs) and his mother was Jane b.1820 approx. (Worcs) but I can find no trace of marriage or baptisms of the children before Francis or indeed Francis, he was married as Duoro at St Martins in 1872. The only child registered is the one born after the death of Jane's husband Henry (1854) and about 9 years later. Thanks for the reminder as to where Grosvenor Street West was

Bob
 
The baptism in 1877 is probably the right person as it says "adult" and "received into the church".

It is the second entry on the picture.
Francis Durose.jpg

I am not sure what information you already have but the family seem to be on the 1861 census transcribed as Darrows - Mother Jane, children Sarah (aged 15), Thomas Henry (aged 10), Francis W (aged 8), Edward P (aged 6) and Charles (aged 4). I am not sure this is the right people but.....

Janice
 
They're on the 1871 census as Dewrous - all the above except Thomas Henry but with William (a son) and Eliza (a grand daughter).
 
Cyanide has also been used for silver plating. Trichlorethylene, used to clean materials, would not , I think, have been used at the time you are referring to
 
HI JOHN
Just been reading some of your threads and you discussing ellectro plating and annodizing
well that was my trade for most of my younger life and beleive me not if health and safty had been around
in those days they would not excisted they would have been prosecuted and closed down beleive me
especialy with exposed live cables and leavers running around the place and galleon of water running around your feet
i have worked almost every plating bussines in hockley no doors in the place huge whole holes in the building you can actual have a conversation with joe public whist you are workin away some back on to cannal towe pathes no window frames condions have been hooendous to work in
i have workede with all kinds of acids along with cyanides you name the acids i have used
trichlorethylene came years later yes for cleaning but standing over it was a death threat within its self
when i think back to all those platingcompanies around the Hockley Jewerly Quarter just how bad the conditions was
the worst company i ever worked at was Randalls brother on the very old Darthmouth street
way back in the fiftys , i recall camden drive plating but never worked
best wishes Alan,, Astonian,,,,
 
I am not sure if you can find out if this is the right person but Francis Durose was admitted to Mental Health Institution in Birmingham on 27 October 1891 and released on 2 Jan 1892 and then again admitted on 14 April 1892 and released on 25 September 1896. In the first case the "1" indicates recovered, in the second the "1" indicates no improvement. Could it be the chemicals associated with his work?

Durose MH.jpgdurose 2nd.jpg
Janice
 
HI JOHN
Just been reading some of your threads and you discussing ellectro plating and annodizing
well that was my trade for most of my younger life and beleive me not if health and safty had been around
in those days they would not excisted they would have been prosecuted and closed down beleive me
especialy with exposed live cables and leavers running around the place and galleon of water running around your feet
i have worked almost every plating bussines in hockley no doors in the place huge whole holes in the building you can actual have a conversation with joe public whist you are workin away some back on to cannal towe pathes no window frames condions have been hooendous to work in
i have workede with all kinds of acids along with cyanides you name the acids i have used
trichlorethylene came years later yes for cleaning but standing over it was a death threat within its self
when i think back to all those platingcompanies around the Hockley Jewerly Quarter just how bad the conditions was
the worst company i ever worked at was Randalls brother on the very old Darthmouth street
way back in the fiftys , i recall camden drive plating but never worked
best wishes Alan,, Astonian,,,,
Hi Alan. Interesting to get your first-hand experience of working in the electro-plating and anodising industry and to hear of the lack of precautions taken when using toxic chemicals. I wonder if management recognised that the chemicals, as used, were dangerous but put safety well-down the list of priorities due to the financial cost of introducing safety measures. We sometimes tend to ridicule "health and safety" regulations and inspections but in this case perhaps many lives could have been made more bearable if sensible handling procedures and personal protection had been introduced. Dave.
 
I have Francis W Durows b 1852.wife Emily Mary Doody b 1855 on my tree.Francis is on the trade directories 1884 and 1888 plater at back of 25 Grosvenor St.He is said to be plater of Coach Harness
He was in Lunatic Asylum in 1911 ,Kings Norton Dying there in 1915
J Hughes
 
My sons company has thrived since they introduced health and safety to the electro plating industry. His company makes sure that no toxic chemicals are discharged.
 
Re: Durows m

Many thanks. I have the tree derived from what I found in IGI and on the censuses and freebdm. The variations of an me are legion and in the 1881 census my grandmother Elsie is shown as Ebey. I am grateful for the copies they will be added to the file.

Bob
 
MWS
I have trouble with broadband it is all very slow, and could not get a reply to you at the time you sent your message, however many thanks. The only problem now is that I cannot print the copies of the detail you sent. I have no Idea why. But once again thanks

Bob
 
Trike had just been introduced as a solution, just around the time that I joined Cannings, I can't remember now, but I think it had to have specialised tanks, ie either stainless steel or lined, but I do know of the stories I heard from the chemical department. I was in Engineering Orders. The funny thing is that for H & S reasons smoking was forbidden in the Great Hampton Street Offices, but these chemicals etc were handled with abandon and plating shops were chambers of noxious fumes and deadly chemicals. The safety precautions gloves and rubber aprons......nowadays they would have a very different use!

Bob
 
J.Hughed
Thanks for the information. I have Francis W marriage cert to Emily Doody and have discovered with help from other relations the basic family from Henry (b1809) through to the present day. I can find no records of Henry in what parish records I have been able to look at nor his wife Jane Webb. Nor are there records of children prior to Francis being born. I have seen the various Kelly's entries and also the Census entries Durows, Darrows, Derouse etc. What is the connection on your tree to Francis W and his wife Emily? My grandmother was Elsie, shown on the census as Ebey. And I remember as child meeting @the aunts@ fiersome but jolly ladies - her sisters. Any info would be welcome

Bob
 
Janic
Thanks again, in actual fact he died there in 1915, he is in the 1911 census there under his initials. Unfortunately I cannot print for some reason your certs.

Bob
 
Francis Durose.jpgdurose 2nd.jpgDurose MH.jpg
Janic
Thanks again, in actual fact he died there in 1915, he is in the 1911 census there under his initials. Unfortunately I cannot print for some reason your certs.

Bob
Is that the baptism one as well as the entries from the mental institution? I will try and attach them in a different way.
 
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