Hawkers

[brumgum]

My Great Grandfather and his father and other family members were all Hawkers according to census information I've gathered. I was aware of this as my Father has in his possession a payment notebook of his Grandfathers, he used to sell fish around Gosta Green etc. There's just symbols for street names entered in the book that he could understand as obviously he was unable to write. Just found this little bit of info that i thought i'd share and also the video that I've posted elsewhere on the forum that features peddlers down the Bull Ring . Any one else out there have Hawkers in their ancestry? and have a story to tell or have any other info I'd be interested,
Brumgum...

https://www.theodora.com/encyclopedia/h/hawkers.html

https://www.macearchive.org/Archive/Title/birmingham-of-yesterday/MediaEntry/333.html

 

[Wendy]

My gt gt grandfather John Jennings is listed as a Hawker in 1841 at Lutterworth in Leicestershire. He is then listed in 1851 aged 68 as a Framework Knitter by 1861 aged 78 he is a retired Hawker. He then moves with his wife Elizabeth to be near is sons in Lozells he dies at 231 Farm Street aged 84 in 1866. Death cert states he was a Hawker. I have no idea what he Hawked it would be nice to know. He is buried in Key Hill cemetery. Thanks for the links interesting.

 

[Anne Watton]

My husband's family were hawkers from Ruiton near Lower Gornal in the Black Country. They sold cattle licks all over the area, travelling in horse pulled wagons. On a visit to the Black Country Museum, I was talking to one of the guides and she told me that there was a hawkers wagon from Ruiton parked in the school playground. It was usually stored away but had been brought out for a procession and hadn't been put back in to storage. Amazing that these people lived in such a small place. Anne

 

[Astonian]

Does anybody recall jack kellly he was one of the old traditional hawkers of brum
he used to push a wicker style basket for years and also he had a large wooden hand cart he would do is bit in the row of the old fruit sellers and at week ends he would walk around districts selling penny winks for a old penny per beer pint glass
especialy on sundays and then he gradutated to selling and hawking the friut around all the pubs and in later years of his life he started in edgbaston and around the gillot rd and down through to ladywood calling out selling all the sunday morning papers but sadly i think of old jack that e used to drink more of his taking rather taking it home and i recall the old news paper guy out side the odean picture huse in news street and at one time at the top of hill street way back in time he used to live on the nechells park rd in the old back to backs i had to call at his house time and i reconised him and asked him ; yes thats me he said
i never knew where old jack lived thou best wishes Astonian;