Arthur Algar (1860 – 1917)
Arthur Algar was born in the Parish of Paul in the city of Norwich England, the fifth child of John Algar, a cordwainer, and Anne Bell (perceived by Green) a silk weaver1,2.
By the time he was 10, his family was living at Says Corner, Great Yarmouth3. This was part of the Rows in Great Yarmouth. The Rows was a area unique to Great Yarmouth that was made up of four main streets with 156 narrow lanes intersecting them. In the early 1800s it was noted that there were more than 3,000 houses and almost 15,000 inhabitants. The space between the houses was extremely narrow, you could touch houses on both sides standing in the middle, and often paved which beach pebbles. At times the houses were so close together that they touched at the top across the lane. The close-knit buildings were created to make maximum use between the river and the sea and occupied by both wealthy and poor at first. Gradually, the wealthy moved out and houses were divided up into smaller properties. Much of the Rows were destroyed during WWII and others were pulled down for development. Very little of the original Rows remain in Great Yarmouth13,14.
By the time he was 20, he was working as a bootmaker along with his older brother John. At that time he was still living in the Rows with his family4.
After the banns were called in early February, on 26 February 1891 he married Hannah Burman in the parish church of Great Yarmouth8. The marriage was witnessed by Edward John Supson and Elizabeth Haglett. At that time, he was listed as a shoemaker. They made an instant family with Hannah’s two oldest children Frederick and Elanor. He continued to work as a bootmaker and they continued to live in the Rows5.
In 1895 or 96, Arthur and Hannah moved to Middlegate Street in Great Yarmouth15,16. They had another 4 children together Beatrice, Arthur, Ernest and Gladys6,7.
It was said that Arthur suffered from depression due to the difficulty of getting leather during wartime11. In 1917, he suffered a nervous breakdown and was ill for three weeks12. On 3 December 1917 he went missing and his body was found in the River Yare, the River Yare is the river where the port of Great Yarmouth resides, in August of the following year. His remains were identified by his brother John and his date of death as established as the night he went missing11,12.
His death was officially recorded as happening on 3 December 1917 with a cause of suicide by drowning9. He is buried in the Parish of St. Nicholas graveyard in Great Yarmouth10.
Link to Arthur Algar in Genealogy
1Births (CR). England. East Wymer, Norwich. 25 August 1860. ALGAR, Arthur. 249.
2Census. 1861. England. Paul, Norwich. 1861. RG 9; 1212. P.22. http://www.ancestry.ca: accessed 2018.
3Census. 1871. England and Wales. Great Yarmouth, St. Nicholas, Great Yarmouth. RG10, 1788. P. 37. http://www.ancestry.ca: accessed 2018.
4Census 1881. England. Great Yarmouth, St. Nicholas, Great Yarmouth. RG11, 1912. P. 30. http://www.ancestry.ca: accessed 2018.
5Census. 1891. England. Great Yarmouth, Nelson, Great Yarmouth. RG12, 1499. P. 6. http://www.ancestry.ca: accessed 2018.
6Census. 1901. England. Great Yarmouth, Nelson, Great Yarmouth. RG13, 1809. P. 1. http://www.ancestry.ca: accessed 2018.
7Census. 1911. England. Great Yarmouth. RG14, 11070. http://www.ancestry.ca: accessed 2018.
8Marriages (PR). England. Norfolk. 26 Februrary 1891. ALGAR, Arthur and BURMAN, Hannah. Marriages 1890-1892. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DBYB-24?cc=1416598&wc=71J1-HNF%3A30456601%2C29373001%2C32579601 : accessed accessed 2018.
9Deaths (CR) England. RD Yarmouth. Yarmouth Southern, Great Yarmouth. 3 December 1917. ALGAR, Arthur.
10Burials (PR) England. St. Nicholas, Great Yarmouth. ALGAR, Arthur.
11Yarmouth Mercury. 1918. Shoemaker’s Suicide. Yarmouth Mercury. 10 August 10 1918. P. 5.
12Yarmouth Independent. 1917. After nine months. Yarmouth Independent. 17 August 1918. P. 3.
13https://www.great-yarmouth.co.uk/things-to-do/the-rows.aspx
14http://www.paulinedodd.com/the-rows-of-great-yarmouth-norfolk.html
15Directories. England. (1894) England, Norfolk Register of Electors 1832-1915. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-XH1S-K35?i=122&cc=1824705: accessed June 2018.
16Directories. England. (1895-1896) England, Norfolk Register of Electors 1832-1915. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-XH1S-FTY?i=261&cc=1824705: accessed June 2018.
