Peter was born on October 20, 1862 in the Town of Redruth,
Cornwall, England. His parents were John Dawe Jr. and Agatha
Shepard Dawe. I assumed that at the end of their lives they were
shopkeepers, "Fruiter's", providers of fruit and vegetables to the
people of Redruth. But recent information from a 1851 English
census gives me pause. Both father and mother and their first child,
Catharine, were living with his Agatha's widowed mother, John was
21 and had listed his occupation as a miner.
By the 1881 census both he and Agatha had passed away and his
eldest son John was the head of the Dawe household, Peter who
was 18, his brother Sam and most of his sisters lived under John's
and his wife roof; and John listed his occupations as "Fruiter and
Grocer".
So how did the family fortune in status and wealth improve so much
during those 30 years. In the England of that period it was very difficult
for a working class mining family to transform itself to middle class
shopkeepers. I'm not sure I'll be able to properly research this from
America, but when I visit Redruth, and I plan on going in the near
future, I'm going to check local records, hopefully I'll find some
answers.
Peter's occupation in 1881 was listed as a painters apprentice. In the
19th century a boy would start learning his trade at a very young age,
12 or 13. I don't know at what age Peter was when he started, but by
the time he immigrated to America he was an expert painter and
paper hanger.
In 1887 he opened a paint store on East Main St. in Bridgeport, Ct. He
married Minnie Thomas on June 4, 1888, and started a family. His
brother Samuel immigrated in 1889 and joined Peter in the paint
business as a partner. They worked and prospered together until
1904; and then there was a falling out, and the partnership was
dissolved. Peter retained the Dawe Bros. store and Sam moved a few
blocks away to a building he owned and opened his own paint and
wall paper store, competing with his big brother.
So how did Peter get involved with his first "Flicker Palace"? I can only
guess and speculate, there's no family archive to tap and no adult
from that era still alive to ask. So take a pinch of guess, and a dash of
speculate, mix with the few pieces of info I have found and a limited
picture emerges.
This is as far as this page is going, but if you click on the links in this
article, or go to the site map, you will tumble deeper into this family.
Cornwall, England. His parents were John Dawe Jr. and Agatha
Shepard Dawe. I assumed that at the end of their lives they were
shopkeepers, "Fruiter's", providers of fruit and vegetables to the
people of Redruth. But recent information from a 1851 English
census gives me pause. Both father and mother and their first child,
Catharine, were living with his Agatha's widowed mother, John was
21 and had listed his occupation as a miner.
By the 1881 census both he and Agatha had passed away and his
eldest son John was the head of the Dawe household, Peter who
was 18, his brother Sam and most of his sisters lived under John's
and his wife roof; and John listed his occupations as "Fruiter and
Grocer".
So how did the family fortune in status and wealth improve so much
during those 30 years. In the England of that period it was very difficult
for a working class mining family to transform itself to middle class
shopkeepers. I'm not sure I'll be able to properly research this from
America, but when I visit Redruth, and I plan on going in the near
future, I'm going to check local records, hopefully I'll find some
answers.
Peter's occupation in 1881 was listed as a painters apprentice. In the
19th century a boy would start learning his trade at a very young age,
12 or 13. I don't know at what age Peter was when he started, but by
the time he immigrated to America he was an expert painter and
paper hanger.
In 1887 he opened a paint store on East Main St. in Bridgeport, Ct. He
married Minnie Thomas on June 4, 1888, and started a family. His
brother Samuel immigrated in 1889 and joined Peter in the paint
business as a partner. They worked and prospered together until
1904; and then there was a falling out, and the partnership was
dissolved. Peter retained the Dawe Bros. store and Sam moved a few
blocks away to a building he owned and opened his own paint and
wall paper store, competing with his big brother.
So how did Peter get involved with his first "Flicker Palace"? I can only
guess and speculate, there's no family archive to tap and no adult
from that era still alive to ask. So take a pinch of guess, and a dash of
speculate, mix with the few pieces of info I have found and a limited
picture emerges.
This is as far as this page is going, but if you click on the links in this
article, or go to the site map, you will tumble deeper into this family.
| BORN Reduth, Cornwall, England October 20, 1862 DIED Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA September 22, 1933 |
| All Images and text on this site are copyrighted by A. R. Dawe, Earlville, NY., and may not be copied or reproduced without written permission. |
The Basic Peter Dawe
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