Charles W McElroy - bank clerk extraordinaire?

[Barbara.H]

Trying to construct a paper trail for Charles William McElroy, who in 1901 was living at 25 Great Jackson St, Hulme with wife Annie. (ancestry transcribe him as McElvey).  In 1902 Charles W had 15 minutes of fame when he solved a puzzle set in the Weekly Dispatch magazine and won half a guinea! 

So far I've got:
Free bmd registered birth 3rd q 1861, Chorlton district
1871  at Brown St, Withington, Manchester with parents William (bookkeeper) and Emma
1881 at Elm St, Cheetham with William, Emma & family. Charles W is now a bank clerk
1891 ?? lodging in Sturston, Derbyshire, occupation ballad singer ??
1895 ??  possibly a marriage to Selina Ann Ashley in Darlington, Co. Durham?
1901 commercial clerk, 25 Gt Jackson St  as above.

Have I got this right? Did Charles W chuck his banking job in the 1890s to become a travelling ballad singer? I hope so, but can anyone see him anywhere else?

There is another Charles McElroy, clerk,  in Manchester, but he is more consistent, marries Sarah & lives in the Longsight area most of his life.

  Barbara

[bursy]

Hi Barbara,

From the Kellys 1927 Manchester Directory

Charles W. McElroy       Clerk    41 Silton St, Manchester


Hope this helps
Regards, Dave

[Barbara.H]

Thanks Dave, that's very handy!

If that's my man, it means he's not the one who died in Croydon in 1909 

Cheers,
Barbara

 

[gnf]

Hello Barbara,

Information on Charles William McElroy can be found in the book "Hinged Dissections: Swinging & Twisting", by Greg N. Frederickson, Cambridge University Press, 2002.  See Chapter 1 (pages 1-7) which shows in Figure 1.1 the legendary contribution of McElroy, plus the section `The Curious Case of the Brass Hinges' on pages 8-10 and also the section `Curious Case, part 6: Statistically Piquing' on pages 226-227. Mr. McElroy was a first-rate solver of the puzzles that Henry Ernest Dudeney posted in the Weekly Dispatch during the 6-year period 1898-1903. 

I am Greg Frederickson, a professor emeritus at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.  I have a webpage that can lead you to my email address.  I would be pleased to answer any further questions that you may have, and would also love to find out why you have been interested in him.  I would also be interested in any additional information that you might have about him.  Hopefully you should be able to locate my book in a nearby library.  If not, I would be willing to supply the dozen pages of interest.

Sorry that I just hadn't earlier found your query from 10 years ago (!).

Greg