advice needed regarding my ancestors

[rich73]

Hi
i am looking for some advice on were to look or start my research
my mum also said that my family were involved in the circus
but i had no proof
my G G Grandfather John Bowen b 1842 was a travelling tailor by trade
he had children born all over ireland, england and wales 
he and his wife seem to have settled in birmingham in about 1870ish
but i have recently found his oldest son also John Bowen b1866
0n the 1901 censes
RG13; Piece: 5005; Folio: 66; Page: 13
he is listed as 1 Travelling Van On Navigation Ground
On the census return John is shown as 'own account' re employment,
whereas the others in the travelling vans were either 'worker' or
'employer'. Why? And, can you decipher what is written over 'travelling
showman'.
is their records to see which show or circus this may have been or were is my best bet to find out more
i can see a William Hagger and a Daniel Lane also travelling with him


          regards rich

[CitizenSmith]

Hi Rich

The word written over John's occupation is Exhib. It probably stands for 'Exhibition'. So would be used by the folk analysing the census returns in 1901 to categorise people who worked in travelling fairgrounds, circuses and travelling theatre groups.

'Own account' is no doubt the equivalent of the 'self-employed' we use today: that is, someone who works for him/herself and who doesn't employ any others.

To find out more about why John's there and who he's with, you could try checking local trade directories (or a local history book) to see if there was a regular fair/market in the town that week; local newspapers to see if there are any reports or advertisements; or drop a line to the National Fairground Archives (NFA) to see if they have anything on the Bowens: www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk

The NFA's records cover both fairground people and circus people.

Best wishes
Sharon

[rich73]

thanks for the help its very much appreciated
i googeled William Hagger and came up with some very interesting info

William Haggar (10 March 1851 - 4 February 1925) was a British pioneer of the cinema industry.

Haggar was born in Dedham, Essex, and worked as a musician and later as a carpenter with travelling shows, eventually becoming the proprietor of his own portable theatre company. In 1871 he married Sarah Hemming, a member of the then well-known Walton family of professional actors and pantomimists. They had eleven children, of whom eight survived to adulthood. In 1898 he began to show films on the fairgrounds of South Wales, with a portable bioscope (cinema) show. In 1901, he began making his own films, several of which were rediscovered and restored during the 1980s and since then. The latest (Revenge!) was rediscovered in the US Library of Congress in 2007

                      regards rich

[CitizenSmith]

That's brilliant detective work. Looks like Mr Haggar - and perhaps his travelling companions – must have attracted a lot of newspaper coverage.

Best wishes
Sharon