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My father Ernest Morton


Stunmon

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I know there won't be anyone old enough! but, does anyone remember my father Ernest Morton? He died in 1959. My sister and myself found that he'd been a man of compete mystery. He'd had a previous marriage unknown to us, in 1918 when he was 24, married my mother when he was 47 or so, and in between seems to have done some very varied things to include working in the same laboratory as Harry Brearley, and writing numerous plays to include 'A Bit of Brass' which was performed in Sheffield at amateur dramatic societies right up to the 1950s.

The last dramatic society he was associated with as writer, actor and producer was St.Patricks Players.

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3 hours ago, Stunmon said:

I know there won't be anyone old enough! but, does anyone remember my father Ernest Morton? He died in 1959. My sister and myself found that he'd been a man of compete mystery. He'd had a previous marriage unknown to us, in 1918 when he was 24, married my mother when he was 47 or so, and in between seems to have done some very varied things to include working in the same laboratory as Harry Brearley, and writing numerous plays to include 'A Bit of Brass' which was performed in Sheffield at amateur dramatic societies right up to the 1950s.

The last dramatic society he was associated with as writer, actor and producer was St.Patricks Players.

Sheffield Daily Telegraph 04 May 1939
Is this the same Ernest Morton ?
 

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You are wonderful! Yes, that is my father! I found out that he had been married before to a Ivy Mustill in 1918. The Alan Fenton in this programme was the small son of his wifes sister, My father was also a ventriloquist and taught it to Alan.

I'm a bit green when it comes to researching, Where did you get the information from? Most grateful!!!!

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4 hours ago, Stunmon said:

You are wonderful! Yes, that is my father! I found out that he had been married before to a Ivy Mustill in 1918. The Alan Fenton in this programme was the small son of his wifes sister, My father was also a ventriloquist and taught it to Alan.

I'm a bit green when it comes to researching, Where did you get the information from? Most grateful!!!!

Sheffield Daily Telegraph 27 June 1911


This Is this the first Ernest Morton i have found he would have been 17 Years old if its your Father ?.
I use Find my Past newspaper section. 

 

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Sheffield Daily Telegraph 25 January 1939

Sadly the previous Two could be the wrong Earnest ( unless he came from Whitley Bridge ? )

Maybe this one is correct now i am working backwards.

 

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Disappointed that the 17 year old may not be my father?  He did have a good singing voice although I only ever heard it on his pantomimes! I have some research on his plays to include the most famous 'A Bit of Brass' which was produced in Sheffield more than 60 times. If you look at one of my links about Winnie Allan, someone has sent me some cuttings related to my father who was a friend of hers.

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Dear Syrup, It seems strange that there was also a 17 year old called Ernest Morton? Is there no doubt that this one seemed to come from Whitley Bridge?

The pantomime one is correct - I have unearthed quite a few of those!

Thanks a lot for your hard work!!!

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6 hours ago, Stunmon said:

Dear Syrup, It seems strange that there was also a 17 year old called Ernest Morton? Is there no doubt that this one seemed to come from Whitley Bridge?

The pantomime one is correct - I have unearthed quite a few of those!

Thanks a lot for your hard work!!!

Sheffield Daily Telegraph 07 May 1914

The reason i was suspicious that some of the posts i put on were wrong is due to some such as this where Earnest Morton is followed by ( Whitley Bridge ), and the referance to his age of 17 was my estimate due to the ages that you stated. There are other people with the same name including a Vicar and a Doctor but the ages dont match.
 

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Thankyou again for all you've done!!! Yes, the Whitley part is confusing!!! Lots of similar links. My father lived at Gerald Street, Attercliffe as a boy and many of the pantomime and concert references are about churches in the Attercliffe area. He belonged at that time to the Baldwin Players.They moved to Ellerton Road, Firth Park when he was a teenager. The 1901 census shows them at Gerald Street - my father was 6, with the 1911 census from Ellerton Road where they were re-housed to a new build. My father was16.

His mother died October 1914 of a heart attack aged 51 and his youngest brother Arthur in November 1941 of kidney failure. There was another brother Walter who he seemed to be estranged from. Athough living in Sheffield on Manchester Road, we were never aware of his existence.

Every day I'm finding out more about my father!!!!

 

Monica

 

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7 hours ago, Stunmon said:

Thankyou again for all you've done!!! Yes, the Whitley part is confusing!!! Lots of similar links. My father lived at Gerald Street, Attercliffe as a boy and many of the pantomime and concert references are about churches in the Attercliffe area. He belonged at that time to the Baldwin Players.They moved to Ellerton Road, Firth Park when he was a teenager. The 1901 census shows them at Gerald Street - my father was 6, with the 1911 census from Ellerton Road where they were re-housed to a new build. My father was16.

His mother died October 1914 of a heart attack aged 51 and his youngest brother Arthur in November 1941 of kidney failure. There was another brother Walter who he seemed to be estranged from. Athough living in Sheffield on Manchester Road, we were never aware of his existence.

Every day I'm finding out more about my father!!!!

 

Monica

 

Sheffield Daily Telegraph 28 February 1911

Hi Monica
You mentiond a Brother Walter and i have spotted this that might be of interest.
Gary.

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Thanks so much again. It seems that Walter was married at 20 and living at Marion Road, Hillsborough, if its the right one! He later lived with his wife Florence (nee Field) on Manchester Road, Crosspool. My father seems to have become estranged from him at some point.

My fathers occupation there is given as collier. By his marriage in 1918 he was a metallurgist which is what I understood him to be in the early years, working in the same labs as Harry Brearley. He seems to have been pretty versatile. In some of the reviews of his shows he was a bus driver/conductor. That was more towards the 1930s.

 

again, many thanks!!

 

Monica

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