John William Holyland, 1874-1918

John William Holyland was born in Leicester in February 1874, the sixth child of Joseph and Augusta Holyland. Four of his older siblings had already died, and he was the first surviving son. Whilst mostly referred to as John William on documentation, he also went by the sole name William; I'll refer to him as JW throughout this post. 

JW’s childhood was not easy. The family was large, and poor; his father drank to excess and domestic violence was involved. (JWs parents are the subjects of earlier posts, "A Regular Brute" and "A Fairly Strong Woman"). His father was variously penalised for failing to have the children vaccinated, and failing to send them to school. After JW's birth, ten more children were born into the family; three of those died as babies. JW's final family position was as the second oldest of nine surviving children.

Given what we now know of the deleterious effects of adverse life events on childrens' subsequent development, it's no surprise that most of the subsequent information about JW comes from court reports. His first brush with the law was at age 14 when, with several other boys, he was convicted of setting fire to some hay - the boys claimed they were lighting a cigar and accidentally dropped the match. They were fined with costs and damages, with the alternative of 7 days' hard labour each.

By the age of 16, it seems that JW had left the family home, at least temporarily; unlike his younger siblings, he is not mentioned in an NSPCC case brought in 1890. The 1891 census shows him as a boarder in a different part of town; like his father, he worked as a clicker in the shoe trade (a relatively skilled occupation with the opportunity for better wages).

  

   

John William Holyland, age 19, 1893

In Dec1891 he was in court again, charged with being found on enclosed premises for unlawful purposes. No other evidence was offered, so he was discharged; but clearly the arresting officer felt he was up to no good! So began a string of court appearances over the next three years, and the picture develops of someone potentially not well, on the breadline and struggling to survive.

- Jun 1892 - charged with assaulting his mother. JW blamed his sister! The court deferred judgement to give him the opportunity to leave home. 

- Jan 1893 - bound over after stealing silk handkerchiefs from a pawnbroker and pawning them elsewhere. JW said that he had had no work for 7 months, despite "trying his utmost"; he had previously saved £10 but that was gone and he was "now quite destitute".

- July 1893 - Confessed to housebreaking, after being found sleeping rough in a barn in possession of the stolen money. His mother told the court that he had been living away from home for quite some time, and “she did not think he was quite right in his mind”. The magistrate thought "it would be a mercy to give a longer term of imprisonment so he would be under proper supervision" – 3 months' hard labour. These prison records offer a description - JW was 5’5” tall, with fair complexion, green eyes and oval face.

- Jan 1894 - Fined 10 shillings or 7 days imprisonment for using offensive language in the street.

- March 1894 - didn't turn up to court on a summons of illegal gaming. 

- October 1894 - sentenced to 6 months hard labour. He had stolen 2 tame rabbits, and said that he had no work and had hardly eaten for 2 days.

A respite from prison then came in the form of other institutions. He was admitted to the workhouse in January 1896, and stayed there for 9 months. In March 1897, he was admitted to the asylum for seven weeks; that summer he was charged with threatening to kill his mother and was bound over to keep the peace. The following month he was readmitted to the asylum, and discharged to the workhouse in early November 1897, from where he took his own discharge the same day.

After this, I wonder if JW decided to try for a “clean-ish” start as he began to move around the country, and his pattern of offending changed. In late 1899, he was convicted in Weedon, Northants, of hawking needles without a licence. A few weeks later he was back in Leicester, charged with threatening behaviour to his brother in law; this case was dismissed as the brother in law said he was "no longer afraid" of JW.  JW was described here as a "traveller”.

Warwickshire Advertiser, 2 Jan 1901

In January 1901 he was again convicted of trying to peddle needles without a licence, this time in Warwick. JW said he was "trying to make an honest living". JW’s 13 year old brother Albert was with him, and seems to have run away from home and to have been staying with JW in a lodging house. Although the newspaper states that JW was from Sheffield, I believe this is incorrect, as it also says that he was well known to the Leicester courts! 

There is no trace of JW in the 1901 census; I believe he may have been homeless or "tramping" and avoided the eye of the enumerator. It's likely though that he was the John William Holyland who appeared in the Watford court in July 1902 charged, with 50 others, of rioting.

Then JW disappears from the records until 1910. Where was he during this time? Did he manage to find work and "go straight"? Was he back in a workhouse or asylum somewhere? I don't know, but in 1910 he reappeared in the Leicester court, charged with a breach of the peace after a noisy argument with his brother in the street. JW claimed to have "regained his character" (whatever that means!)

JWs "wobbly" signature on the 1911 census suggests a man who had not enjoyed much schooling, although he could at least sign his name. He was living alone, but close to some of his siblings, in a two roomed tenement in the centre of Leicester, and working again as a shoe clicker. 

Shortly after this, JW found himself on the other side of the law, when the High Court found in favour of him and a paternal great aunt in a dispute over a will. The sum involved was small - less than £100 - but for a near-destitute man who had intermittently starved, even a small share of that would have been worthwhile. I was thrilled to find a record of this case, complete with hand drawn family tree, on the National Archives site!

John William Holyland died of TB in March 1918; his oldest sister was with him and registered his death. In a final twist, he shares an unmarked grave in Gilroes cemetery with the mother who he had previously threatened to kill, and who had claimed he was "not right in his mind".