George Henry Glasson 1855 – 1913
Photographic Business
George Henry Glasson came to professional photography rather late in life. He started life as a carpenter and later was an insurance man.
He is first mentioned as a photographer in the 1901 census and was living at 123 Great Western Street, Moss Side, Manchester. He had a studio in Hulme, Manchester which was advertised from 1902 until 1914 (the year after he died).
He also advertised himself as a photographer working from 123 Great Western Street in 1911 (this was his home address in 1901 and probably remained so until late 1910 or early 1911). Whether this was a commercial studio or not is not known.
George died in 1913.
Census
1861 – age 6, at 2 Park Row, Stoke, Damerel, Devonport, England with his mother, Helena Glasson, and 3 siblings – Helena Glasson (Jnr.) age 6, William H Glasson age 3 and James R Glasson age 1.
1871 – age 15, at 14 Carmichael Street, Lanarkshire, Scotland with his mother, Helena Glasson, and siblings (occupation – apprentice carpenter)
1881 – George Henry not found – possibly living in Liverpool where other siblings are living
1881 – Sarah Keatinge – at 3 Selborne Terrace, Manningham, Bradford (occupation – cook)
1891 – age c35, at 115 West High Street, Salford, Lancashire with his wife Sarah (occupation – collector for Prudential Assurance Co.) Also recorded were his mother–in-law, Elizabeth Keatinge, and his nephew Henry Keatinge
1901 – age c45, at 123 Great Western Street, Moss Side, Manchester with his wife Sarah and daughter Helena Elizabeth (occupation – photographer on own account)
1911 – age 55, at 143 Radnor Street, Hulme, Manchester with his wife Sarah and daughter Helena Elizabeth (occupation – photographer)
George Henry Glasson was born in Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England in 1855 to George Henry Glasson senior (c1818 – pre 1882) and Helena Glasson (nee Rule) (1828 – ?) and was baptized on the 24 August 1856 at St. Margaret, Rochester, Kent.
By 1861, at the age of six, he was living with his mother and three siblings at 2 Park Row, Stoke, Devonport. George had an older sister, Helena Glasson (Junior) aged 6, and two younger brothers, William H Glasson aged 3 and James R Glasson aged 1. His mother is shown as the wife of a Chief Engineer R. N. which accounts for the fact that George and the rest of his family moved around the country more than most people.
By the 1871 census, when George was 15, he was living in Scotland with his mother and siblings at 14 Carmichael Street, Lanarkshire and he was an apprentice carpenter.
By the time of the 1881 census, George’s mother and siblings were living in Liverpool but George is not listed and may well have been elsewhere, either permanently of temporarily.
Sometime prior to 1882 George met Sarah Keatinge who, in 1881, had been living at 3 Selborne Terrace, in Manningham, Bradford where she was working as a cook. Sarah was the daughter of William Nathaniel Keatinge and Elizabeth Keatinge (nee Hawkshaw) of Clonmel, Tipperary in Ireland and had been born on the 16 January 1855 in Clonmel so she would have been about 26 or 27 years of age when they met.
On Christmas Day in 1882 they were married at St. Paul’s Church, Walton on the Hill, Kirkdale, Liverpool, Lancashire – a witness to the marriage was Courtney Hope Glasson, George’s younger brother.
George and Sarah were most unfortunate to have three children who all died in infancy. Helena Glasson was born in 1883 (September Qtr) in West Derby, Lancashire and died the same year, William Glasson was born in 1885 (March Qtr) in West Derby and died shortly afterwards and George Henry Glasson was born in 1888 (June Qtr) in Salford, Greater Manchester and died in 1890 in Salford.
Eventually in 1894, George and Sarah had another daughter, Helena Elizabeth Glasson who was born in the June Quarter of1894 in Chorlton, Lancashire. Helena was baptised on the 6th May 1894 at St. Saviour’s Church, Chorlton-upon-Medlock – a suburb of Manchester to the south of the city centre.
In the 1891 census, George and his family were living at 115 West High Street, Salford, an area to the west of Manchester. George’s occupation is listed as a collector for the Prudential Assurance Company so, as yet, he had not taken up photography professionally. Also at that address was Elizabeth Keatinge, Sarah’s mother from Ireland, and his nephew Henry Keatinge. Henry’s father was William Keatinge, Sarah’s brother, who had died in 1883. It is not known if they were living with George or if they were merely visiting at the time of the census.
The first time that George Henry Glasson was mentioned as a photographer was in the 1901 census. He was living at 123 Great Western Street, Moss Side, Manchester with his wife Sarah and his daughter Helena. However, it was not until 1911 (and only 1911) that he advertised in trade directories as a photographer at this particular address.
George’s main studio was at 52a Bristol Street, Hulme, Manchester which was advertised from 1902 to 1914. The 1914 entry would have been after George’s death but this would be explained as entries in trade directories often had to be booked many months prior to publication.
In the 1911 census George was still living at 143 Radnor Street, Hulme, Manchester with his wife Sarah and their daughter Helena Elizabeth who was 17 years old at the time.
George Henry Glasson died on the 8th July 1913 at the relatively young age of 58. He died at Chorlton, Manchester. It is not known where he is buried.
Sarah, George’s wife, lived another 12 years and died on the 19th January 1925 at the age of 70. She died at 20 Dell Lane (Withington Hospital) and had been living at 11 Marcus Street, Hulme prior to her death. Sarah is buried at the Southern Cemetery, Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton cum Hardy, Manchester, Lancashire – Grave M2090. A visit to the cemetery has confirmed that there is no headstone on her grave as it is, sadly, a Pauper’s Grave.
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Family
Father George Henry Glasson born c 1818 at Crowan, Cornwall. Died pre 1882
Mother Helena Glasson (nee Rule) born 1828. Died ?
George Henry Glasson
Born 1855 at Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
Baptized 24 August 1856 St. Margaret, Rochester, Kent
Married 25 December 1882 to Sarah Keatinge (1855-1925) at St. Paul’s Church, Walton on the Hill, Kirkdale, Liverpool, Lancashire
Child 1 Helena Glasson, born 1883 in West Derby. Died 1883
Child 2 William Glasson, born 1885 in West Derby. Died 1885
Child 3 George Henry Glasson, born 1888 in Salford. Died 1890.
Child 4 Helena Elizabeth Glasson, born 1894, baptised 6 May 1894 at St. Saviour’s Church, Chorlton-upon-Medlock
Died 8 July 1913, aged 58, at 143 Radnor Street, Chorlton, Manchester, Lancashire
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Compiled by Ron Cosens © www.cartedevisite.co.uk
Sources
- Barbara Mclachlan barbmcl@xtra.co.nz great great niece of George Henry Glasson, family historian, who provided some of the information for the life story above
- Sandy Barrie for trade directory information
- Marcel Safier for additional research
- Ron Cosens for images from the Victorian Image Collection
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George Henry Glasson – Gallery
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