All in the family with wife #2

The Wastrel was a widower, but not for long – my great grandfather John Walden Poulson in 1901 was 31 with four young children and an earthenware manufactory to manage for his father (and owner) Edwin.

When I first wrote about the Wastrel’s second marriage in 2018, I had sent for the marriage certificate and puzzled over why it took place in Newcastle-on-Tyne, a long way from Knottingley where he and his family lived. Even today, the train ride is nearly 3 hours. The marriage was on February 25, 1901, so this wasn’t some summer holiday lark. As far as I knew, no one in the Poulson family had anything to do with anyone in Newcastle.

Continue reading All in the family with wife #2

The wheels finally fall off for the Wastrel

Sydney Hotel, Goole, Yorkshire
Sydney Hotel, Goole, Yorkshire

John Walden Poulson – The Wastrel; my great grandfather – had so much going for him, but couldn’t seem to avoid turning every advantage into a tale of risk, broken promises, embezzling and very likely drinking and gambling. Some parts of his tale are very public (were covered in local newspapers), but lots of the details I’ll probably never know for sure. Today he might be diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but in the late 1800s even if there had been such a diagnosis, there wasn’t anything to be done other than watch a life unravel. Continue reading The wheels finally fall off for the Wastrel