| Author |
Message |
    
Kris Law
Detective Sergeant
Username: Kris
Post Number: 94
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 5:36 pm: | 
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I've read that George Lusk's occupation had something to do with him building houses, does anyone know what EXACTLY he did?
Did he own the company, but had others building the houses, or did he buildi them himself, with others? Or was he something like a contractor? |
David O'Flaherty
Inspector
Username: Oberlin
Post Number: 217
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 6:18 pm: |
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Hi, Kris
All I've read about him is that he was a "builder and contractor, freemason, a member of the Metropolitan Board of Works, and a vestryman of the parish of Mile End Old Town" (Letters from Hell, pg. 55). I haven't seen anything more detailed than that, but that's not to say it's not out there. I've always assumed that Lusk was the head of his own company, but I might be wrong. He looks "posh" in the photograph I've seen of him, the one where's he smoking the big cigar. A contemporary business directory should provide more information.
I don't know if that helps you or not.
Cheers,
Dave
(Message edited by oberlin on January 29, 2004) |
Chris Scott
Chief Inspector
Username: Chris
Post Number: 858
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 2:58 pm: |
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Hi Chris
I dragged out some census stuff I did on George Lusk which may help.
George Lusk
1881 census
Address:
1 Tollit Street, London
Head:
George Lusk aged 40 in Stepney, Middlesex
Master Builder Employing 20 men and 1 boy
Wife:
Sussanah Lusk aged 38 born Stepney
Children:
Albert aged 17 born Bethnal Green - Plumber
Walter aged 16 born Bethnal Green - Carpenter
George aged 11 born Stepney
Edith aged 9 born Mile End
Maud aged 5 born Mile End
Grace aged 4 born Mile End
1891 census
Address: as 1881
Head:
George A Lusk aged 47 born Stepney
Builder and Contractor
Widowed
Children:
Albert A aged 29 born Victoria park - Plumber
Walter L aged 26 born Victoria park - Carpenter
George A aged 22 born Mile End - Builder's Clerk
Edith R aged 19 born Mile End
Maud F B aged 16 born Mile End
Grace L aged 14 born Mile End
Lilian aged 9 born Mile End
the fact he is listed as "Master Builder Employing 20 men and 1 boy" makes it sound as though he ran a pretty sizeable business and so was a fairly substantial building contractor.
Hope this helps
Chris |
Kris Law
Detective Sergeant
Username: Kris
Post Number: 98
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 4:43 pm: |
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Indeed it does. I basically wanted to know if he was a roll-up-the-sleeves type of worker, as well as being the owner.
It seems likely from the census that if he had 20 men working for him that he would hardly need to do the labour himself.
Thank you Chris, as always your research is enlightening. |
Jason Scott Mullins
Detective Sergeant
Username: Crix0r
Post Number: 79
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 7:03 pm: |
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David:
You wouldn't happen to have a copy of that picture laying about, would cha?
Chris:
Good work my man  You've always got the coolest data on this case.
Thanks |
David O'Flaherty
Inspector
Username: Oberlin
Post Number: 219
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 7:12 pm: |
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Hey, Jason
Sorry, I don't have a scanner. It's a nice three-quarters shot which appears on page 56 of Letters from Hell. I feel like I'm constantly recommending that book, but it really is a great addition to any library. I refer to it as much as I do the Companion and this website.
Best,
Dave |
Chris Scott
Chief Inspector
Username: Chris
Post Number: 864
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, January 31, 2004 - 3:40 am: |
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Jason
the Lusk picture David mentioned is below
all the best - hope this is what you wanted
Chris
 |
Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 574
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 10:29 am: |
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Hi, All--
In Ripperologist a year or so ago we included a later photograph of what I believe was the sign outside of Mr. Lusk's premises, which I think was in some location other than the Alderney Road address when he received the letter and 'alf a kidney. He was indeed a local builder and contractor and therefore a man of importance in the community.
All the best
Chris George
North American Editor
Ripperologist
http://www.ripperologist.info
(Message edited by ChrisG on February 04, 2004) |
Sarah Long
Chief Inspector
Username: Sarah
Post Number: 595
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 11:33 am: |
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I know this has nothing to do with Lusk's occupation but I find it odd how his son Albert seemed to age 12 years in only 10 and also how in the 1881 census, it says that him and his brother Walter were born in Bethnal Green and in the 1891 census they were noted as born in Victoria Park, also the brother's birthplace was noted as Stepney in 1881 and then Mile End in 1891.
Sarah |
Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 576
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 2:16 pm: |
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Hi, Sarah
The locales you mentioned are all very close to each other -- Stepney/Mile End, Victoria Park/Bethnal Green. In fact, Victoria Park is in Bethnal Green. Information on the census can vary according to how the respondent answers and sometimes it might not be the person themselves who answer but whomever is there on the premises at the time the census taker calls by.
Best regards
Chris |
Sarah Long
Chief Inspector
Username: Sarah
Post Number: 599
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 05, 2004 - 5:28 am: |
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Hi Chris,
Thanks for that. I thought that may have been the case. I'm still puzzled as to why Albert aged 12 years in merely 10. You would think Lusk would know his own son's age.
Sarah |
Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 578
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 05, 2004 - 10:53 am: |
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Hi, Sarah
Again, a variation in the age of a person of a year or two between censuses is probably not significant but rather just goes to show that census data are not as reliable birth certificates.
All the best
Chris |
Mark Andrew Pardoe
Inspector
Username: Picapica
Post Number: 196
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 05, 2004 - 5:13 pm: |
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Whatho Sarah,
Yes, Chris is right. The odd variations in age between censuses are not unusual. As a genealogist it's the bane of my life. So many people seemed not to know of old they were or where they were born.
Cheers, Mark
(Message edited by picapica on February 05, 2004) |
Sarah Long
Chief Inspector
Username: Sarah
Post Number: 617
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 11:52 am: |
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Mark, Chris,
I suppose. It just seems strange to me. When we got sent the latest census document to fill in (must have been 2001 I guess) my parents filled it out but they knew all our ages so the census shouldn't be wrong really.
Do you think that it was when they were putting the details from each household into the census that errors were made as I'm certain that the family wouldn't get things like ages wrong. Just noticed that apparently George himself only aged 7 years in 10.
I tried looking up George Lusk in the 1901 census and can you believe it, there were three George Lusks living in Mile End Old Town, one worked for Van Guard Railway (I'm guessing that's a company), one was a builder's general clerk and the other was a builder. I'm sure he must be the last one as the age of this one is 55 whereas the others are much younger. I can't look at the specific details however as there is a charge to do so. Maybe Chris Scott can have a look on the 1901 census.
Sarah |
Alan Sharp
Inspector
Username: Ash
Post Number: 431
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 12:12 pm: |
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Sarah
I told this story on here once before but it is quite educational.
About three years ago I did some work for the Bank of Ireland trying to identify what products were held by specific customers. The point of this was that as the Bank has many different departments, a customer could own various products without the different departments knowing that they were the same person. The idea was that if the bank know what people have, then they can market new products more efficiently.
So we tried to match various products together to find out who had what. We used the names and addresses in various different spellings (spelling being somewhat fluid in Ireland). We also thought that Date of Birth was a definite indicator.
However, I was talking to someone at a branch out in the sticks and they told me this was not necessarily the case. All too often a farmer or other cultchie type will come in to open an account or get a card of some kind, and when asked their date of birth they won't know. So then they ask how old they are and they still don't know. So the counter clerk will then just say "Well you look about 30, so I'll put down the date 30 years ago today".
If this is still happening today, almost certainly it was happening a hundred years or so ago. |
Donald Souden
Detective Sergeant
Username: Supe
Post Number: 144
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 1:32 pm: |
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Sarah,
No, a "van guard" was a railway job description. I'm not sure what the American equivalent is --- baggageman, brakeman, whatever -- so someone help out here, but I do know it was a regularly used term.
As for the age changes, just accept that birthday celebrations are a modern conceit for most people (and, as Alan has just demonstrated, accurate information is still not universal). Before the onset of our bureaucratic society it was not terribly important to know how old you were. Indeed, the census may well have been the first time many of the respondents were ever asked for their age.
Don. |
Caroline Anne Morris
Chief Inspector
Username: Caz
Post Number: 727
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 11:43 am: |
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Hi Alan, All,
A neighbour of ours once tried to open a bank account, and had given his middle name as ‘Timofy’ on the form he was asked to complete.
When a member of the bank staff pointed out that Timothy should have a th, not an f, our neighbour replied “Whose f***ing name is it mate?”
I don’t know if he got an account.
Love,
Caz
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Sarah Long
Chief Inspector
Username: Sarah
Post Number: 628
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 12:03 pm: |
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I can't believe that some people don't know their age, especially now in Alan's story. It's astonishing. I hadn't thought that maybe some people back then didn't know their own ages, it's still strange.
Caz,
Just out of interest, had he spelt it right or wrong? Was it a unique spelling or could he just not spell?
Sarah |
Robert Charles Linford
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Robert
Post Number: 2087
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 10:26 pm: |
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Hi Sarah
As Don said, many people went without the birthday cake with appropriate number of candles. And though education was being phased in, there was a lot of evasion on the part of both children and parents. So some of the landmarks that help us remember our ages were lacking in those days.
Robert |
timothy alexander lusk
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Sunday, April 24, 2005 - 4:03 pm: |
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Hi, my name is Timothy Lusk. I stumbled onto this website some how and read all the postings and would like to know what exactly you're talking about. It's very interesting. |
Diana
Chief Inspector
Username: Diana
Post Number: 581
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, April 25, 2005 - 7:33 am: |
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Hi, Timothy, In 1888 there was a series of mutilation murders of prostitutes in London lasting from August to November. They are more commonly known as the "Jack the Ripper" killings.
George Lusk was a London businessman, who was horrified by the atrocities. He was very prominent in organizing the "Whitechapel Vigilance Committee", a group of volunteers who helped patrol the area to try to prevent more killings.
The other thing he is famous for is being the recipient of the Lusk Letter. When Katherine Eddowes was killed in Mitre Square, one of the organs removed from her body was a kidney. Some time later Mr. Lusk received a package in the mail. Inside was a taunting letter and half a kidney. It was never established whether the half kidney was the result of a hoax or actually Katherine's. In 1888 they had the half kidney but no technology to make sure it was Kate's. Today we have DNA testing but the half kidney is gone. Very frustrating.
The next logical question I have to ask is, are you a descendant of George Lusk? If so have any family stories come down? |
