Seeking Information on Charles Elkington

[dognose]

Hi,

Does anyone have any knowledge of Charles Elkington? He does not appear to be part of the immediate family of plating fame.

Charles Elkington was known to be in the electro-metallurgical business at London in c.1860, and was taken to court by Elkingtons of Birmingham over the use of the name. Elkingtons were one of the most successful and litigious companies in Victorian Britain and were extremely protective of their intellectual property, and rather predictably, they won the case. At that point Charles seems to disappear, but re-emerges in Montreal and, as can be seen by the below advertisements, traded under his own name in the later 1860's.


Charles Elkington - Montreal - 1868


Charles Elkington - Montreal - 1869

Elkingtons did defend their intellectual property abroad, but perhaps Canadian law offered Charles some protection.

But who was Charles Elkington? Distant cousin? Black sheep of the family? Perhaps a genuine man with ideas of his own, but cursed with the same name as a rival, well maybe?

Any knowledge regarding Charles Elkington would be appreciated.

Trev.

[silvermakersmarks]

The 1841 census has Charles Elkington, 25, silver plater, living in Stratford Road, Sparkbrook, Aston, Warwickshire with Elizabeth Elkington, also 25. Note that for the 1841 census adult ages were often only given to the nearest 5 years.

The 1851 census has Charles Elkington, 38, "agent, bronzes & works of art", living at 15 Halliford Street, Islington, London with Elizabeth Elkington, 36, and his nephew, Francis Elkington, 16. According to this census Charles was born in Princethorpe, Warwickshire.

In the 1841 census Francis Elkington, 6, is living at home with his parents, Francis & Elizabeth Elkington. Francis Elkington's occupation is "surgeon" and his age is 40. From the 1851 census Francis Elkington senior was also born in Princethorpe.

From the International Genealogical Index George Richards Elkington was baptised on 6 Jan 1802 with parents given as James & Lydia Elkington. The only other Elkington baptisms in the IGI for these parents are James Alexander Elkington, 24 Apr 1800, and Emma Elkington, 19 Nov 1813 (born 12 Aug 1813). James Elkington married Lydia Richards at St Martin, Birmingham 24 Apr 1799.

Conclusion is that Charles & Francis Elkington were not directly related to George Richards Elkington.

[dognose]

Hi Phil,

That's brilliant, thank you.

Does the absence of any comment regarding the 1861 census indicate that it is not available, or that Charles Elkington's details are not recorded on it? If not recorded then it's likely he departed for Canada prior to that date.

Trev.

[MCB]

There is an alternative scenario for a link between Charles Elkington and Elkington & Co to the one expressed previously.
Charles James CHECKLEY Elkington was christened in 1813 in Stretton-upon-Dunsmere the son of John Elkington a farmer from Princethorpe and his wife Mary. The vicar appears to have incorrectly interpreted the child's third christian name (see below).
Henry Elkington was christened in 1810 also the son of John and Mary Elkington of Princethorpe.
Henry and Charles were therefore brothers.
The Dictionary of National Biographies records Henry Elkington, born in Princethorpe in 1810, was the son of John of Princethorpe and was a partner of his cousin George Richards Elkington in Elkington & Co. Henry was particularly interested in the artistic department of the company (see below).

Charles James CHEATLEY Elkington married Elizabeth Hands at St Martin’s, Birmingham in 1837.
As detailed in the previous reply there is an entry in the 1841 UK Census for a Charles Elkington, silver plater and his wife Elizabeth.
White’s Directory and Gazateer for 1849 and 1850 list Charles James CHEATLEY Elkington as an electro metallurgist at 44 Camden Street, Birmingham.
Page 140 of Volume I of The Directory of Gold & Silversmiths Jewellers & Allied Traders 1838-1914 records Elkington & Co having their London showrooms at 74 Hatton Garden and Regent Street and a manufactory at 45 Moorgate.
As detailed in the previous reply Charles Elkington is listed in the 1851 UK Census as a bronze and works of art agent aged 38 years living in Islington with his wife Elizabeth aged 36 years. His brother Henry, as has been noted, was interested in the art department of Elkington & Co. Charles may have been their agent in London. Henry died in 1852. At that point Charles may have lost his patronage in the company.
No further UK Census entries for Charles and Elizabeth have been found.

Charles Elkington, a carver and gilder, was listed in McAlpine's Directory of 1868-69 at 88 St Constant, Montreal.
Charles aged about 56 years and Elizabeth Elkington aged about 54 years were passengers aboard a ship arriving in Ontario in 1871.The port of departure is not recorded on the website records. On face value they travelled from Montreal .
The first Canadian Census was in 1871.
A Charles Elkington is listed in the 1871 Canadian Census as an electroplater aged 58 years living with his wife Elizabeth in Brockville, Ontario, in the Hamilton City Directory of 1874 as a silver plater at 13 Cannon "o", similarly in 1876 at 47 Freguson Avenue and in 1879 as an electro-plater at 60 Hess "n".
The death of a Charles Elkington aged 69 years was recorded in Toronto in 1881. The person was noted as born in England and the year of birth is 1811-12 but no other part of the record conclusively points to his having been a silver plater. On the other hand there is no 1881 Canadian Census entry for either Charles or Elizabeth.

Mike

[silvermakersmarks]

I could not find him in the 1861 census, but sometimes names get mis-read in transcription so his absence is not 100% conclusive.

[MCB]

Hello Phil

I agree that one missing record can be caused by error but as indicated in my post no further UK Census records of them can be found after 1851 and that would require more than one transcription error to have been made if they were still there. That and the absence of UK death records for them suggests to me they had left the country but even so the third paragraph of my post only provides detail of a Charles and Elizabeth Elkington in Canada, making no assumption that they were the two who married in Birmingham in 1837 even though the link is circumstantially strong.

Mike

[dognose]

Excellent Mike, thank you for the great research.

So, it is likely that Henry had at least two brothers, Charles and Francis

If Charles can be linked to the family business, I stand to be corrected, but I think this research breaks new ground in any previously published history of the firm of Elkington & Co. Let's hope there's even more information yet to be unearthed.

Thanks to you both.

Trev.

[Electro]

According to Henry Elkington's will proved at London on 3rd January 1853 he had five surviving brothers (or at least brothers that he liked enough to leave part of his estate to): "I give and bequeath all the rest and residue of such personal estate and property and effects to my five brothers Francis Russell, John, Joseph, George, and Charles James Checkley Elkington… and the same unto my cousin George Richards Elkington of Birmingham aforesaid Electro plater." The only other relative mentioned by Henry was his sister Mary: "I give and bequeath to my sister Mary Morley an annuity or yearly a sum of one hundred pounds for her life..."

Henry's father, John Elkington (b. 1772) and Mary Russell (b. 1775) married in 1796 and got busy with it. They had Sarah (1797), Mary (1798), John, (1799), John (1801), Joseph (1803), Charlotte (1805), Ester (1806), George (1808), Charles (1809), Henry (1810), and Charles James Checkley (1813). I assume, but don't know, that the first Charles died in infancy, which prompted the naming of Charles James Checkley in 1813. Only the later Charles is named in Henry's will. None of his brothers as far as I know were involved in electroplating, but the fact that Charles James Checkley was listed in the 1851 UK Census as "a bronze and works of art agent" in London I find very interesting.

This information is all contained in the Elkington & Co. archival records at the V&A, including several accruals of personal memoirs and papers deposited by family descendants, which are notoriously unreliable sources.

[dognose]

Hi Electro,

Welcome to the Forum.

Many thanks for your input into this interesting topic. To me, it seems extremely unlikely that Charles James Checkley Elkington and Charles Elkington of Canada can be anything else but one of the same person.

Trev.

[MCB]

My apologies for suggesting he made an error go to the vicar of Stretton-upon-Dunsmore who was incumbent in 1813 as contrary to my earlier suggestion the above post indicates It was the vicar in Birmingham in 1837 along with the editor of White’s Directories who considered Cheatley an appropriate third name for Charles James Checkly Elkington.
As other children of John and Mary Elkington have now been mentioned, in order to complete the Forum record, website family trees suggest their first son Charles died in 1810, there was a previous son John born in 1799 who died in 1800, their son Francis Russell was born in 1800, their daughter Charlotte died in 1829 and daughter Ester Eliza died in 1809. The result of all this is that Henry remembered in his Will all of his living siblings.
What joy if positive information to link Charles and Elizabeth who were in the UK and those of the same names who lived in Canada now comes our way!

Mike

[Electro]

Dear Dognose,

The Elkington that ran into trouble with Elkington and Co. over using their name as a trademark was called John Elkington, and not Charles, as I previously suggested. (All I can say in my defense is that I have a head full of Elkingtons at the moment!) In 1863, a John Elkington formed a partnership with Alfred Johnson, an electro-plater from Birmingham, and they began plating goods marked with the name Elkington, the initials EP (for electro-plate) and a crown. Elkingtons, of course, used a crown over E&Co stamped into a shield as their mark. In 1865, Elkingtons discovered John Elkington and Alfred Johnson were actually selling goods marked with Elkington & Co and E & Co with a crown. They threatened legal proceedings unless they were given a written undertaking that they would stop trading using the name. John Elkington retired from the business shortly after and Johnson carried it on alone. In October 1869, Elkingtons acquired flatware made by Johnson, and found out that he was making large quantities of forks and spoons stamped with Elkington and the letters EP under a crown in imitation of their mark. So, they took him to court who prohibited Johnson from using the word Elkington or a crown. Of course, in 1896 Elkington & Co. Ltd. were themselves prohibited from using the crown, which they'd used on their electro-plate since 1840, by Sheffield Assay Office.

Another interesting Elkington mystery that I came across recently was in The London Gazette of 30th October 1829, which announces that a W.H. Elkington and J. Geddes, who co-owned a rolling mill on Newhall-street, Birmingham were declared bankrupt. It would be interesting to know where on Newhall-street the rolling mill was, and what relation, if any, W.H. Elkington was to G.R. and Henry Elkington. At that time, the 29-year old George Richards Elkington had been taken into the partnership with his uncles George and Josiah Richards at premises on St Paul's Square. The was a rolling mill on the site that G.R. and Henry later bought (in partnership with the Hardmans) and that became their famous electro-plating factory. As I understand it, when they acquired the site the rolling mill was owned by someone called Mills.

Any thoughts?

Electro

[dognose]

Hi Electro,

The notification of the break up of John Elkington and Alfred Johnston:

Dissolutions of Partnerships
Elkington and Johnson. – Lichfield-street, electro-plate and Britannia ware manufacturers. John Elkington, Alfred Johnston. Debts received and paid by Alfred Johnston, who will in future carry on the business on his own account, under the style of Johnson and Co. 23rd January 1866.

Source: The Birmingham and District and Sheffield and Rotherham Commercial List - Estell & Co. - 1876

Regarding Elkington and Geddes, this was William Henry Elkington and James Geddes, their business was styled Elkington, Geddes & Co.. They are described variously as Dealers, Metal Rollers, Wire Manufacturers, and Drawers. As you have stated, they went bankrupt on the 30th October 1829, but were granted their certificate in August the following year, and so may well have returned to their business. Interestingly I found the below statement in 'Copper Wire and Electrical Conductors' by Barrie Charles Blake-Colman. Referring to Elkington Mason he states:

..............This Concern had original premise in Newham (sic) Street Birmingham and in 1830, trading as Elkington Geddes & Co, were described by William West in his "Birmingham Directory" as having mills for operating as "Wire drawers and manufacturers". By 1840 Elkington had purchased Woolrich's electro-plate patent and with Josiah Mason in partnership (bring £100,000 with him)..........

Trev.

[Electro]

Hi Trev, et al.,

Thanks Trev, that is very useful regarding the dissolution of the partnership of Elkington and Johnson.

An early partnership agreement of G.R. Elkington that is puzzling me is with Joseph Taylor. The only information I have about this business association is that the London Gazette of 28th January 1840 announced that a partnership agreement between G.R. Elkington and Joseph Taylor, Gilt Toy-Makers of Birmingham, had been dissolved on 24th July 1839. The identity of Joseph Taylor is a mystery. There was a successful toymaker named Joseph Taylor (1767-1827) who registered marks at the Birmingham Assay Office from 1773 to 1801, and became a Guardian of the Assay Office in 1813. The expanded edition of James Bissett’s Poetic Survey Round Birmingham And Magnificent Directory of 1808 (a rare copy of which is in the Birmingham Assay Office Library) contains a copper-plate engraving of Joseph Taylor's illustrated trade card, which describes him as, “J. Taylor, Working Gold and Silversmith, Jeweller, Tortoisehell and Ivory Box, Gilt and General Toy Manufacturer…” with business premises at 35 Newhall-street, Birmingham. Taylor also had a showroom at Bouverie Street in London. He appears to have left £18,000 in his will, so he was certainly pretty successful. However, he died in 1827, which makes him more likely to have been in business with James Elkington (G.R.'s father, an optician and spectacle maker, so also gilding and working with tortoiseshell) or George and Josiah Richards (G.R.'s toymaking uncles). Joseph Taylor's brother, John Taylor, and brother-in-law, John Perry, appear to have continued his business, and I can find no mention of a son (or any other gilt toymaker of the late 1830s) named Joseph Taylor. So, the identity of the Joseph Taylor that undersigned the dissolution of the partnership with G.R. Elkington on 24th July 1839 is a mystery. (Refs. The London Gazette, 28th January 1840, Issue 19818, p. 178, Accessed 21/11/2011: http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/19818/pages/178; Rosemary Ransome-Wallis, Matthew Boulton and the Toymakers: Silver from the Birmingham Assay Office, Goldsmiths’ Company, London, December 1982. Catalogue of the exhibition held at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London 15th -26th November 1982.)

Electro