FREDERICK ROBERT PARROTT

The only known picture of Frederick Robert Parrott with his
wife Esther taken in the garden of the bungalow on Canvey
Island Essex in the mid/late 1930's.

As I have said before, Frederick Robert Parrott, alias Richard Barrett, alias "Uncle Dick" is a rather mysterious character on our family tree.  Although details of his ancestry and life have begun to emerge the actual circumstances of how he became involved with our family are mostly a matter of speculation based on half remembered comments made by older members of the family who are no longer with us. The recent sad death of his daughter-in-law, Eileen now allows one untold story to be related but actually tells us nothing more about the man himself except, maybe, comment on his character.  Eileen did not know her father-in-law and a conversation I had with her a few years ago proved that she knew nothing of the circumstances surrounding her late husband's birth. Eileen did not want the story (which many members of the family already knew) told while she lived and I respected that wish. It is therefore ironic that we should lose Eileen just as I reach this point in our family history and it is now possible to tell the story.



Dagmar Passage (formerly Church Passage) today.

 Frederick Robert Parrott was born at 1 Edward Street, Marylebone (now Varndell Street) on 25 April 1877. At least that is what his birth certificate and the 1891 census says.  I can find no connection between the family and Marylebone (which, of course, does not mean there isn't one) and both before and after his birth his family was firmly esconded in Islington. On a baptism record for his brother Francis in 1873 his father, Frederick Francis Parrott, a bookseller's assistant from Shoreditch and his mother was Elizabeth Atkins who originally came from Gloucestershire, were living in Church Passage, Islington (now Dagmar Passage) and in 1891 they are in Hercules Road (now Hercules Street) Holloway, also in Islington.

Micawber Street, Islington (formerly Edward Street) today.

When Frederick was baptised on 8 July 1877 (along with his two year old sister Eleanor) the family was living in Prospect Place, Islington (this is now Lonsdale Place). Usually, I would not seriously question the location on a birth certificate but some doubt must be thrown onto Frederick being born in Edward Street Marylebone given the family's location in Islington - especially given that there was an Edward Street in Islington (now renamed Micawber Street and retaining much of its Victorian character). Of course, I may be completely on the wrong track but just on the circumstantial evidence I feel it is only right to at least raise the question.

On the 1891 census the family are living in Hercules Road, Holloway and Frederick's father is working as an office caretaker and Frederick is working as a fishmonger's porter.  According to Frederick's daughter Joyce her father saw military service, probably during the Boer War and she thought it was at that time that he met Herbert Bayliss.  I have found no military records as yet for Frederick so cannot confirm this but Joyce also said that it was while in the army that Frederick drank some infected water that resulted in him having a rasping voice for the rest of his life.

In the next part of the story we will see how Fredrick Robert Parrott became Richard Barrett.

TO BE CONTINUED.