John George Speed was the second child of Robert Storey Speed & Elizabeth Graham christened May 23rd, 1848 at Houghton-le-Spring, Co Durham.
John was living with his parents & 2 sisters at Seaton, Co Durham in 1851. His father Robert was described as a merchant (coal & timber) & a ship owner.
John’s mother died in 1853 & his father married again in 1854.
The 1861 census shows John, now working as a solicitor’s clerk, still living with his father & step-mother Annie at Fountain House, Fountain Terrace, Stranton, West Hartlepool. There were 3 sisters still at home & his father was described as a ship broker (coal).
John was educated at a boarding school in Kirkleatham, Yorks. He worked as a reporter in Middlesbrough, then became editor on various papers in Lancashire, London & elsewhere. He was a philosopher & published poet, his book the Borderer’s Leap & other poems being published in 1869. (Mid-Victorian Poetry 1860-1879, by Catherine Reilly)
By 1871 John had become a newspaper reporter & he was lodging at 91 Marton Rd, Middlesbrough, the home of Samuel Richardson, a joiner, & family
John continued to work as a newspaper reporter & in 1881 he was lodging at 16 Hart St, Ulverston, Lancs, the home of widow Jane Askew.
In 1891 John was still in Lancashire & boarding with Alfred Arnson, a police constable, & family at 29 Scott St, Warrington. John was described as a press representative.
There is a marriage for John George to Maud Sharples registered in Oct-December 1897 in Bolton, Lancashire. Maud was born Maud Atkinson c1847 in Anlaby, Yorks.
John’s whereabouts is unknown in 1901 but Maud appears to be living in Horwich, Lancashire & listed as Maud Sharples, widow, with 3 of her children from her previous marriage to William Sharples.
By 1911 John was living with his widowed sister, Louisa Metcalfe who was described as housekeeper. John was still a press reporter & they were living at Vine Cottage, St John St, Howden, Yorkshire. John was noted as married for 14 years. Maud was still living in Horwich, Lancs in 1911 & now listed as Maud Speed & having been married for 12 years. Three of her Sharples family were still living with her.
John of Sunnyside House, St John St. died at the Workhouse Infirmary, Howden on September 18th,1919 & was buried September 22nd at Howden. Administration of his estate was granted to widow Maud & his effects were £33.3s. An obituary in The Hull Daily Mail of September 20th, 1919 states that John was a third cousin of General Havelock & that he used to relate that his paternal grandfather fought under Nelson & took part in the Battle of the Nile. He had held press appointments with various papers in Middlesbrough, Darlington & London.