

When he was 15 years old he left the Bluecoat orphanage and found a job as an office-boy, but preferred to visit Liverpool's many vaudeville theatres and cinemas, where he knew the usherettes by name. He was known as being always quick with a joke or a witty line, but never held a job for any length of time. He travelled with the troupe for a time before being discovered in Glasgow and returned to the orphanage, where he was severely punished. Having passed the audition he ran away from the orphanage and joined the show. In 1927, he auditioned for a children's music hall act, Will Murray's Gang, at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool. He had rickets as a child and wore leg braces, which led to his growth being stunted at 5' 4". This has been proven to be false by checking birth certificates and the 1861, 18 censuses.Īlfred Lennon (always called 'Alf' by his family), was known as being happy-go-lucky, and "couldn't resist having a good time". It is also claimed that Jack's first wife was an American, who died during childbirth after they had both moved back to Liverpool.
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It has often been claimed that his grandfather was a professional singer, a ship's cook, and that he emigrated to the United States, and that his father, Jack Lennon, became a "refined" British minstrel, who toured America with 'Roberton's Kentucky Minstrels' Vaudeville troupe in the late 19th century. It was situated just around the corner from Newcastle Road (where Julia Stanley lived). After Jack died, Polly did not have enough money to keep the whole Lennon family together, so she placed two of her children, Alf and Edith, in the Blue Coat School Orphanage. Polly could not read or write, but was reported to be very humorous and supposedly had psychic abilities. He is buried in a common and unmarked grave (along with five unknown adults and three children) in the Anfield Cemetery, Liverpool. The Lennons moved back to Toxteth Park, and Jack died in 1921, at 57 Copperfield Street. Daughter Edith Lennon was born that year and then Charles (21 November 1918 – ). One of the witnesses at the wedding was Polly's sister, Catherine Seddon. Jack eventually married Polly in 1915, after they had moved to Elmore Street, Everton. They lived in the Toxteth Park area of Liverpool, and at least five of their children were born there: George Lennon (1905, in Denton Street), Herbert Lennon (1908), Sydney Lennon (1909), Harold Lennon (1911) and Alfred Lennon (1912) were born at 27 Copperfield Street. In 1901, Jack, Polly and his daughter, Mary, were living at 3 Lockhart Street, Liverpool. In total they had fifteen children, eight of whom died young.

Shortly after, Jack began living with Mary "Polly" Maguire in a common-law marriage. Margaret died giving birth to Michael (who also died 15 days later) on 19 August 1892. In 1888, Jack married Margaret Cowley (from Liverpool) and they had two children: Mary Elizabeth Lennon, and Michael Lennon. 1855), a shipping clerk/bookkeeper, the father of Alf Lennon and grandfather to John Winston Lennon. 1850), James, John "Jack", William George, Richard Francis, Joseph (b. They had seven children together: Elizabeth (b. James was a warehouseman and a cooper at the time. Anthony's Chapel, Scotland Road, Liverpool, on 29 April 1849. James and Jane were both from County Down, Northern Ireland, and were married in St. 1831 d.1869), Alf's grandparents, moved with their respective families to Liverpool in the 1840s. He died in Brighton, where he had gone to live after marrying 19-year-old Pauline Jones, with whom he had two further children. He had very little contact with his son until Beatlemania, when they met again, but later had only intermittent contact with each other. He offered to look after his wife, their child and the expected baby, but Julia rejected the idea. During this period, Julia became pregnant with another man's child. John was their only child together, but as Alf was often away at sea during World War II, he did not see much of his child during his infancy. Although always known informally as Alf by his family, he later released a record as Freddie Lennon, and was referenced and quoted in newspapers and media under that name. He was known as being very witty and musical throughout his life-he sang and played the banjo-but not as being very dependable. He spent many years in an orphanage-with his sister, Edith-after his father died. Alfred "Alf/Freddie" Lennon (14 December 1912 – 1 April 1976) was the father of English musician John Lennon.
