Alfred Lennon - The Lennon Family

The Lennon Family

James Lennon (b.1829) and Jane McConville (b.1831 d.1869), Alf's grandparents, moved with their respective families to Liverpool in the 1840s. James and Jane were both from County Down, Ireland, and were married in St. Anthony's Chapel, Scotland Road, Liverpool, on 29 April 1849. James was a warehouseman and a cooper at the time. They had seven children together: Elizabeth (b.1850), James, John "Jack", William George, Richard Francis, Joseph (b.1865) and Edward. Jack Lennon (b. 1855), a shipping clerk/bookkeeper, the father of Alf Lennon and grandfather to John Winston Lennon.

In 1888, Jack married Margaret Cowley (from Liverpool) and they had two children: Mary Elizabeth Lennon, and Michael Lennon. Margaret died giving birth to Michael (who also died 15 days later) on 19 August 1892. Shortly after, Jack began living with Mary "Polly" Maguire in a common-law marriage. In total they had fifteen children, eight of whom died young. In 1901, Jack, Polly and his daughter, Mary, were living at 3 Lockhart Street, Liverpool. 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.

Jack eventually married Polly in 1915, after they had moved to Elmore Street, Everton. One of the witnesses at the wedding was Polly's sister, Catherine Seddon. Daughter Edith Lennon was born that year and then Charles (21 November 1918—26 May 2002). The Lennons moved back to Toxteth Park, and Jack died in 1921, at 57 Copperfield Street. He is buried in a common and unmarked grave (along with five unknown adults and three children) in the Anfield Cemetery, Liverpool. Polly could not read or write, but was reported to be very humorous and supposedly had psychic abilities. 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. It was situated just around the corner from Newcastle Road (where Julia Stanley lived). Polly died on 30 January 1949.