John Atlantic Stephenson (born 18 June 1829) was a

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publishe ...

businessman and poet and amateur artist in the latter half of the 19th century. He was best known for his recitations.

Early life

Stephenson was born on

Waterloo Day Waterloo Day is 18 June, the date of the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815. It is remembered and celebrated each year by certain regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service an ...

, 18 June 1829 in mid-Atlantic. He started work at Sowerby’s Glass Works, manufacturers of fine decorative glass items, at Gateshead and later moved on to a responsible post as representative for John Rogerson and Co. (who it is believed were brokers and shipping agents) He was a founder member of the Bewick Club and held the post of honorary treasurer in the 1890s. He was an active member speaking at meetings, his humour mimicry and use of the local dialects of

Wearside Wearside () is a built-up area in both Tyne and Wear and County Durham, Northern England. It is named after the River Wear which flows through it and traditionally all in the County of Durham. In the 2011 census, its official name was the Sunderl ...

Teesside Teesside () is a built-up area around the River Tees in the north of England, split between County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name was initially used as a county borough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Historically a hub for heavy manu ...

and

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

made him very popular and in great demand. Some of his racy pieces also went down well on

. He was also a notable artist and he entered many of his paintings in the Club’s annual exhibitions. These paintings were water colours and covered most aspects of rural life, including local scenes, farmhouses, half-ruined cottages, etc., and urban life in the form of scenes of Old Newcastle, many just before their demolition/removal.

Family

His father, also John Stephenson, was well known locally holding a responsible job as a superintendent in the Tyneside chemical industry. He was on his way to take up his post with the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

when his son was born, in mid-Atlantic ocean, hence his middle name. His mother Elizabeth (1804–1878), was a daughter of Elizabeth (née Goirdon) and Dr William Brummell, who was featured in several songs, in one

William Purvis (Blind Willie) William Purvis, probably better known as "Blind Willie" (1752 – 20 July 1832), was a Tyneside concert hall song writer and performer in England at the end of the 18th and start of the 19th century. His most famous song is "Broom Buzzems". He ...

would sing of him and he is mentioned in William Oliver’s " The Newcassel Props". They travelled to India in the brig "Argo" and whilst in India at least three other children, Catherine Mary Layton (born c1836), Henry, and Indiana (sometimes referred to as Julianna – maybe at some stage it was transcribed wrongly), were born. The family stayed in India for a period of 12 years before returning to Tyneside, and a further three further children were born after the family returned from India, Leonard, Albert and Alfred. In the 1841 census, the family were living at Peak Hill (now Ravenscar), Stainton Dale, North Riding of Yorkshire where father was described as an agent for Peek Alum Works. The 1851 census shows them living at Gateshead with mother as a widow (the father died before Catherine’s wedding in 1860), and according to the 1861 survey, they were living at 11b Elswick East Terrace, Elswick, with mother and just three children, John Atlantic having moved out by now.

Paintings

* The Dolphin House, Newcastle * Houses in Silver Street, Newcastle

Poems and songs

* "Adam and Eve" - A Wearside story * "Hawks's Men at the Battle of Waterloo" * "The Postponed Goose" – A Wearside tale * "A recollection of Ned Corvan" * "A Tow for nowt" – A Tyneside story – A recitation – about a keelman who wanted a free tow from Jarrow to the "Mushroom" jetty

References

External links