William Chard Howe 1855 1924

A Memory of Crewkerne.

My great-grandfather William Chard Howe was the last Howe to run the family painting and decorating business in Crewkerne, following in the footsteps of his father Thomas and his grandfather George, who seems to have been a painter and gilder of some note. George Howe is listed as having painted the royal coat of arms in the church in Crewkerne in the early 1800s and also appears in an 1850 directory for the town, at that time being based in Church Street. From the census records I can see that his son Thomas continued the business and also went into early photography; he lived mainly in (Sheep)Market Street and had a large family, but sadly many of them died young. William Chard, one of the youngest, ran the business until his health began to decline and then I believe ran a China shop with his wife. By the time he died in 1924 my grandfather, Thomas (Crewkerne Grammar School scholar) had long since moved to London, as had his younger brother Cyril. I am trying to find out more about my family history and would love to hear of any information or pictures relating to the Howe family of Crewkerne. There is a particular mystery about what happened to Flora AKB Howe, born in 1873 but apparently orphaned and brought up by her grandparents Thomas and Hannah.