| George Henry Deacon was born to Greenwood Deacon and Hannah (Slingsby) Deacon late in the year 1871 in Yorkshire, England. I have seen different months listed for his birth. His mother was the sister of Ann (Slingsby) Kay, the wife of Thomas Lister Kay. His father was a cotton warp dresser who continued in that occupation in America.
1881 England Census – Greenwood Deacon, age 39, Cotton Warp Dresser, Wharfedale, Yorkshire
Greenwood brought his family to America. They arrived in New York on 28 Jun 1881 and settled in Lawrence, Essex, Mass. George’s father continued as a cotton warp dresser according to the 1900 & 1910 US Census.
George’s sister Phoebe Ann Deacon was in Lawrence, MA with her family but left with their cousin Harry Kay for Oregon in November 1889 to work as a weaver at the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill in Salem. Phoebe married Joe Cordingley in 1894 and in 1902 they moved to Brownsville, OR to run the woolen mill there.
George’s sister Clara (Deacon) Reed was married to a carpenter at the mill in Methuen, Essex, Massachusetts. She was a Twister at a cotton mill in the 1920 census and a twister at a woolen mill in the 1930 census. His sister Anita Lavina Deacon was a Worsted Web Drawer employee in Lawrence, Essex, Mass. according to the 1900 census. George also had a brother James, but he was not involved in the industry and stayed in MA.
By 1896 George was working as a dresser at the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill (according to his first son’s birth record). The early newspaper articles refer to him as Harry Deacon, his nickname.
George H Deacon married Fannie Estelle Mansfield in Sep 1897 in Salem, OR. Their first son, Harold was born in July 1898, they were living at 405 S 20th St in Salem.
The 1900 census record lists George as a warp dresser at the TKWM and lists the family living at 510 Mission St.
In 1902 their son Laurence Deacon was born and in 1904 their son James Cecil Deacon was born.
The 1910 census lists George as a dresser at the TKWM and the family is living at 1498 Mission St.
The 1920 census lists George as a laborer at the woolen mill, the family is still living at 1498 Mission St and a niece Beatrice Leabo is living with them.
The 1930 census lists George as a weaver at the woolen mill. He, Fannie, and son James have moved to 1396 Mission St. Their son Laurence is living with them. Their son James Cecil Deacon was also listed as a weaver at the TKWM in the 1930 City Directory.
The 1940 census lists George as a laborer at the woolen mill. He and Fannie now have their son James and his son living with them at 1396 Mission.
George Henry Deacon died on 2 Jan 1947 in Salem, Oregon after a brief illness. His obituary states he worked at the woolen mill the entire time he lived in Salem. He is buried at City View Cemetery. |
