Nathaniel Calhoun was an African American who was born in Boston, USA, around 1881.[1] Although, no record has yet been found as to when he moved to Hull, he was living in this region by the turn of the twentieth century. It is probable that as a mariner, Calhoun moved to the port city to find work and subsequently settled here.
In the summer of 1914, Calhoun was a witness to a crime committed by a drunken woman called Emily. She had been drinking all day and had come to his home at 9 Minerva Terrace at 7.30 pm to speak to a lady named Theresa (it is likely that this was Theresa Hempstock: to read her story click here). Calhoun invited her in, but when she did not move, he told her to go away. Emily then walked over to his window and smashed eleven panes of glass with her fist. When a police officer arrived at the scene Emily was arrested and taken to the Royal Infirmary to have her wounds dressed. She was fined for her conduct and made to pay 12s 6d for the windows.[2]
Calhoun lived with Hempstock for 13 years before moving in with her daughter Agnes Calhoun when she was 17. It would seem that he may have married Agnes and the couple had three children in Hull. However, no marriage certificate has been found.
In March 1925, Calhoun was summoned to court by Alexander Stoners for assault. He was described in a newspaper article in the Hull Daily Mail as ‘a coloured trawler hand, of Prince’s Avenue.’[3] The altercation took place on board the St. Minnerva when both men were employed on board the month prior to their appearance in court. On 13 February, Stoners as the mate of the trawler, gave Calhoun an order which he refused to obey. When the vessel landed, Stoners disembarked and visited the trawler owner’s office. Calhoun followed him and asked what, ‘… lies he had been telling about him, and without waiting for a reply, struck him on the cheek.’[4] Calhoun showed remorse in court and said he had lost his temper. He was sentenced to pay a fine of £2 and 2 shillings or spend 29 days in prison.[5]
In March 1925, Calhoun was summoned to court by Alexander Stoners for assault. He was described in a newspaper article in the Hull Daily Mail as ‘a coloured trawler hand, of Prince’s Avenue.’[3] The altercation took place on board the St. Minnerva when both men were employed on board the month prior to their appearance in court. On 13 February, Stoners as the mate of the trawler, gave Calhoun an order which he refused to obey. When the vessel landed, Stoners disembarked and visited the trawler owner’s office. Calhoun followed him and asked what, ‘… lies he had been telling about him, and without waiting for a reply, struck him on the cheek.’[4] Calhoun showed remorse in court and said he had lost his temper. He was sentenced to pay a fine of £2 and 2 shillings or spend 29 days in prison.[5]
On 18 May 1933, Calhoun and his wife were involved in a motor vehicle accident on Hessle High Road. The couple had been to a party at a house in Constable Street and were offered a lift home by Frederick Henry Hickmott in his motor cycle combination.[6] On the way back, Hickmott suggested a ride to Hessle and it was on the way there that the accident occurred. The motorcycle hit a bump and Calhoun was propelled into the bushes. He shouted to his wife, who told him she had broken a leg. Shortly after a policeman arrived at the scene to help. Hickmott died almost immediately and Calhoun’s wife suffered from a dislocation of her spine and fractured ribs on both sides. She contracted an infection in her kidneys while in hospital and died on 17 June 1933.[7] At the inquest, evidence was given about the respectability of the party and it was confirmed that nobody had been intoxicated when the accident occurred. Thus, it was judged that the cause of the accident was the deception of a bend and a bump in the road. Both Hickmott and Agnes’s deaths were judged as accidental. The coroner showed great sympathy towards Calhoun for the loss of his wife.[8]
Five years later, in February 1938, Calhoun was charged with threatening to murder Alice Esther Adams. In court, she explained that for the past two years she had washed his clothes and had drawn money for him because she had felt sorry for him and his |
children after his wife had died.[9] However, on 27 January, Adams told Calhoun she would no longer do anything for him because he had threatened her life on too many occasions.[10] Two days later she had gone to a party where she saw Calhoun and he threatened to murder her. She said they were dancing when he “pulled me back and that is when he got his hand to get the razor. He said he would kill me.”[11] The defence questioned her saying that Calhoun handed her the razor which was closed and made no attempt to harm her. However, she insisted that he was going to put it to her throat. The magistrate concluded
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"Here is a curious state of things. This man is an American subject, living under the protection of our flag, enjoying privileges which he might not get in other countries, or every part of every country…He has misbehaved himself and threatens this woman with a razor… I don’t like the carrying of a razor. We don’t like it in this country".[12]
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The magistrate’s comments seem rather contradictory seeing as Calhoun had been living and working in Hull for over two decades, so he knew the practices in Britain. Calhoun was not an ‘immigrant’ who had just arrived in the country or region, he had settled and had a family. Were these comments because he was perceived as American and therefore foreign or because he was Black? Calhoun was bound over and sentenced to pay legal costs within a week or be imprisoned for 30 days. This was the last time Calhoun appeared in court. After this date he appears to have concentrated on his work and family.
During the Second World War, Calhoun was part of the merchant marine and worked as a fireman. His career at sea spanned over 30 years and he was still employed onboard vessels leaving Hull in his late 50s. In the summer of 1940, he was worked on board the Ethel Radcliffe which travelled from Hull to New York. The shipping log shows that he was a six-foot American who had a scar on his left forearm.[13] Sadly, Calhoun died on 10 September 1948 in Hull at the age of 68.[14]
Footnotes
[1] Hull Daily Mail, 18 February 1938, p. 14
[2] Hull Daily Mail, 9 June 1914, p. 5
[3] Hull Daily Mail, 18 March 1925, p. 10
[4] Ibid, p. 10
[5] Ibid, p. 10
[6] Hull Daily Mail, 22 June 1933, p. 12
[7] Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2007.
[8] Hull Daily Mail, 22 June 1933, p. 12
[9] Hull Daily Mail, 18 February 1938, p. 14
[10] Ibid, p. 14
[11] Ibid, p. 14
[12] Hull Daily Mail, 18 February 1938, p. 14
[13] Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
[14] Hull Daily Mail, 11 September 1948, p. 2
[1] Hull Daily Mail, 18 February 1938, p. 14
[2] Hull Daily Mail, 9 June 1914, p. 5
[3] Hull Daily Mail, 18 March 1925, p. 10
[4] Ibid, p. 10
[5] Ibid, p. 10
[6] Hull Daily Mail, 22 June 1933, p. 12
[7] Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2007.
[8] Hull Daily Mail, 22 June 1933, p. 12
[9] Hull Daily Mail, 18 February 1938, p. 14
[10] Ibid, p. 14
[11] Ibid, p. 14
[12] Hull Daily Mail, 18 February 1938, p. 14
[13] Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
[14] Hull Daily Mail, 11 September 1948, p. 2