52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 31. Favourite Name.

JEAN IRIS HOWARD 1892-1951  

Jean was the Granddaughter of Henry Pye 1797-1889 of Boughton Malherbe in Kent, the brother of my 3xGreat Grandfather Thomas Pye of Newlands, Charing. Henry married late in life in 1858 aged 61, Jean was the daughter of his youngest daughter Gertrude 'Jessie' Pye who married John Howard, the Agent General of Nova Scotia, an office that Jean was appointed to on her fathers death.

Iris was born on the 5^th November 1892 and was baptised at Holy Trinity Church Marylebone on the 28^th Nov.

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By the 1901 census the family had moved to Earls Court and in 1911 they are found in the village of Bisley in Surrey. From the 1939 register during WW1 Iris was employed in the Pensions Office.

On the 24^th Feb 1920 the London Gazette printed a Land Registry document, citing that Jean Iris Howard had become the registered proprietor of the property 31 Roland Gardens, a rather impressive property in Kensington.

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In 1925, mother Jessie and Iris are recorded on the passenger lists on the SS Ardeola from Liverpool. Initially the Ardeola was fitted as a 70-80 person first class passenger ship, but in the 1920’s it was refitted to import banana’s taking a circular route Liverpool-Lisbon-Madeira-Canary Islands- Liverpool, taking some passengers. Jessie and Iris took such a trip.

In the normal course of events that would probably all that we would be able to know about Iris’ life apart from her death date. However Iris has a well documented career and life which is profiled in an article in the suffrage newspaper ‘The Vote’ on April 12^th 1929. Whilst I have not found Iris listed amongst the known suffragette/suffragist list she does appear to have been an independent career woman.

As previously stated her father, John Howard was the Agent General for Nova Scotia, and Iris was involved in assisting with his work, accompanying him on his trips to Nova Scotia and as he became more unwell she performed the duties of a deputy, when her father died in early 1929, the Canadian government cabled to offer her the post of Acting Agent General for Nova Scotia. The first time that a woman had held such a post within the British Empire.

The article states that this job involved ‘trade, emigration and manifold duties associated with Consul.’ Her office was originally based in Whitehall but more recently (to time of article) attached to Canada House in Trafalgar Square. Whilst Iris felt accepted within the duties of office, within the social aspects of the job there were still difficulties with the acceptance of women in new professional roles, with the continued exclusion from trade conferences, Chambers of Commerce and ‘Gentleman’s clubs’ where much business took place.However things were changing, the banks had embraced her from the start and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce now accepted her personally.

We already know that Iris had worked in the Pensions Office during WW1 but her career path commenced with an education at University College London, Montpelier France and Germany, where she studies Modern Languages. She then completed her Civil Service Exams in 1915 before being invited to join the Correspondence Department of Pensions Office. However before the Armistice Iris trained for and gained her Certificate of Health and Sanitary Inspector to the National Health Society. Despite being offered a post she decided to go and help her father in his work. - information from article in The Sphere 30^th Mar 1929.

In Nov 1930 The Aberdeen Press and Journal told of Iris’ plan to encourage initially 10 women to move to Nova Scotia to start Poultry businesses, with an incentive of £500 for their passage and start up. The article was picked up by various other regional newspapers and in Mar 1930 it made The Daily Mirror.

Nothing more is found relating this episode of her career path, until an article in The Western Mail and South Wales News Oct 30 1935. Where Iris was a guest at the Imperial Fruit Show, that we know that after a reorganisation of government it was decided that her post was unnecessary so it was relinquished in 1931, after which Iris moved to Bath. Somerset.

As indicated in the previous article, Iris became involved in local politics and in May 1936, she was appointed to the position of Women's Honourable Secretary to the local Conservative Association:- Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald 2nd May 1936. However in 1938, she resigned her post due to ill health:- Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald 16th April 1938.

In 1948, Iris can be found in newspaper reports to be continuing with her public service work associated with the Bath Council of Social Service.

Her ill health continued and in a local news/gossip page in the Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald on Jan 21st 1950 it appears that after another period of poor health, she was recovering again.

There is evidence that throughout her adult life Iris took great interest in 'Women's Issues' and wrote and lectured on the subject. One passenger list to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1948, identifies her occupation as 'Lecturer'. There are also several newspaper articles that she wrote on these subjects, published in titles linked to the Suffrage, local and national press.

The tone, in some of these, suggests that she was a formidable character who exhibited forthright views and did not mince her words. The highlighted paragraph from an article in The Daily Mail 26^th September 1930 entitled Marriage or a Business Career, indicates this although as in the press today the highlight is controversial, the whole is a little more measured if of it’s time. But there is some universal truth that could be assigned to some similar circumstances in life today. With so much recent emphasis on equality throughout it has been interesting to research a life that was a little against the norm in it’s day.

Iris died at a relatively young age of 58, on the 3^rd August 1951 and is buried at Brighton and Hove Cemetery and is commemorated with her parents.

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