Talk:Jack Reynolds (footballer, born 1881)

Place of Birth?

Some confusion about this.

To begin with, there is some argument as to which country he was born in. It seems they were Irish Protestants, and Jack might have been born in Ireland before being brought to England as a baby. The family lived in Wilton Street, Whitefield.

Wilton Street is in Whitefield, which is in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, which is in Greater Manchester, which is partly in Lancashire, which is in England, etc. When Jack was born, Bury was a Borough. Pilkington was a township in the parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham, which was in the hundred of Salford, which was in the county of Lancashire. It ceased to exist in 1894.

So where was Jack Reynolds born?

Well, on this Dutch I.D. document https://archief.amsterdam/indexen/deeds/9853341b-07cb-56a3-e053-b784100ade19?person=9853341b-07cc-56a3-e053-b784100ade19 his birthplace is given as Pilkington, Bury, Great Britain. Since Pilkington had been abolished, we must entertain the possiblity that only Jack would be in a position to know that. (Somewhat troublingly, this document misspells Jack's name as 'Reynold' and his mother's name as 'Guiness.')

On the other hand, I lived in the adjoining town of Prestwich for 25 years, and had not heard of Pilkington until yesterday. I don't believe you would be able to find anyone who has. I suspect most people would think of Pilkington's the erstwhile tile manufacturer, in nearby Clifton Junction, or Pilkington's the glassmakers.

So again, where was Jack born? Or, rather, where do we say he was born? Hengistmate (talk) 22:54, 9 January 2021 (UTC)