Charles Bennion (1857 - 1929)

Born 1857 in Adderley, Shropshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Marian Louisa Ann (Lisle) Bennion — married 26 Apr 1882 in Audlem, Cheshire, England

Died 21 Mar 1929 at about age 72 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England

Biography

Charles Bennion is Notable.

Charles Bennion (1857 – 1929) born in Cheshire was a businessman, manufacturer and philanthropist who purchased Bradgate Park for the people of Leicestershire. He was a notable resident of Thurnby, Leicestershire and a major Leicester employer.

A farmer's son, he began his career with an apprenticeship at Crewe railway works in Cheshire and then travelled the world as a ship's engineer. On returning to England he became involved in shoe machinery manufacture then In the 1880s he moved to Leicester which, alongside Northampton, was a leading centre of Britain's boot and shoe industry.

In 1899 he established Pearson and Bennion Ltd in partnership with Marshall Pearson from Leeds.

Pearson and Bennion Ltd later merged with the United Shoe Machinery Company of America to form the British United Shoe Machinery Co. Ltd. Charles Bennion was managing director of the new company (which employed around 2000 people) from 1899 until his death in 1929.

Sources

• http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Sad-end-Bennion-link/story-12086646-detail/story.html

• "England and Wales Census, 1861" database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M7BF-CF7 : accessed 23 March 2016), Thomas P Bennion, Adderley, Shropshire, England; from "1861 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 9, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1891" database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W68P-82M : accessed 23 March 2016), Chas Bennion, New Found Pool, Leicestershire, England; from "1891 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Leicestershire county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1901" database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS4G-VFZ : accessed 23 March 2016), Charles Bennion, Leicester, Leicestershire, England; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing South Leicester subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• http://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/passenger-details/czoxMjoiMTAwNDEwMDEwMjkwIjs=/czo4OiJtYW5pZmVzdCI7 Charles Bennion and son, Claude Bennion of Thurnby Grange, Leicester arrive at Ellis Island on the Mauritania in 1914, bound for Boston, Massachusetts.

• "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007" database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV4B-Y2F7 : accessed 21 March 2016), Charles Bennion, 1929; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Leicester, Leicestershire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bennion

• http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Sad-end-Bennion-link/story-12086646-detail/story.html