Name John Smith | ||
John Kelday Smith (c1834-1889) was a Scottish born bellhanger and songwriter in the middle and late 19th century, many of the songs being in the local Geordie dialect. His most famous song is possibly "Since aw hev been away".
Contents
Life
John Kelday Smith was born c1834 in Orkney, Scotland, but moved to Newcastle as an infant.
His occupation is given as a bellhanger (the dictionary definition of this old trade being “a person who installs and repairs bells and their attachments”)
He wrote many local songs and articles that appeared in “Charter's comic publication”, “Ward's Almanack” and the “Weekly Chronicle”. He also won a prize for a song about the Gateshead Working Men's Club and for an essay on working men's clubs in general.
A few details of Smith appeared in “The Monthly Chronicle of North Country Lore and Legend”—printed and published for proprietors of the “Newcastle Weekly Chronicle” by Walter Scott, Newcastle upon Tyne—at about the time of his death
John Kelday Smith died on 12 June 1889 at his home Temperance Row, Shieldfield, Newcastle, age 54.
Works
These include :-