Luton History: The railway son and the outlaw father

On September 16th 1919 a representative for the Telegraph newspaper called upon Mr and Mrs James "Jack" Congreve of Adelaide Terrace, Luton.

They were both at home celebrating their Golden Wedding anniversary, James a native of Stamford Lincolnshire was now in his eighties and spoke of his loving wife and the love of Luton their adopted home.

They remarked about all the changes that had happened, some good some not so, he reminisced of the past and spoke of how he was one of the the first Officials of the Great Northern Railway, opened as the the Luton Dunstable & Welwyn Junction Railway Co. formed in 1858, and he was the first to issue a passenger ticket from Dunstable to Luton.

On relinquishing service with the Railways he set up a Carrier business in Park Street servicing between Luton to London and a further 12 years from Luton to Leighton Buzzard, eventually entering the goods traffic Department of the Midland Railway where he retired in 1906.

He ended by saying "few are given the great privilege of reaching this day in their life, when as husband and wife both can look back upon 50 years of happy wedlock.

However his father John Congreve was a completely different character, he had an unpredictable nature, tended to get bored easy, prior moving to Luton he was a Publican, a farmer and then a Corn Merchant, but in 1861 he finally settled in Dunstable Road Luton with the family, his occupation was Assistant Overseer for the Parish.

His duties included the collection of rates and taxes, issuing settlement and removal orders, enforcing payments, he was also responsible for the management and finances of the Workhouse in Dunstable Road.

Life continued smoothly until August 1870, serious discrepancies appeared in the accounts, at first it was thought an oversight, but an emergency meeting was called for further investigation, it was discovered in which several instances the left hand figures in the Pound columns had been erased, John Shaw Leigh Esq. (Luton Hoo) paid £149/5s but only £14 9/s was entered, on checking the entries this continued until a shortfall of £500 was missing.

All eyes focused on "John Congreve" the overseer, meanwhile while the meeting was in full flow , John Congreve had packed his bags and absconded with the money.

His poor wife Lydia left Luton to live with her other son in London never to return, she died there in 1876. James Jack his son had no more to do with his father.

Immediately a Reward of £50 was posted for the capture of John Congreve from Luton charged with embezzlement totalling nearly £500 ( equivalent to £80.000 today).

He was described as 60 years of age, 5ft. 7 inches, stout with little or no whiskers, short hair, bow legged and walks with a stoop, "Payment on Apprehension."

26th December 1871 John Congreve was captured in Newcastle after being on the run for 15 months, he was found guilty of 15 charges of embezzlement and served 15 months hard labour in Bedford Prison.

On release he married in 1877 and again in 1886 , his last employment in Hastings Street Luton in 1891 was a Commission Agent.

John Congreve died in 1896 and never left a penny.