Unknown area of the Crofts late 19th Century. Source: Picture Sheffield.
George Pishell’s story, described as ‘love and suicide’, comes from the Sheffield Independent, 4 November 1848.
George was an itinerant musician, a native of Germany. As a 23 year old incomer to the city, he found lodgings at a house in ‘Sheffield croft’. Margaret Crofts was a fellow lodger as well as a fellow musician and native of Frankfurt-on–the-Main, Germany. The couples’ acquaintance soon developed into love, and marriage seemed to be the likely outcome. However, in spite of a visit from his master in Leeds, whose service he had recently left, George was determined to look for work in Sheffield. Margaret Crofts was apparently in agreement with this idea as she considered his musical calling ‘degrading in a man’. The article described that Margaret, noticing George preferred to remain ‘in idleness’ at home, instead of looking for work, withdrew her pledge of marriage ‘with a man who was both idle and bad tempered’ and offered George money to return to his master.