Commodore J. Stuart Blackton's Sheffield Connection

This report appeared in the Telegraph and Independent dated 6th September 1939

I must admit that I did not now that J.Stuart Blackton was "one of the greatest figures in the motion picture industry" but a check revealed a plethora of articles relating to his life and career. A couple of them are linked here Denis Gifford  and Vitagraph.

I wanted to know a bit about the Sheffield connection, and all I knew was that he emigrated to the USA from Sheffield in 1886 when he was about 11 years of age. But I found out the main reason why he went to the US lay in the callous and cruel nature of his father towards his mother, the rogue Henry Blacktin 

At the time the case caused a local sensation and was reported in detail in the local press. The article is called The Dark Heart of Henry Blacktin  - Sheffield 1875