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Margaret EMMERSON
Abt 1837 - 1922 (~ 85 years)
Has 47 ancestors and 127 descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
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Name Margaret EMMERSON Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Born Abt 1837 Benwell, Northumberland, England 
- Born 1837/8 according to the 1841 and 1911 censuses; born 1838/9 according to the 1861/71 censuses; 1836/7, according to the 1881 and 1891 censuses; 1901 census says then 53 (i.e. born 1847/8) and born in Washington! The 1851, 61, 71 and 81 censuses give the birthplace as Benwell, Northumberland, while the 1891 shows Durham (I think meaning the county), and in 1911 it was recorded as "NK" ('Not Known')! Her age given as 53 but maybe 63 was mistranscribed from family forms? - 73 in 1911.
I am giving a birth year as that I think the most likely: based on the 1841 census, as it's hard to be muddled over whether a child is aged 1 or 3. However, her sister Elizabeth is shown as aged 2 on the census but was baptised earlier!
Baptised 31 Oct 1840 St. John’s Church, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England - seen register entry; bapt by W Maughan
Gender Female Education Made her mark on her dau (Dorothy)'s birth cert. Residence 1901 North Road, Whitburn, Co. Durham, England - Living in a 3 roomed house with son George (sgl) and a grandson James (age 9, born Marsden, the illegitimate son of her daughter Lydia). In 1911 census living in 2 rooms at 3 Elliots Yard, Whitburn with same James.
Residence 1911 3, Elliots Yard, Whitburn, Co. Durham, England - Living in 2 rooms still with her grandson James.
Residence 1921 Died 1 Feb 1922 6, Hedworth Terrace, Whitburn, Co. Durham, England Cause: 1. Senile decay/2. Heart failure (5 hours) - GRO ref: Robinson, Margaret q1 1922 aged 81 S.Shields RD 10a 1385
Details from death cert.
No post-mortem
Death certificate for Margaret Emmerson Siblings5 brothers and 6 sisters Patriarch & Matriarch 
George EMMERSON, b. Est 1695, Co. Durham, England, d. 1745 (Age ~ 50 years) (3 x Great Grandfather) 
Barbara HUTCHINSON, b. Abt 1782, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England, d. 12 Feb 1858, Smith’s Court, Prudhoe Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England (Age ~ 76 years) (Grandmother) Person ID I665 All | Teresa's direct ancestors Last Modified 16 Aug 2023
Father Matthew EMMERSON, b. 6 Dec 1806, Birtley, Co. Durham, England , d. 28 Oct 1872, Washington, Co. Durham, England (Age 65 years) Mother Catherine BROWN, b. 28 Sep 1809, Blyth, Earsdon, Northumberland, England , d. 8 Oct 1866, Old Row, Washington, Co. Durham, England (Age 57 years) Married 23 May 1829 St. John’s Church, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England - Married by N A Dodd, curate, Matthew and Catherine both made their mark, both otp. Witnesses were John Wilkinson and Henry Cockburn. By banns, no consent filled in (presumably implies both were of age). Have seen the register entry (microfilm at Ashington) - no father's names or other info given.
Family ID F1114 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family 1 [ - ? - ], d. Yes, date unknown Married? Not married or evidence to suggest they didn't marry Children 1. Matthew EMMERSON, b. 22 Sep 1857, Waggonhouse, Washington, Co. Durham, England , d. Dec Q 1902, South Shields Reg Dist, Co. Durham, England (Age 44 years)Last Modified 17 Sep 2011 Family ID F2302 Family Group Page | Family Chart
Family 2 James ROBINSON, b. 31 Mar 1829, Old Buckenham, Norfolk, England , d. 23 Nov 1899, 4, James Street, Marsden, Whitburn, Co. Durham, England (Age 70 years) Married Between 1857 and 1861 Research notes
I have looked hard for the marriage in the index on FreeBMD. TO DO: look at the local indexes in case mistranscribed to the central ones (or to FreeBMD)
Either,
* they may have married but an error in the register or failure to send a copy of the PR entry to the local registration office and GRO means it cannot be found indexes;
* as above but the entry was sent but lost (index-wise) at the GRO (the GRO created slips of paper to make the index - inevitably some will have been lost)
* they married but an error in the PR entry and / or index means the entry cannot be found
* they married but Margaret wasn't an Emmerson at marriage (see consideration of this below - summary: unlikley explanation)
* they did not bother to marry - seems unlikely unless there was a good reason
* they did not marry as one of them was not free to marry. It is worth noting that the likely date of marriage, c. 1859, James would have been aged 30, so there had been plenty of time for him to marry and for the couple to part company. With divorce effectively unavailable some chose to marry bigamously but others to live as though married.
Living in a highly populated area, with many moving in from elsewhere and themselves moving around it would probably have been easy for James and Margaret to live without any but close relations of Margaret knowing they weren't married.
Could Margaret have married and been widowed and then married James?
3 Margaret Em(m)ersons married in the period 1857 - 1860,
one in Southwark RD, very unlikely, one in Guisbro RD, not very likely, one in Sunderland - quite possible (q2 1859).
Latter was to a Joseph Walker or George Baker.
What's more, I haven't found Joseph or George with a wife Margaret in the 1861 census suggesting one of the couple had died (though of course, esp given that the marr was in Sunderland, they could have been at sea, and I haven't searched thoroghly for mis-transcriptions etc.)
Marriages of a James Robinson to a Margaret, 1857 - 1861 include one of a Margaret Baker (but q2 1858 so can't be Margaret widow of Geo as they weren't even marr by then!), one of a Margaret Walker; no surnames matching those in the Guisbro and Southwark marriages.
Marriage to Margaret Walker was q1 1861, Skipton. 2 snags - Skipton abt 90 miles from Washington and after the birth of Ruth, who was registered as a Robinson, not Walker. There were a no. of James and Margarets in or nr Yorkshire in 1861, incl one in Skipton, who could probably have been the couple who married in 1861 - I haven't checked them thoroughly (e.g. children), BUT I haven't found the Skipton couple in the 1851 census and they don't have any children, despite both being shown as aged 39 in the 1861 census, so I suspect it was them who married in Skipton RD, not my James and Margaret.
Children8 children Last Modified 22 Jun 2021 Family ID F213 Family Group Page | Family Chart
- Born 1837/8 according to the 1841 and 1911 censuses; born 1838/9 according to the 1861/71 censuses; 1836/7, according to the 1881 and 1891 censuses; 1901 census says then 53 (i.e. born 1847/8) and born in Washington! The 1851, 61, 71 and 81 censuses give the birthplace as Benwell, Northumberland, while the 1891 shows Durham (I think meaning the county), and in 1911 it was recorded as "NK" ('Not Known')! Her age given as 53 but maybe 63 was mistranscribed from family forms? - 73 in 1911.