Wife of W.P. 'Bill' Richardson's Great
Uncle, Thomas
Lee
Alice had quite a
short life but in her 34 years, she moved from Norfolk
to Durham, was married twice and was survived by a young
son. Tracking her down was quite a challenge as she was
shown in records with four different surnames.
Her birth was registered in Aylesham, Norfolk in
the fourth quarter of 1869. The registration showed her as
Alice Augusta Clarke.
The 1871 census showed her
living in Thwaite near Norwich. She had an older
sister, Ellen and they lived with their mother,
Maria Clarke and their grandparents James and Hannah
Clarke. Shortly after 1871, Alice and her mother moved to
Durham. Alice's mother married in the second quarter of
1874 and Alice's new stepfather was John Dawson who had
been recorded on the 1871 census as a miner (aged
33) living with his widowed mother in Mount Pleasant
(which was later renamed as Stanley Crook). In the 1881 census, Alice A. Clarke (aged 11)
was
shown at the school board school. The family was
still in Mount Pleasant. Her stepfather, John, was listed as a colliery deputy
and Alice now had two half-sisters: Margaret J (aged 4) and Mary A. (aged 14 days!). Also listed
were Rachel Lee (aged 30,
born in Crook and a servant) and Thomas A. Rose
(aged 16, born in Middlesbrough and a coal miner). The 1891 census showed
Alice M Dawson (aged 21). The family had moved a short distance from Mount
Pleasant to Gladstone Terrace in Sunniside. Step-Dad John
was shown as a miner and Mam, Maria, was 42.
In addition to Alice's half-sisters on the previous
census, Margaret (14), Mary (10) were the newer members
of the family Robert (6), Annie (3) and
Minnie (1). Further along Gladstone Terrace
lived a young man called Thomas Lee (aged 24).
On April 30th 1894, Alice Augusta Clark Dawson married
Thomas Lee (who by then had moved to Front Street,
Sunniside after the death of his father in 1892). The
marriage took place in the register office in Auckland
and the witnesses were Timothy Blair and Sarah Lee
(probably Thomas's younger sister).
Two years later, Alice's life had a major blow with
the death of her husband Thomas on November 3rd, 1896.
There is no record of any children of the marriage.
In the third quarter of 1900, Alice married Michael
Ellison. He was a brother in law of Alice's first
husband, Thomas Lee, whose sister Annie Lee was married to Thomas Ellison.
Sadly, this marriage did not last long as Michael
died in the first quarter of 1901. But in the
same quarter, Alice gave birth to their son Michael W.
whose birth was registered in the second quarter.
The 1901 census showed Alice (aged 31) and her son
(under 1 month) living in Wheatbottom, Helmington Row.
Sadly, Alice's life was nearly done as she died on
August 3rd, 1904, aged 34. Her death was registered by her
brother and she was buried in Crook Cemetery on
August 6th, the burial service was conducted by W H
Coney. Her address on the burial record was shown as Milburn Street
in Crook.
Postscript
The 1911 census shows Michael W Ellison age 10 living
with his grandmother Anne Maria Dawson (aged 63) who
was by then a widow. After that, who knows!
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