Wife of W.P. 'Bill'
Richardson's Great Great Uncle, John Richardson
Elizabeth was born
on 10th March 1838 at Seaham Harbour. Her parents were
James Coyle and his wife Mary Ann (or Margaret Ann
depending on which record you look at) nee Truefoot. Her birth was
registered in the Easington Registration DIstrict.
She was baptised on the 16th October 1838, at the parish
church in Dalton le Dale, County Durham. Her father was
recorded as being a labourer and they lived at Seaham
Harbour. The 1841 census showed the
family living at Newbottle, Houghton le Spring.
Elizabeth was 3 years old. Her Father, James, was 40 and
the census form said he was 40, born in Ireland and
worked in the pottery. Her Mam, Mary, was 25 and she had
been born in County Durham. Elizabeth had a sister, Mary
(7) and two brothers, William (5) and James (11 months).
By the time of the 1851 census, Elizabeth was 13 and
living with her family at North Terrace, Dawdon, County
Durham. Her Dad was 48 and working as a railway
labourer, her Mam was 36. Sadly, her brother William had
died in February 1843, aged 7 and he was buried in the
parish of Dalton le Dale. Her other brothers and sister
were listed in the house though, Mary (16), James (10)
and Dennis (5) was the new arrival since the previous
census. On 21st October 1855 Elizabeth
married John Richardson from Usworth. They were married
at the parish church in Monkwearmouth, Elizabeth was 17
and John was 24, his occupation was given as brickmaker
and the entry says they were both resident at Stobart's
Buildings. Neither Elizabeth nor John signed the
register, but both made their mark. Their witnesses were
Robert Ferry and Henry Fielding.
Elizabeth and John were living at Little Usworth, Co.
Durham in 1857. Their first child, James, was born there
on 1st February 1857, but sadly he did not live long and
died on 20th March of that year. The census of 1861 showed
Elizabeth and her husband living at Inkerman Terrace,
Usworth. Elizabeth was 23 and her husband was 30, he
worked as a coal miner. They had one child, Mary Ann who
was a year old. By the next census in
1871 they were still living in Usworth but had moved to
Waterloo Terrace. Elizabeth was 33 and her husband was
40, he was still working as a coal miner. Their family
had grown and the children were listed as Mary Ann (11),
Isabella (9) and Elizabeth (5) and Thomas who was 2
months old. On the 1881 census,
Elizabeth's husband, John, was listed as a widower,
living in Usworth with his daughters Isabella and
Elizabeth. The evidence seems to be though, that
Elizabeth had not died, but had left John and was living
with Richard Clark. Elizabeth was listed on the 1881
census at 10, William Street, Seaham Harbour with
Richard and was recorded as being his wife. Her youngest
child, Thomas (11) was with them in the house and was
recorded as a visitor. She would not have been married
to Richard (though listed as his wife) as her legal
husband was still alive and divorce was not an option
for people then. The 1891 census showed
Elizabeth (52) listed with the surname of Clark (though
her husband, John was still alive and living in
Usworth). She was living at 28 North Terrace, Seaham
Harbour and Richard Clark (51) was listed as her
husband, he worked as a dock pilot. Her son, Thomas, was
20 and worked as a coal miner. This time Thomas was
recorded as being the son of Richard and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth's daughter, also named Elizabeth, had married
Robert Kirby in 1883 and their daughter, Elizabeth Ann
Kirby (6) was recorded in the house and listed as Richard and Elizabeth's
grandaughter. They also had a lodger, George Rowell, who
was 66. When the 1901 census was taken,
Elizabeth was back living in William Street, Seaham
Harbour, this time at number 2. Her legal husband, John
was still alive and living in Usworth with their
daughter Isabella and her family. Elizabeth was 62 and
again listed as the wife of Richard Clark (61).
Young Thomas was no longer in the family home, but
grandaughter Elizabeth Ann Kirby (15) still lived there.
The lodger, George Rowell was now listed as 'father in
law' but I can't yet find any evidence to link him to
the family. There were another two lodgers, Mary Cole
(47) and her daghter Jane (13). Elizabeth's maiden name
of Coyle has been variously recorded as Coyle, Coile,
Coile and Cole so there is a slight possibility that
Mary and Jane were related to Elizabeth in some way.
In 1905, John Richardson (Elizabeth's legal husband)
died. Elizabeth married Richard Clark on
6th February 1907 at the Register Office in Sunderland.
Elizabeth was 67 and Richard was 66, his occupation was
recorded as seaman, merchant service. Elizabeth's father
was named as James Coyle (deceased). Their witnesses
were Eli Ford and Mary Ann Burkitt.
The census of 1911 recorded Elizabeth and her husband
Richard living at Bath Cottage, Seaham Harbour. Elizabeth
was 73 and Richard was 71. He was listed as an Old Age
Pensioner, Seaman. They stated on the census form that
they had been married for 30 years, that was
'technically' untrue, but they had lived together as man
and wife for that long though they couldn't make it
official/legal until after the death of her husband. They had two lodgers, William Chantry (28) and James
Reynolds (26) who both worked in the coal mine.
Elizabeth's husband, Richard, died in the first quarter
of 1912, he was 71 years old and his death was
registered in the Easington Registration District.
Elizabeth died on the 12th January 1928 at 11, Railway
Terrace, Usworth. Her death certificate says she was 88
years old but in fact she was almost 90. Her death was
registered by her grandson, Thomas Richardson Hopson. |
