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 Post subject: trying to trace the family of Mary Margaret Wilson, born en-
 Post Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2016 10:49 am 
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Hi people of Newfoundland and their descendants beyond the seas.

I am trying to trace the family in Newfoundland of my Great Grandmother, Mary Margaret Wilson.

From what I was told as a child by my grandmother her mum Mary Margaret Lee (Nee Wilson) was born en-route to England from Newfoundland in 1872. Her Father was a William Wilson who I believe to have been a British Soldier serving in Newfoundland. I understand after they were married he had to return home and they set sail for England. During the long passage the weather turned against them and they took safe harbour in Cork Ireland. Baby Mary was born in harbour and for some reason her birth was registered as being in Cork despite her not being in any way Irish. This meant that on such serious documents as the British Census she had to state her place of birth as Cork.

I do not know her mother's name at all and it is this which is causing my the most trouble in researching my ancestry. I do know that her mother's father was a seal trapper/fisherman and that he gave her a sealskin coat as a parting gift when she left for her new life.

Unfortunately, after a few years living together in Chesterfield Derbyshire England, William passed away, leaving her with two small children. At this point she had to sell the sealskin coat to feed her children. She was then obliged to take employment as a housekeeper to a man name Enoch something who was not very nice, and to supplement her income by sewing. By 1891 young Mary Maraget Wilson, the daughter, had left home and I have found her in the British Census as a servant to the Knoles family who kept a pub in Chesterfield.

Mary Margaret retold her mothers troubles and these tales have passed down through my family folklore, leaving me wondering what she left behind in Newfoundland. She warned all her descendants to never marry if it involved crossing the Oceans, as but for that she would have walked home to her family in Newfoundland as soon as she could. She apparently remained homesick for the rest of her days.

I would be grateful for any help anyone could give me to trace her as despite joining ancestry sites I have been unable to trace even her maiden name let alone her surname. I do recall being told she was from St. John's but I am not certain of this.

ManchesterJayne


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