Lookup please: MARGARET BURKE 1843, NuL

[kg0279]

Would it be possible if any one is able to lookup a birth in Newcastle under Lyme?

Margaret Bourke (1851 census, District 1a, Newcastle under Lyme, Church St.)
Listed as "Grand daughter" to Luke and Margaret Bourke. Age 8. Born Newcastle Staffs.

Luke, Margaret Snr, and Michael are all listed on the 1841 census also (spelled Bourke again) but no Patrick or Thomas.

In 1851 Luke and Margaret (Snr) also list Patrick, Michael and Thomas as sons. Ann Bourke is listed as daughter-in-law, being Anne McHowe I think....

Michael [Burke], and father Luke and mother Margaret are all listed later in census with Michael married to Anne (McHowe, m. 1850) so I know that this is the correct family and a variant on spelling of Burke.

It also means Ann and Michael were married several years after Margaret so I do not think she is their daughter.

I cannot find a birth entry for grand-daughter Margaret (1843) under any variant spelling of Burke.
Nor can I find a marriage of Ann to Patrick or Thomas (at least locally).  Similarly I have not found them definitively as a family group in later censuses.

I am making an assumption that Anne is Margaret's mother.

The closest I have is a possible marriage of Margaret Burke (b. 1843, father Patrick) to a George William Fletcher in 1877 in St. Mary Edge Hill Lancs. (no joy on 1861/71 census searches in this locale either). I will probably order the certificate but I don't think it will yield much helpful information.

Any help on birth of Margaret c.1843 or marriage of Anne to either Patrick or Thomas would be greatly appreciated. I have tried BOURKE, BURK, BERK, BIRK, BURKE even BOWRKE which was a transcript error) and many others!

Best regards

[CaroleW]

Failure to register a birth only became a fineable offence in 1875 so there are lots of unregistered births prior to that date

If there is nothing on freebmd - it was probably unregistered

Have you found Margaret on either the 1861 or 1871 census?

If not - I wonder was her surname really Bourke?

[kg0279]

Thanks for the feedback CaroleW - I didn't know about the 1875 threshold and guess that my options now are limited.

I have tried the 1861 and 1871 census but struggling to find Patrick or Margaret.  I have a possible marriage for Thomas which I will follow up.

Margaret is a loose end though.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Kevin

[Brian Boggs]

A Luke and Margaret Burke arrived on the Adam Lodge with 2 males and 3 females (all unnamed) from Londonderry in 1837.
My research has tracked down that Margaret died in 1845 at the age of 30. Luke was 32 in 1837. He remarried to Ann Wiley in 1859 in Shoalhaven district. I have tentatively put names of Patrick (d1860) with parents Luke and Margaret and Michael as the two possible boys.
The females have presented me with much the same conundrum as with the other unnamed children on the ship. Changed names when they married and hence searching for their death date impossible. Marriages are a possibility if I restrict the date range but the commonality of the name Burke makes finding any information very difficult. You present me with possibilities but...... many unknowns. I wish you luck with your search andhope that I may have helped

[Brian Boggs]

On reading the Luke/Margaret story again, I realise that this relates to the UK. I am amazed at the similarities of the two families. Newcastle (Australia) makes sense and my Burkes also have Patrick , Michael and Thomas but my Michael must have been born here in Australia after 1837 which makes the marriage date 1851 out of the question. I am sorry if I became confused but there are so many similarities (except of course the beatings my Luke dished out to Margaret). I hope that I haven't distracted you from your quest for knowledge. Also, our census records do not list childrens names and were destroyed between 1843 and 1890. Good luck with your searches.