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Emma Turner

Emma Turner

b ca 1826

m William John Richards 

15 November 1853 Portsea

d 4 May 1912 Southsea

 

Children

Willie/William John 1854-1921

Ellen 1863-?

Jessie 1867-1886

 

Documentation

Marriage certificate

Birth certificate of son William John

Census records from 1841-1911

Death certificate

Emma 

origins

From the old German meaning ‘whole, universal’.  One of those old names that has become very popular again in modern times.

variations

Emme, Hermione

abbreviations

Em, Emmie

This is one of those women whose lifespan more or less mirrors that of Queen Victoria, so a true Victorian.  She is also one of those ancestors for whom I have virtually all of the basic records - a complete set of census records included - and yet whose personality escapes me.  And even with all this information I do have a couple of questions that currently remain unanswered.  The watercolour is by Louis (Angelo) Fairfax-Muckley, mostly known as an illustrator and a member of the Arts and Crafts Movement.  I rather like this picture - she seems 'normal' somehow.

 

Emma is my great-great grandmother - my grandmother's paternal grandmother.  Her father was a sailor, so not there a lot of the time I guess - like my own, and like many from this side of the family.  And another from Portsmouth who did not stray from that city.  But only three children.  I do not think her life was unusual for the time and place, although there are significant differences to what her life would have been in our own times.  A long life - she was 84 when she died and, let us hope, a satisfying one.

fairfax-muckley portrait.jpg
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