Person:Margaret Light (6)

Margaret Light was baptised on 6th June 1819 at Burley in Wharfedale in Yorkshire, which was at that time part of the parish of Otley. She was the daughter of a wool comber called John Light and his wife Hannah.

Margaret's next sighting is some 200 miles away from Burley, at Islington in the northern suburbs of London. She appears there in the 1841 census as a servant to the Dore family at Felix Cottages.

On 2nd September 1846, aged 27, Margaret married a straw hat blocker called Thomas Heley. They married at the Great Queen Street Methodist Chapel in the St Giles area immediately west of the city of London. They had two sons born in the late 1840s in the Clerkenwell area to the north of London.

By 1851 the family had moved away from the London area, to Luton in Bedfordshire, which was close to where Thomas was from (he gave his place of birth as the neighbouring parish of Houghton Regis). The 1851 census finds Margaret, Thomas and their two sons living on Back Street in Luton, with Margaret working as a sewer. There were also two lodgers in the house. A third son was born in Luton in 1856, called Charles Wesley Heley, suggesting the family maintained strong Methodist inclinations.

Some time between 1856 and 1859 the family left Luton and moved to the neighbouring town of Dunstable, where their fourth and final son was born. The 1861 census finds Margaret, Thomas and all four sons living on High Street in Dunstable.

Thomas died in 1870. He was said to be 47 years old. The following year's census finds Margaret living at 44 Edward Street in Dunstable with her youngest son, Albert, and a lodger called Sophia Jackson. She was working as a monthly nurse at this time.

On 9th March 1876, Margaret remarried. Her second husband was a straw dealer called Richard Kempson, whose first wife had died in 1871. Richard lived at Eaton Bray, a couple of miles south-west of Dunstable. However, by 1881 it appears that Margaret and Richard were living apart. He was still living in Eaton Bray, whilst Margaret was at 61 High Street South in Dunstable, still working as a nurse. Her lodger Sophia Jackson was still living with her. Margaret is also listed in the 1881 census as Margaret Heley rather than Margaret Kempson. Richard died in 1886.

Both the 1891 and 1901 census find Margaret (listed as Margaret Heley) living at South Villas on Icknield Street in Dunstable with Sophia Jackson. Margaret died shortly after the 1901 census, aged about 82. Her death was registered as Margaret Kempson.

1. ↑ Baptisms register, in Burley-in-Wharfedale, Yorkshire, England. Parish Registers (West Yorkshire Archive Service, Wakefield / ancestry.co.uk).

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Chapelry of Burley in the Parish of Otley in the County of York in the Year 1819
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   180	June 6	Margaret Daughter of	John Hannah	Light	Burley	Woolcomber	W. Smith

2. ↑ England. 1841 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 665; Book 5; Folio 8; Page 11, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Felix Cottages, St Mary Islington, Middlesex
   James Dore, male, 35 [1801-6], Ind[ependent], born in county
   Elizabeth Dore, female, 30 [1806-11], born in county
   James Dore, male, 11 [1829/30], born in county
   Henry Dore, male, 9 [1831/2], born in county
   Sarah Dore, female, 6 [1834/5], born in county
   Ann Dore, female, 4 [1836/7], born in county
   Margaret Light, female, 20 [1816-21], F[emale] S[ervant], not born in county

3. ↑ England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1757; Folio 593; Page 8, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Back Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   Thomas Hely, head, married, male, 27 [1823/4], Blocker, b. Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire
   Margarett Hely, wife, married, female, 29 [1821/2], Sewer, b. Birley, Yorkshire
   James Hely, son, male, 4 [1846/7], b. Clerkenwell St, London, Middlesex
   William Hely, son, male, 1 [1849/50], b. Clerkenwell St, London, Middlesex
   Ellen Hollen, lodger, unmarried, female, 19 [1831/2], Sewer, b. Ware, Hertfordshire
   Rachel Whiton, lodger, unmarried, female, 22 [1828/9], Sewer, b. Limington[?], Bedfordshire

4. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 1011; Folio 14; Page 22, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: High Street, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
   Thomas Healey, head, married, male, 37 [1823/4], Straw Bonnet Blocker, b. Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire
   Margaret Healey, wife, married, female, 38 [1822/3], Hat Sewer, b. Birley, Yorkshire
   Thomas J. Healey, son, male, 15 [1845/6], b. Islington, London
   William J. Healey, son, male, 12 [1848/9], Scholar, b. Islington, London
   Charles W. Healey, son, male, 5 [1855/6], Scholar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Albert L. Healey, son, male, 1 [1859/60], b. Dunstable, Bedfordshire

5. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 1567; Folio 59; Page 7, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 44 Edward Street, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
   Margaret Heley, head, widow, female, 50 [1820/1], Monthly Nurse, b. Burley, Yorkshire
   Albert Heley, son, male, 10 [1860/1], Scholar, b. Dunstable, Bedfordshire
   Sophia Jackson, boarder, unmarried, female, 37 [1833/4], Straw Bonnet Sewer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

6. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 1646; Folio 9; Page 12, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: 61 High Street South, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
   Margaret Heley, head, married, female, 64 [1816/17], Nurse, b. Birley, Yorkshire
   Sophia Jackson, sister, widow, female, 46 [1834/5], Bonnet Sewer, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

7. ↑ England. 1891 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG12; Piece 1269; Folio 47; Page 16, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 2 South Villa, Icknield Street, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
   4 rooms occupied
   Margerat [sic] Heley, head, widow, female, 72 [1818/19], Nurse, b. Burley, Yorkshire
   Sophia Jackson, lodger, single, female, 58 [1832/3], Straw Hat Sewer, employed, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

8. ↑ England. England. 1901 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG13; Piece 1512; Folio 37; Page 21, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: South Villas, Icknield Street, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
   4 rooms occupied
   Margaret Heley, head, married, female, 83 [1817/18], b. Burley, Yorkshire
   Sophia Jackson, lodger, single, female, 67 [1833/4], Straw Hat Sewer, worker, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

9. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Margaret KEMPSON, June Quarter 1901, Luton Registration District, Volume 3b, page 229, aged 78 [1822/3]