Person:Margaret Litford (1)

Margaret Litford’s origins are unclear. She gave her place of birth as Lambeth, in the southern suburbs of London. No birth or baptism record has been found for her. Her first confirmed sighting is in the 1871 census in Lambeth, when she was said to be eleven years old, implying that she was born in 1859 or 1860. She was then listed as Margaret Ladford daughter of James Ladford. (The family’s surname was recorded variously as Ladford, Latford, Ledford, Letford, Lidford, Litford, Ludford and Lutford in different records.) Also living in the household were James’s wife Mary and his other children.

However, Mary was not necessarily Margaret’s mother. James Lutford and Mary Shea (formerly MacCarthy) had married in Lambeth in August 1861, when they were described as a widower and widow. James’s first wife, Rosina Newton, had died in the last three months of 1859. It is therefore possible that Margaret was James and Rosina’s daughter, born shortly before Rosina’s death. However, Margaret does not appear in the 1861 census living with James and his other children (who were living at Bond Row in Lambeth, recorded under the surname Ludford). James and Rosina’s older children had been baptised into the Church of England, whereas James and Mary’s later children were baptised into the Catholic church.

The other possibility is that Margaret was actually Mary’s daughter, but adopted James’s surname and described him as being her father. Mary has not been definitively found in any records prior to her marriage to James in August 1861, nor has any birth or baptism record for a Margaret daughter of Mary Shea / McCarthy been found.

Whatever her true parentage was, Margaret was raised by James and Mary in Lambeth. In the 1871 census they were living at 1 Salutation Place, which was a narrow street off Cornwall Road and backing onto Stamford Street, in the area between Waterloo Station and the south bank of the River Thames.

On 4th August 1879, Margaret married a general dealer called Henry Meekins at St Mary’s Church in Lambeth. They went on to have a son called Harry in May 1880. Later that year, Margaret’s father James Litford died.

The 1881 census finds Margaret, Henry and their baby son living at 25 Frances Street in Lambeth. Frances Street was later renamed Lanfranc Street, and was off Westminster Bridge Road running parallel to Pearman Street, about half a mile south of Salutation Place. Margaret’s siblings and their mother were living a few doors away at 29 Frances Street. A couple of months after the census, in June 1881, Margaret and Henry had another son called John (known as Jack). He was followed in 1882 by a daughter called Margaret. Whilst Margaret and Henry had married in the Church of England, all three of their children were baptised in Catholic churches.

Baby Margaret died when only a few months old, early in 1883. Margaret did not long outlive her daughter. She died later in 1883, when she was probably still only in her early twenties. Henry survived her by about 34 years and remarried in 1889.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 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 648; Folio 4; Page 6, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 1 Salutation Place, Lambeth, Surrey
   James Ladford, head, married, male, 35 [1835/6], Carman, b. Lambeth, Surrey
   Mary Ladford, wife, married, female, 28 [1842/3], b. Ireland
   James Ladford, son, male, 16 [1854/5], Carman, b. Lambeth, Surrey
   Margaret Ladford, daughter, female, 11 [1859/60], Scholar, b. Lambeth, Surrey
   John Ladford, son, male, 9 [1861/2], Scholar, b. Lambeth, Surrey
   Mary Ann Ladford, daughter, female, 7 [1863/4], Scholar, b. Lambeth, Surrey
   Daniel Ladford, son, male, 3 [1867/8], Scholar, b. Lambeth, Surrey
   Charlotte Ladford, daughter, female, 1 [1869/70], b. Lambeth, Surrey
   John Austin, lodger, unmarried, male, 30 [1840/1], Carman, b. Lambeth, Surrey

2. ↑ 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 588; Folio 116; Page 16, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: 25 Frances Street, Lambeth, Surrey
   Henry Meakins, head, married, male, 22 [1858/9], Hakwer, b. Lambeth
   Margaret Meakins, wife, married, female, 20 [1860/1], b. Lambeth
   Henry Meakins, son, male, 11m [1880], b. Lambeth
   David McDonald, other, widower, male, 64 [1816/7], General Labouer, b. Mary le Bone

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

   d. Margaret MEEKING, June Quarter 1883, Lambeth Registration District, Volume 1d, page 250, aged 21 [1861/2]