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For many years now I've been searching for any information on the fate of Margaret Sarah Close. She was born abt 1837 in Rotherhithe, Surrey. Her parents were John and Harriet Close (have not discovered Harriet's maiden surname) and the census tells me that John Close was b 1794 in Stamford, Lincolnshire. In addition to Margaret Sarah, John & Harriet Close had 3 sons: John W., b 1828, Henry b 1834 and James b 1840.I thought I'd be able to learn Harriet's surname from James's birth cert but haven't found it yet!

Anyway, this is all by-the-way. On 26 February 1854 Margaret Sarah Close married my maternal great grandfather Francis Atkinson (b 1832, Tilbury, Essex) at St Paul's Parish Church, Shadwell. Francis was 21 and Margaret was 17 years old. Now, the mystery starts here: after her marriage it seems that young Margaret Sarah fell off the edge of the planet. So far as I have been able to ascertain (and believe me I have scoured those pages!)there is no mention of her in any census or register of any kind.
Francis Atkinson likewise is a bit of a will o' the wisp during this time. Haven't yet traced him on the 1861 census but on the 1871 census he is living with Mary Ann Nunney under her surname! At that time Mary Ann was pregnant with their first child but the couple did not marry until September 1877, by which time they had 3 children. Now it seems to me that there can be only one reason why my great grandparents did not marry sooner and that reason was because they could not, because Margaret Sarah Close Atkinson was still living.
So there you have it - where was poor Margaret all those years? I reckon she had become incapacitated (probably mentally) and had been 'put away' in an institution. Given her age when she married, perhaps she was pregnant and perhaps the baby died and perhaps poor Margaret had some sort of a mental breakdown. Perhaps this is just my flight of fancy but she was a real person and I would dearly love to know what happened to her. I have searched for a death cert under Close and Atkinson with total lack of success. I apologies for wittering on for so long. If you have any knowledge of this lady please get in touch. Thank you, Pat

Is this James birth registration?

Births Mar 1840 (>99%)
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Close James Thomas Rotherhithe 4 589


Pete

I dont know if this is any help but my G G Grandfather John Close b1780, was from around Stamford. He was married to Mary Olphin. His son b1816(John Close) had a misunderstanding with the law and was sent on a sea trip to australia for 10 years. Before he left he was married to Ester Smith.
Maybe your John and my John where related in some way. I hope that you find whom you are looking for .
regards lindsay.