Biographical Notes |
Note: After her husband's death in India in 1869, Margaret brought her mother Lucy Carey Penny and four children back to England. They were there by the 1871 census. At that time they were living in Bedford, Bedfordshire, where Margaret worked as a teacher in a preparatory school. Margaret's children at home were Isaac eight, Edwin five and James three, all of whom were scholars. Their cousin Nicholas Davey eleven years old was also living with them. Nicholas had also been born in Bengal and was a scholar.
Lucy Carey, Margaret's mother, was 65 years old and an annuitant. Another member of the household was Annie Johnson, a domestic servant from Yorkshire. She was 28 years old.
In the 1881 English census we find James 13 years old and Edwin Dakin 15 years old attending the Blackheath Village School for Sons of Ministers in Blackheath, West Kent. Both boys had been born in Calcutta, Bengal.
It was interesting to note the various backgrounds of the boys who attended the school. A few of the birthplaces of some of the boys included Canton, China; Kandy, Ceylon; Peeltown, Cape Colony; Nova Scotia, Canada; Jerusalem; and Jamaica. It must have been a stimulating environment. I hope that they were well fed.
Did Margaret return to India before the 1881 census?
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