Elizabeth (Burrows) Prescot (1857 - 1918)

Born 17 Mar 1857 in St Helens, Lancashire, England

Wife of Christopher Povey — married 13 Feb 1875 in St Mary the Virgin Church in Prescot

Wife of William Prescot — married 5 Jun 1897 in Christ Church, Eccleston, Lancashire

Died 1918 at about age 60 in St Helens, Lancashire, England

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Biography

Elizabeth Burrows was born in about 1857 in St Helens. According to both her marriage records, she was the daughter of James Burrows, a collier. She may have been born 17 Mar 1857 in St Helens, and christened on 10 May 1857 at St Helens Parish Church (known at the time as St Mary's); if so, then her parents' names were recorded as James and Mary Burrows, her father's occupation as collier, and the family's address as Windle. However her origins are a bit of a mystery - see notes below.

Elizabeth married Christopher Charles Povey on February 13th 1875 at St Mary the Virgin Church in Prescot. Christopher was 20 and a collier; Elizabeth was 18. Neither had been married before, and both were local to the parish. Elizabeth's father was James Burrows (collier); Christopher's wasn't listed, probably meaning he was illegitimate. The witnesses were Joseph Mather and Elizabeth Minall.

Christopher died in 1889.

Elizabeth married William Prescott on June 5th 1897 at Christ Church, Eccleston (Anglican). Both had been married before. William was 51 and a miner; Elizabeth was 42. William was living at 49 Grafton Street, Eccleston, and Elizabeth at 45 Grafton Street. Their fathers were John Prescott (miner, deceased) and James Burrows (miner, deceased). The witnesses were Richard Meadows and Jane Meadows. Bride and witnesses all made their marks, but the groom was able to sign his name.

By March 31st 1901, William and Elizabeth were living at 19 College Street. William was working as a coal miner. Three of his children from his first marriage were in the household - Richard (20, and working as a coal miner), Charles (15, and a general labourer) and Maggie (12). One of Elizabeth's children from her first marriage was also in the household - John Povey (12). Two more children had been born since William and Elizabeth's marriage - Thomas (6) and Annie (2).

William died in 1910, aged 63. He was buried on June 5th 1910 in St Helens Cemetery.

By April 2nd 1911, Elizabeth was still living in St Helens, and was now the head of the family. Two stepchildren were living with her - Charles Prescott, who at 25 had already been widowed, and Maggie Prescott aged 22. Charles was working as a coal miner. Two children from her first marriage were in the household - Peter Povey (31 and a coal miner) and Jack Povey (22 and a coal miner). Both were married; Peter's wife Ellen was also living there, but Jack's wife wasn't there on census night. There were also two children from her second marriage - Thomas (16, and a glass examiner) and Annie (12), and a visitor, William Foster aged 18 (a glass works bench winder).

Elizabeth died in 1918, aged 61. She was buried on June 14th 1918, with William in St Helens Cemetery.

Research Notes

Birth and Parents

Half a dozen Elizabeth Burrows (or similar e.g. Betsy) births were registered in Prescot within 2 years of 1857. Many were still alive in 1861, but of those I can see in the FamilySearch index, the only one whose father might have been a James Burrows was Elizabeth Ellen Borrows^[1] - all the others had a father in the household with a forename that wasn't James. If this is her then the registration would be BURROWS, ELIZABETH ELLEN mother BURROWS; GRO Reference: 1857 M Quarter in PRESCOT Volume 08B Page 511^[2]. However the mother there was Hannah, so it doesn't match the baptism below, which is a perfect match on the father's name and occupation. This leaves two possible birth registrations:

  BURROWS, ELIZABETH mother FAIRHURST; GRO Reference: 1857 J Quarter in PRESCOT

  BURROWS, ELIZABETH mother ATHERTON; GRO Reference: 1857 D Quarter in PRESCOT ^[2]

The Fairhurst child's mother probably married again to James Scott in 1858, based on the 1871 census^[3] and marriage record below, and based on mother's maiden name of various children in the 1871 census entry. Some of the children's birth registrations weren't found, or the records that could be found had inconsistent mother's maiden names, but at least 3 of the matching birth registrations gave mother's maiden name as Fairhurst. This doesn't match Mary Burrows' father's surname, but perhaps she was illegitimate and it was her mother's surname.

  Marriage: 3 Oct 1858 at Christ Church, Eccleston, Lancashire, England

    James Scott - (X), 26, Collier, Bachelor, Eccleston

    Mary Burrows - (X), 30, Widow, Eccleston

      Groom's Father: Thos. Leaver, Shoe Maker

      Bride's Father: John Harrison, Collier

      Witness: James Garnall; Elizabeth Garnall, (X)^[4]

No other children of James and Mary Burrows were christened in the few years before or after, although there were children of a James & Ann Burrows both before & after, and in one of those records James was a collier and the abode Windle. A Mary Burrows died in 1858, aged 20, so that might have been Elizabeth's mother perhaps; though if James and Mary married in Prescot, the latest possible marriage was in 1854 and she would have been only 16 then - possible, but a bit unusual. Birth registration wasn't a legal requirement in the 1850s, so Elizabeth's birth may not have been registered.

Burial

Buried together in grave STHELCEM / 11 / 688:

  William Prescott 5/6/1910 aged 63

  Elizabeth Prescott 14/06/1918 aged 61,

  Peter Povey 19/10/1929 aged 50,

  Annie Prescott 20/06/1950 aged 52,

  Margaret Prescott 11 / 12 / 1965 aged 76

Sources

1. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1861," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M7BF-6LM : 12 December 2017), Hannah Borrows, Eccleston, Lancashire, England; from "1861 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 9, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp Accessed 26 Aug 2018
3. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1871", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBFK-XJW : 11 December 2017), Elizabeth Burrows in entry for James Scott, 1871.
4. ↑ http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Search/indexp.html

• Baptism (possible match) Prescot : St Helen : Parish Register : "Parish Register" database, FreeREG (https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/581878dfe93790ec8b7cd5c5 : viewed 25 Oct 2019) baptism Elizabeth Burrows 10 May 1857

• Marriage (1) listed on Lancashire Online Parish Clerk. Image link https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99GZ-B9XF-K?i=942

• Marriage (2) listed on Lancashire Online Parish Clerk

• Burial St Helens Cemetery & Crematorium Online Records http://crem.oltps.sthelens.gov.uk/

• "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27L-THKX : 13 December 2017), Christopher Charles Povey, Windle, Lancashire, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 32, Piece/Folio 3732/52, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,775,075.

• "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9GH-NMX : 8 April 2016), William Prescott, St Helens, Lancashire, England; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing St Helens subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWT1-5HY : 2 August 2017), Charles Prescott in household of Elizabeth Prescott, St Helens, Helens, Lancashire, England; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

The civil registration index, and the England and Wales censuses, are Crown Copyright.