Margaret Sarah (Hardy) Scott (1863 - 1938)

Born 1863 in Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom

Wife of Dugald Scott — married 1 Feb 1910 in Manchester, Lancashire, England

Died 1938 at about age 75 in Tonbridge, Kent, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Paul Hancock [send private message]

Biography

Margaret Sarah Hardy was born in 1863 in Anglesey, Wales, daughter of Thomas Hardy, an engineer, and his wife Jane nee Williams.^[1] In 1881, aged 17, Margaret was working as a ladies' maid in Chester.^[2] In her late teens or early twenties she became the mistress of Dugald Scott, a Lancashire cotton manufacturer, and had five children with him, living under the pseudonym of Mrs. Margaret Stewart.^[3][4]

Dugald and Margaret finally married in Manchester in 1910, a year after his mother died.^[5][6] He was 58 and she was 45. It is unclear whether he ever formally acknowledged his children after the marriage. In 1911, Margaret was still living with the children in Liverpool under her assumed name, while Dugald stayed at a hotel in Cheshire.^[7][8]

Dugald died in 1920 in Hampshire and Margaret died in Tonbridge, Kent in 1938.^[9]

Research Notes

The details of the above profile are tentative. They have been pieced together from publicly available records.

One telling detail: in the 1911 census, Margaret had two visitors, Charles Sproule and his wife. This was Charles Randall Sproule, a friend of Dugald's who had been a witness at their wedding the year before.

Margaret seems to have died in Tonbridge, which may mean that she was in contact with Dugald's younger sister Gertrude Hancock, who also lived in Tonbridge.

Sources

1. ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:261L-KMP : 1 October 2014), Margaret Sarah Hardy, 1863; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Anglesey, Anglesey, Wales, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
2. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q272-G241 : 13 December 2017), Margaret Hardy, Chester St Oswald, Cheshire, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 13, Piece/Folio 3560/65, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,775,032.
3. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XSXH-3JT : 21 May 2019), Margaret Stewart, Heswall, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Neston subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
4. ↑ In the 1891 census, her two eldest children were living in a hotel with John Ellis Stewart (abt.1847-), a retired captain, and his wife Linna. It is not clear what their relationship was.
5. ↑ "England, Manchester, Parish Registers, 1603-1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:233R-29J : 17 December 2015), Dugald Scott and Margaret Sarah Hardy, 01 Feb 1910, Marriage; citing St James, Manchester, Lancashire, England, Archives Central Library, Manchester; FHL microfilm .
6. ↑ Lancashire Banns & Marriages, image, FindMyPast (https://search.findmypast.ie/record?id=https%3A%2F%2Ffamilysearch.org%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F3%3A1%3AS3HY-61PJ-TV%3Fcc%3D1788853&parentid=R_22671034812%2F1 : accessed 25 September 2021), marriage of Dugald Scott and Margaret Sarah Hardy (age 45) daughter of Thomas Hardy, Engineer, deceased in Manchester St. James on 1 Feb 1910.
7. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWT5-RHR : 12 August 2019), Margaret Stewart, Wavertree, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom; 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.
8. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XW3D-6WS : 3 July 2019), Dugald Scott, Nantwich, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom; 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.
9. ↑ "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVH5-JSHK : 4 September 2014), Margaret Scott, 1938; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Tonbridge, Kent, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.