Pickering, Margaret

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In 1921 Margaret Pickering was housekeeper to retired farmer, John Armstrong at 8 Percy Terrace, Bellingham. She was the daughter of Ralph J Pickering, a butcher and Abigail Pickering (nee Watson) who were living in Haydon Bridge (North Side). Her date of birth varies according to source but the most credible is 9 September 1869. She was the second oldest of the six children of Ralph and Abigail, all of whom had been born in Haydon Bridge and in the case of Margaret’s older sister, Chesterwood, Haydon Bridge. She was in school in Haydon Bridge in 1881 but at the 1891 Census was a visitor to Benjamin Trewhitt and his family in Bishop Wearmouth. There is no obvious connection between the Trewhitts and Pickerings. In 1901 Margaret was heading up a family group at The Lees Farm, Haydon Bridge. Her occupation is given as ‘housekeeper on her own account. Other relatives in the household were brothers, John Pickering (farmer), George William Pickering (shepherd) Ralph Pickering (butcher) and Frederick Pickering (agricultural labourer). All were unmarried. Margaret had help in the house from twenty-year-old Mary Ann Scott a domestic general servant. In 1911 Magaret had left The Lees and was acting as housekeeper for a twenty-one-year-old unmarried farmer at Rothley Mill, Cambo. Her only other charge in that post was eighteen-year-old Thomas Middlemas a farm labourer. Her mother Abigail died in 1916. As noted above she was housekeeping in 8 Percy Terrace. Her father died aged eighty-seven on 16 September 1928, leaving £2,463 9s 8d. He was buried in St. Cuthbert’s churchyard. In 1939, Margaret was back at the Lees undertaking unpaid domestic duties for single sisters Elizabeth Pickering and Isabella Pickering. There is a redacted entry in the record, but another intriguing entry is for fourteen-year-old Thomas Pickering Veasey, a student. His parentage is unknown. Thomas, then a farmer, was the administrator for Margaret’s estate of £753 10s when she died at The Lees on 3 September 1962.