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Looking for the death of a Mary Metcalfe in Everton circa 1890's

By robbiejax |
General Genealogy

My 2xg grandma has always been my brick wall. Both her birth and her death. I am looking for help as to where and when she may be buried.

She was born Mary Jones c1829 somewhere in Scotland (that's not the bit I am looking for help on, though that is my ultimate target). She first appears in Everton 1850 marrying Robert Metcalfe. They live all their adult lives in Everton. They are last seen in the 1891 census living together in Horatio Street. I know her husband Robert Metcalfe dies in 1898 living in Arkwright Street and is buried in a common grave in Everton Cemetery. But Mary Metcalfe disappears before the 1901 census. I cant find her dying in the 1890's, though that is what I suspect. She didnt seem to go live with any of her surviving children.

Where else may she have been buried around Everton. It seems that a while back, someone was cataloging all of the cemeteries in Liverpool. But I cant seem to find that any more. Thanks, Robbie

Hi and welcome to the forum.  I wonder if your Mary might be

Deaths Jun 1893

Metcalf  Mary  Age 74 Toxteth Park  8b 166

If you haven't investigated this one, it might be useful to, if you order the certificate via www.gro.gov.uk the digital image is available for this entry and it might be well worth a £2.50 spend to confirm or otherwise.

Thank you both for your comments. Mary, I had bought that death certificate and it is not her, but yes, there seemed to be many different ways to spell Metcalfe back then. Bertie, I am starting it work my way through some of those cemeteries. There is a lot there. Over 1000 images for Anfield for just one year. Like a needle in a haystack (or may not even be in the haystack). but I am on it. Again, many thanks. Have a nice weekend. Robbie

I am interested in the detail on that death certificate, if you are happy to share, that makes you believe it is not her.

Sure. No problem. Is it OK to post the image of it here, or do you just want the details here. Else, send me an email at robbiejax@aol.com and I can email you the image. I also have an image of her burial order. She was buried in Everton Cemetery. Robbie

My Mary was the wife of Robert Metcalfe, a butcher. Robert was still alive in 1893 (died in 1898). This Mary is the widow of Edwin, a shipwright.

There is another Mary (Mary Ann Metcalfe) in the GRO who died in 1895. She was the wife of George Antony Metcalfe, a billiard table maker. I have the certificate for her also. She is the one buried in Everton.

So I think I may have found her. In Darwen, in 1897. When I said that she didnt go live with any of her children, technically true but that is where I think I found her.

She had a daughter who had died in Blackburn in 1894. She was still young, with young children. I am thinking that Robert and Mary must have moved to Darwen to help look after her daughter's family. And Mary died there. Robert must have moved back to Liverpool after his wife died. This is just a hypothesis right now, and I still need to try to prove it out and find her grave.

Anyway, thank you both for your contributions. I know you probably feel like you didnt do much but sometimes you just need to sound it out to someone else for something new to pop into your own brain. I am sure you can relate.

btw, can I ask another question without opening a new thread. This same couple had a stall in Great Homer Street market 1870's or 1880's. Do you know if there are any records on the market back then? And maybe some photos of what the market may have looked like.

Thanks again, Robbie

We know just how you feel when you throw ideas around and others are there just to listen.  Glad you appear to have sorted things out, I checked Ancestry who appear to have some burial records for both Over Darwen and in the year that matters there are some for Lower Darwen, however Mary doesn't appear in them.  The records may be available in either Blackburn or Darwen libraries.

There won't be any records for the market, I believe most people just set up either a stall, or even an area on the ground, some like those I heard about in a relative's family even let the children run the stall and bring the money to the parents "in the pub".  As far as photographs are concerned, yes I'm sure you will find some, either at the Record Office, which would mean a personal visit there, or if you are on Facebook there are a number of Groups (put Liverpool in the search box) where people have their own copies of prints which they are happy to share.

Thank you both again. I was able to find the graves of both Mary and her daughter in Darwen Cemetery. I have reached out to Friends of Darwen Cemetery to see how I can go about finding if there are headstones. Bertie, yes that was a head scratcher when Margaret just assumed a middle name, especially as she went to Barrow in Furness to get married. But I bought the marriage certificate and it is definitely her. And I have a DNA match with one of her descendants which proves the connection. Robbie