Lizzie Sumpton (Birkett) Dawson (bef. 1871 - 1914)

Born before 17 Sep 1871 in Bridgefoot, Cumberland, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of George Dawson — married 26 Aug 1903 in Egremont, Cumberland, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 22 Sep 1914 after age 43 in Stanley, Durham, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Andy Purvis [send private message]

Lizzie (Birkett) Dawson was born in Cumberland, England.

Biography

Lizzie Sumpton Birkett was born in the third quarter of 1871 ^[1] in Bridgefoot, Cumberland ^[2], and baptised on 17th September 1871 at Great & Little Clifton, her parents named as Joseph Birkett and Mary ^[3].

1881 census: Living at 3 Smithfield, Egremont, Cumberland ^[4].

1891 census: Living at 33 South Street, Egremont, Whitehaven, Cumberland ^[5]. (Note: Their next-door neighbours at number 32 South Street are John and Mary Sumpton, likely to be close relatives.)

Child out of wedlock? In 1893, Joseph Birkett was born. Although his birth registration does not name either parent, his biography develops an argument that Lizzie was his mother, based on her 1911 census record saying two of her children had by then died, the 1901 census record below, and Joseph's birth registration being so scanty.

1901 census: Living at 2 Scurgill, Beckermet St John, Whitehaven, Cumberland ^[6]. (Note: This record provides indirect evidence that Joseph was Lizzie's son - it certainly suggests he was not born from within a marriage.)

Marriage and further children: The summer of 1903 was a busy time for Lizzie. On 26th August, she married George Dawson in Whitehaven, Cumberland ^{[7] [8]}, who was her first cousin (their mothers being sisters).

Marriage registration of George Dawson & Lizzie Sumpton Birkett

They had seven children (birth dates detailed and attested in George's WWI service record ^[9]), the first being born within three weeks of the wedding:

1. Mary, born 13th September 1903, in 13 Sycamore Terrace, Quaking Houses, County Durham ^[10]; married Norman Francis Henry Purvis in 1929 in Lanchester, Durham ^[11]; died November 1986, Newcastle upon Tyne ^[12]
2. Hannah, born 19th June 1905 in Lanchester, County Durham ^[13]; married John W Murray in Lanchester, Durham, in Q3 1929 ^[14]; recorded in the 1939 Register as a widow living (probably with a child) at 4 Ash Street, Gosforth ^[15]; married Edward T Hudson in Q4 1939 in Northumberland South ^[16]. Later life not known.
3. John Burnett Birkett, born Q3 1907 in Lanchester, Durham ^[17]; died Q1 1908 in South Moor, Durham ^[18]
4. Jonathan, born 8th June 1908 in Lanchester, Durham ^[19]; life after 1921 not yet researched
5. George, born Q1 1910 in Lanchester, Durham ^[20]; died June 1910, South Moor, Durham ^[21]
6. Sydney, born 14th March 1912 in Lanchester, Durham ^[22]; died Q3 1912, South Moor, Durham ^{[23] [24]}
7. Robert Birkett, born 16th September 1914, Lanchester, Durham ^[25]; married Edith L Laverick in 1938 in Northumberland South ^[26]; died August 1999 in Newcastle upon Tyne ^[27]

(Note: There are Dawsons born of Birkett mothers in Cockermouth at this time too, possibly indicating a pair of marriages among related families.)

1911 census: Living in two rooms at 14 Maple Street, South Moor, Stanley, Durham ^[28]. (Notes: 1. George completed the form, with some information then moved or clarified in red by someone else; George only knew of or admitted to two of Lizzie's children who had died, suggesting that he might never have known that Joseph Birkett was her son rather than her brother.)

Death: In giving birth to her last child, Lizzie developed gastritis and enteritis, dying six days later on 22 September 1914 at home (14 Maple Street, Stanley); her widower registered the death ^[29]. It appears that her son, Robert Dawson, was given the middle name of Birkett in her memory ^[30].

Death registration for Lizzie Sumpton Dawson

Sources

1. ↑ "Free BMD birth records" [1]
2. ↑ “1911 Census Record for 14 Maple Street South Moor Stanley SO, South Moor, Durham, England.” 1911 Census For England & Wales. Accessed February 4, 2022. [2]
3. ↑ “Baptism Record for Lizzie Sumpton (1871).” England Births & Baptisms 1538-1975. Accessed February 8, 2022. [3]
4. ↑ “1881 Census: 3, Smithfield, Egremont, Whitehaven, Cumberland.” 1881 England, Wales & Scotland Census (RG11/5193/159). Accessed February 15, 2022. [4]
5. ↑ “1891 Census: 33 South Street, Egremont, Whitehaven, Cumberland.” 1891 England, Wales & Scotland Census (RG12/4318/90). Accessed February 13, 2022. [5]
6. ↑ “1901 Census: 2 Scurgill, Beckermet St John, Whitehaven, Cumberland.” 1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census (RG13/4897/68). Accessed February 5, 2022. [6]
7. ↑ “Marriage: 1903 - George Dawson and Lizzie Sumpton Birkett (Certified Copy of Original Record).” GRO, December 30, 2022.
8. ↑ “Marriage: 1903 - George Dawson & Lizzie Sumpton Birkett.” GRO (Whitehaven, Sep 1903, 10b, 1115). FreeBMD. Accessed January 4, 2023. [7]
9. ↑ The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; War Office: Soldiers’ Documents, First World War WO363 [8].
10. ↑ “Birth: 1903 - Mary Dawson (certified copy of original registration).” England & Wales Births 1837-2006 (GRO: Lanchester, Q4, 1903, vol 10A, p 316). Copy dated 29 Dec 2022.
11. ↑ GRO: Lanchester, 1929 Q1, vol 10a, p 517 (Certified copy of original, 11th February 2022).
12. ↑ GRO: Newcastle upon Tyne, 1986 Q4, vol 2, p 710.
13. ↑ GRO: Lanchester, 1905 Q3, vol 10a, p 322.
14. ↑ GRO: Lanchester 1929 Q3, vol 10a, p 801.
15. ↑ 1939 Register, RG101/2973F.
16. ↑ GRO: Northumberland South 1939 Q4, vol 10b, p 696.
17. ↑ GRO: Lanchester, 1907 Q3, vol 10a, p 384.
18. ↑ GRO: Lanchester, 1908 Q1, vol 10a, p 245.
19. ↑ GRO: Lanchester, 1908 Q3, vol 10a, p 407.
20. ↑ GRO: Lanchester, 1910 Q1, vol 10a, p 380.
21. ↑ Ancestry.com. UK and Ireland, Find a Grave™ Index, 1300s-Current [9]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012
22. ↑ GRO: Lanchester, 1912 Q2, vol 10a, p 628.
23. ↑ Ancestry.com. UK and Ireland, Find a Grave™ Index, 1300s-Current [10]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
24. ↑ GRO: Lanchester, 1922 Q3, vol 10a, p 333.
25. ↑ GRO: Lanchester, 1914 Q3, vol 10a, p 736.
26. ↑ GRO: Northumberland South, 1938 Q4, vol 10b, p 476.
27. ↑ GRO: Newcastle upon Tyne, 1999 Q3, District 0531F, Register number F74C, Entry 265.
28. ↑ “1911 Census: 14 Maple Street, South Moor, Stanley SO, Durham.” 1911 Census For England & Wales (RG14/29920/282). Accessed February 4, 2022. [11]
29. ↑ GRO (Lanchester, Q4 1914, vol 10A, p374. (Certified copy of original.)
30. ↑ “Birth Record for Robert Dawson (1914).” England & Wales Births 1837-2006. Accessed February 5, 2022. [12]