Margaret Mankin was the daughter of George Mankin and Margaret Busby or Bushby. She was christened on the 7th October 1863 in Yarm, Yorkshire and died on the 7th April 1908 at 50 Cecil Street, Stockton-on-Tees.

Margaret married David Dalrymple 13th September 1883 in Holy Trinity Church, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham. and then his half cousin Alexander McEwan Meiklejohn on the 5th November 1891 in the Parish Church, Stockton-on-Tees.

The Dalrymple and Meiklejohn stories appear on their own web sites, just click on their names. These two families are connected in many ways not least through Margaret Mankin. It is a strange tale and used up a fair few brains cells to figure it all out. Like much of family history, these details didn't arrive in so logical an order as it appears on these pages!

Margaret first appears on the 1871 census at  West Street, Yarm with her parents. Then in 1881 in 5 Percy Street, Stockton-on-Tees, also with her parents. She married David in 1883 but he died before the census in 1891 and Margaret appears as a widow with a small child, also called David, at 51 Bickerstith Street, Stockton. Alexander is with her and is actually listed as her nephew.

Margaret lost her entire family within weeks of each other. Her father, her mother, her brother and her husband. Alexander was the only family left who was unattached and could move south. He had obviously gone to look after her and ended up marrying her. Alex was not actually her nephew, he was the half cousin to her first husband David Dalrymple. (A whole nights sleep was lost figuring this out!)

Alexander's mother had a half sister who married a Dalrymple and their son married Margaret. For more details look at the two webs listed above. It's complicated!

Margaret was buried on the 11 April 1908 at Oxbridge Lane Cemetery, Stockton and Alexander Meiklejohn was laid to rest beside her just a few weeks later. Both died from TB.

Alexander had one surviving sibling, a sister called Elizabeth. She was never married. She travelled to Stockton and brought the small children back to Scotland where they were brought up by her. Elizabeth registered Alex death. He had not registered Margaret's death and must have been too ill to do so.