1847
Born in Manchester — the Lancashire chapter
September 1847
September q. 1847. Manchester— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
Mary Elizabeth Oates
1847 – 1910
✓ Validated against records · 2026-07-05
Mary Elizabeth Oates was born in Manchester in the autumn of 1847 — a Hull family's Lancashire child. Her father William Oates was a joiner who moved wherever the work was: Hull to Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire to Manchester in 1845, and back again by way of Salford, where the 1851 census caught the family in Broughton before the road led home to Sculcoates. Three censuses of her married life would repeat the birthplace — Manchester, Manchester, Manchester — a small standing record of her family's wandering decade.
She was fourteen when her mother, Jane, died at forty-one in West Sculcoates, and the 1871 census shows her at twenty-three keeping her father's household in St Luke's parish, South Myton, in a court shared with three other families. That April she married Samuel Richmond, a young keel master three weeks off the deck of the Mayflower, at Holy Trinity — both of Osborne Street. The register keeps the couple's contrast in one line: Samuel made his mark; Mary Elizabeth signed her name, as did her sister Emily Jane beside her.
Her married life was the keelman's wife's: the shore half of a household whose head was often sixty miles away by water. The 1881 census states it plainly — "Elizth. Richmond, wife" at Joseph's Terrace with two small sons, her husband's young brother, and her mother-in-law Selina, while Samuel lay at Ickles Lock aboard the Marion; six weeks later Minnie was born. Five children in all — William Henry, Arthur, Minnie, Alice May and Alfred — through the Spyvee Street years, and then the step up to 17 Pennington Street as Samuel's keel became Samuel's fleet-of-one and the census learned to call him "ship owner… employer."
She died at that house on the 8th of May 1910, aged sixty-one, and was buried at Hedon Road Cemetery. Within the year Samuel had come ashore for good; the family she raised carried the water in its blood another generation — and her daughter Minnie carried her maiden name into the registrar's index, where "mother's maiden surname Oates" still anchors the line.
Composed from validated records · 2026-07-05
- Birth
- September q. 1847. Manchester
- Marriage
- April 26th 1871 to Samuel Richmond in Holy Trinity Church, Hull
- Death
- May 8th 1910, Hull aged 61 years
- Parents
- William Oates and Jane Thompson
- Siblings
- Mary Elizabeth Oates born 1847 Manchester Henry William Oates born 1850, Manchester Emily Jane Oates born 1850/7 Bolton Lancashire Alice Elenor Oates baptised November 1858 Wesleyan, Biggleswade Circuit, Bedford
- Children
- William Henry Richmond born 1877, Hull Arthur Richmond born1879, Hull Minnie Gertrude Richmond born 1881, Hull Alice May Richmond born 1883, Hull Alfred Richmond born 1886, Hull
- 1851c
- Living with family in Broughton, Salford, Lancashire William Oates, Head, born 1821, Hull Jane Oates, Wife, born 1821, Goxhill, Lincolnshire Mary Oates, Daughter, born 1847, Manchester Henry Oates, Son, born 1850, Manchester Edwin Oates, Brother, born 1835, Brigg, Lincolnshire Address: 8 Hough Lane Occupation of father: Builder (Jouneyman)
- 1861c
- Living in West Sculcoates, Hull Wdliam Oates, Head, born 1821, Hull Jane Oates, Wife, born 1821 Goxhill, Licolnshire Mary E Oates, Daughter, born 1848, Manchester Emily J Oates, Daughter, born 1850, Boston, Lincolnshire Alice E Oates, Daughter, born 1859, Asby Bedfordshire Address: 11 Eggington Street Occupation of father: House Joiner
- 1862
- Mother dies aged 41 years in West Sculcoates (YBMD)
- 1871c
- Living with father in St. Luke's Parish, South Myton, Hull with three other families. William Oates, Head, born 1821, Hull Mary Elizabeth Oates , Daughter, born 1847 Manchester Address 80 Osborne Street Occupation of father: Joiner No occupation recorded for Mary
- 1871
- Marries Samuel Richmond in Holy Trinity Church
In your grandmother’s words · from her notebook
Family
Parents
The children of William & Jane
Mary Elizabeth Oates b. 1847this page · · ·
Marriage
Children
Life
Confirmed — anchored to a recordEstimated — inferred
1851
Census · 1851
1851
Living with family in Broughton, Salford, Lancashire William Oates, Head, born 1821, Hull Jane Oates, Wife, born 1821, Goxhill, Lincolnshire Mary Oates, Daughter, born 1847, Manchester Henry Oates, Son, born 1850, Manchester Edwin Oates, Brother, born 1835, Brigg, Lincolnshire Address: 8 Hough Lane Occupation of father: Builder (Jouneyman)
— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1861
Census · 1861
1861
Living in West Sculcoates, Hull Wdliam Oates, Head, born 1821, Hull Jane Oates, Wife, born 1821 Goxhill, Licolnshire Mary E Oates, Daughter, born 1848, Manchester Emily J Oates, Daughter, born 1850, Boston, Lincolnshire Alice E Oates, Daughter, born 1859, Asby Bedfordshire Address: 11 Eggington Street Occupation of father: House Joiner
— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1862
Her mother dies — Jane, forty-one
1862
Mother dies aged 41 years in West Sculcoates (YBMD)— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1871
Keeping her father's house — South Myton
1871
Living with father in St. Luke's Parish, South Myton, Hull with three other families. William Oates, Head, born 1821, Hull Mary Elizabeth Oates , Daughter, born 1847 Manchester Address 80 Osborne Street Occupation of father: Joiner No occupation recorded for Mary— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1871
Married Samuel Richmond
26 April 1871 at Holy Trinity Church
April 26, 1871 — Samuel Richmond, 22, bachelor, Waterman, Osborne St. — Mary Elizabeth Oates, 23, spinster, Osborne St., [father] William Oates, Joiner. Solemnized between us: Samuel ☓ Richmond, his mark — Mary Elizabeth Oates. In the presence of: Stephen ☓ Borley, his mark — Emily Jane Oates.— Marriage — Holy Trinity, Hull (26 April 1871)
April 26, 1871 — Samuel Richmond, 22, bachelor, Waterman, Osborne St., [father] Henry Richmond, Waterman — Mary Elizabeth Oates, 23, spinster, Osborne St., [father] William Oates, Joiner. Married after banns by me, Edmund Jackson, Curate. This marriage was solemnized between us: Samuel ☓ Richmond, his mark — Mary Elizabeth Oates. In the presence of: Stephen ☓ Borley, his mark — Emily Jane Oates.
— First marriage — Holy Trinity, Hull (26 April 1871)
The record image is with the family — family sign-in
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Marriage — Holy Trinity, Hull (26 April 1871) — Holy Trinity marriages, page 110, entry no. 220 (findmypast image 007567680/01416), read at full resolution 5 July 2026. She signed; the groom and his witness marked; her sister Emily Jane signed beside her. read at the image
- First marriage — Holy Trinity, Hull (26 April 1871) — Holy Trinity marriages, page 110, entry no. 220 (findmypast image 007567680/01416), read 5 July 2026. Both parties of Osborne Street; the groom's father entered "Henry Richmond, Waterman". The witness "Stephen Borley" is the Mayflower's mate Stephen Barley of the census twenty-four days earlier — the spelling is the curate's. Samuel and the witness marked; the bride and her sister signed. read at the image
1881
Joseph's Terrace — "Keelman's wife", the head afloat
1881 at Joseph's Terrace, Spyvee Street, Hull
Elizth. Richmond — Wife — married — 33 — Keelman's wife — born Lancashire, Manchester. [With sons William Hy., 4, and Arthur, 1; brother-in-law William Hy. Richmond, keelman, 23; mother-in-law Selina Richmond, nurse, 58.]— The 1881 census — the household without its head
The record image is with the family — family sign-in
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- The 1881 census — the household without its head — RG 11/4747, page 5, schedule 21, Joseph's Terrace, Sutton, Hull (findmypast image 4362178/00596), read 5 July 2026. Her birthplace, Manchester, appears here and in 1891 and 1901 — three independent attestations of the Lancashire chapter. read at the image
1891
Thirteen Spyvee Street — seven at home
1891 at 13 Spyvee Street, Hull
Mary E. Richmond — Wife — married — 42 — born Lancashire, Manchester. [With Samuel, keelman; William H., 14, keel boy; Arthur, Minnie G., Alice M., Alfred.]— The 1891 census — 13 Spyvee Street
The record image is with the family — family sign-in
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- The 1891 census — 13 Spyvee Street — RG 12/3913, page 19, schedule 138 (findmypast image 0074), read 5 July 2026. read at the image
1901
Seventeen Pennington Street — the shipowner's house
1901 at 17 Pennington Street, Sculcoates, Hull
Mary E. Richmond — Wife — married — 51 — born Lancs, Manchester. [With Samuel, ship owner, employer; Minnie G., 19; Alice M., 17; Alfred, 14.]— The 1901 census — 17 Pennington Street
The record image is with the family — family sign-in
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- The 1901 census — 17 Pennington Street — RG 13/4466, page 27, schedule 165 (findmypast image 0348), read 5 July 2026. read at the image
1910
Died
8 May 1910
"May 8th 1910, at 17 Pennington Street, Mary Elizabeth… interred Hedon Road Cemetery." (Mum's transcription; full notice to be re-read at the paper.)— The death notice — Mum's transcription (May 1910)
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research, cited — not yet re-verified at the image:
- The death notice — Mum's transcription (May 1910) — Hull Daily Mail death notice, transcribed on Mum's Samuel page: died 8 May 1910 at 17 Pennington Street; interred Hedon Road Cemetery. The printed notice itself is on the verification list — Mum's transcriptions have earned trust, and this one names the house and the ground. from Mum’s research
Our research
Mary Elizabeth's open threads
Open research · Manchester & Hedon Road
Her paternal line — the Oateses of Hull — is now written and evidenced back to Christopher the master cordwainer (buried 1796): a sailmaker ruined at Scawby, a wandering joiner, and two of the family who ended in the workhouse. Press “open Oates” on the tree for the family's story and journey map.
- The Manchester birth. Registered September quarter 1847, Manchester — to do: the GRO index line with mother's maiden name (Thompson expected), and whether a Manchester baptism exists from the family's Lancashire years.
- The notice and the grave. The Hull Daily Mail notice of May 1910 verified against the paper, and her burial record at Hedon Road Cemetery (the register would give the grave — and Samuel's own 1930 resting place is the companion question).
- The Grimsby Oateses. The sloop Samuel's Reliance salvaged in 1906 belonged to T. & S. Oates of Grimsby — her surname on the other vessel. Coincidence until proven; the thread lives on Samuel's page.