William Lowe was the younger brother of my 3xgreat grandmother, Elizabeth Cardo nee Lowe. He was baptised at the Parish Church, Kingswinford in 1824, the son of Joseph Lowe and Mary nee Hammond. His parents died in 1827 and 1832. In 1841 he, along with his brothers Joseph and Edwin, are living with their sister and brother-in-law, Joseph & Elizabeth Cardo.
In November 1845, William married Emma Lowe at St. Mary’s Church, Kingswinford and they subsequently baptised 2 daughters at Holy Trinity Church, Wordsley – Elizabeth in 1846 and Mary Ann in 1847. William died in November 1847 from concussion of the brain – the result of picking a fight with another man after a prolonged drinking session.
In 1851, Emma and her daughters, together with Emma’s siblings, are lodging with a man named John Lander. In 1861, Emma is living with her brother Edward and his family. Her elder daughter, Elizabeth, is living with Emma’s mother Ann but I haven’t found the younger daughter, Mary Ann. Despite the fact that Emma is described as unmarried, she has a further 4 children, all using the surname Lowe - Sarah, b.c. 1853, Ellen, b.c. 1855, Joseph, b.c. 1858 and John b.c. 1860.
Also living with the family is Joseph Poyner, a 36 year old unmarried glassmaker. William & Emma’s daughters both married in the 1860s at St. Thomas’s Church, Dudley – Elizabeth to James Thomas in 1868 and Mary Ann to George Elwell in 1869.
In 1871, Emma is calling herself Emma Poyner, a widow, although I can find no evidence of her marrying Joseph Poyner. In addition to Sarah, Ellen, Joseph and John she has another daughter, Ann Maria, b.c. 1864. In the 1881 and 1891 censuses, Emma reverts back to calling herself Emma Lowe.
I’ve found marriages for John, Joseph and Ann Maria Lowe and they all state that their father was Joseph Lowe, a Glass Blower or Glass Maker. I can’t find any evidence for Emma marrying a Joseph Lowe either.
I’ve been trying to prove whether or not Emma was ever married to Joseph Poyner and whether he was the father of the 5 children born after William’s death. I think I’ve gone as far as I can without ordering GRO certificates but am reluctant to go to the expense as it all depends how truthful Emma was when registering births and deaths.
I’d be interested to hear if anyone else links to this family or has got any ideas on other avenues of research before I bite the bullet and start ordering certificates.
