The Family of Sarah Margaret Grayston

Sarah Margaret Grayston was the daughter of George Grayston and Mary Ann Adcroft, who were married at
St Ignatius Catholic Church in Preston on 17 July 1867.

Sarah Margaret, their first child, was born on 22 May 1868 and was baptized two days later at English Martyrs Catholic Church in Preston. George's brother Richard and Mary Ann's sister Margaret were her Godparents.

I had great difficulty finding the family in the 1871 Census as their surname had been mis-transcribed in the on-line indexes, but I eventually found them living at Lancaster Road North, in Preston:

1871 CENSUS OF PRESTON, LANCASHIRE:
NAME:	RELATION:	CONDITION:	SEX:	AGE:	OCCUPATION:	BIRTHPLACE:
George Grayston	Lodger	Married	M	34	(illegible)	Nateby, Lancashire
Mary A Grayston	Wife	Married	F	26	-	Walton-le-Dale, Lancashire
Sarah Mgt Grayston	Daughter	-	F	2	-	Preston, Lancashire

NOTES:
1:	Lodging at 72 Lancaster Road North, Preston, Lancashire. (RG10-4211, folio 57, page 7)
2:	George and Mary Ann were lodging at the home of Ann Spencer, a shopkeeper.
3:	George Grayston's occupation was difficult to read. The first word appears to be "Government" but the second word has been written over at a later date, making it impossible to decipher.
4:	The above information is taken from digital images at www.ancestry.co.uk.

George and Mary Ann were expecting their second child at the time of the 1871 census. Robert Grayston, was born in the summer of 1871. Unfortunately, Mary Ann died on 31 October 1871, aged just 27 years, and little Robert died a couple of months later. They were both buried in public graves in the Catholic section of Preston Cemetery, Mary Ann on 4 November 1871 and Robert on 2 January 1872.

*From The Preston Chronicle, Saturday, 4 November 1871:*

	"On Tuesday last, at 103, Miles-street, Moor Park, Mary Ann Grayston, aged 27 years"

On the night of the 1881 Census Sarah Margaret and her father were staying with her father's sister Ann, who was by then married to George Chorley and living in Garstang:

1881 CENSUS OF GARSTANG, LANCASHIRE:
NAME:	RELATION:	CONDITION:	SEX:	AGE:	OCCUPATION:	BIRTHPLACE:
George Chorley	Head	Married	M	52	Labourer in Coal Yard	Ellel, Lancashire
Ann Chorley	Wife	Married	F	51	-	Nateby, Lancashire
Sarah Margaret Chorley	Niece	-	F	12	Scholar	Preston, Lancashire
George Chorley	Visitor	Widower	M	44	Farm Labourer	Nateby, Lancashire
James Alston	Lodger	Unmarried	M	27	Railway Clerk	Catterall, Lancashire

NOTES:
1:	Living in Garstang, Lancashire. (RG11-4260, folio 27, page 47)
2:	This Census was also difficult to find due to the surnames of Sarah Margaret and her father being listed as Chorley instead of Grayston.
3:	The fact that George Grayston is listed as a visitor makes me suspect that Sarah Margaret was living with her aunt and uncle, but her father was living elsewhere.
4:	The above information is taken from digital images at www.ancestry.co.uk.

George Grayston died in Garstang on 20 June 1884, aged 47 years. He was buried in a private family plot in the churchyard at St Mary & St Michael's Catholic Chapel in Bonds. The inscription on his headstone reads, "Also George, son of the above, who died 20th June 1884, aged 47 years".

*From The Preston Chronicle, Saturday, 28 June 1884:*

	"On the 20th inst., at Garstang, Mr. George Grayston, late Schoolmaster, aged 47 years"

1891 CENSUS OF GARSTANG, LANCASHIRE:
NAME:	RELATION:	CONDITION:	SEX:	AGE:	OCCUPATION:	BIRTHPLACE:
George Chorley	Head	Married	M	61	General Labourer	Ellel, Lancashire
Ann Chorley	Wife	Married	F	61	-	Nateby, Lancashire
Sarah Margaret Grayston	Niece	Unmarried	F	22	-	Preston, Lancashire

NOTES:
1:	Living in Church Street, Garstang, Lancashire. (RG12-3461, folio 76, page 2)
2:	The above information is taken from digital images at www.ancestry.co.uk.

Sarah Margaret Grayston was probably still living with her aunt and uncle, George and Ann Chorley, when she married William Swarbrick in Garstang in 1897.