FRIDAY FOTO 16 - MARGARET ELEANOR GRAHAM LAIT

Margaret Eleanor Graham Lait, my grandmother on my father's side of the family, was born in Liverpool in 1901. Margaret was the third child of ten in the family of Charles Graham Lait and his wife, Eleanor Kaye.

MEG, as I affectionately know her, married my grandfather Joseph Seaman in September 1928 in St Catherines Church, in the Edge Hill district of Liverpool. The couple had five surviving children, the sixth-- my aunt, Joyce Seaman-- unfortunately passed away as an infant.

In the 1939 Register, MEG's employment was listed as being 'unpaid domestic duties'-- in other words, she was a housewife in the family home. At the time the record was taken, the family were living in 54 Moorgate Street, Edge Hill... just across the road from the railway station. 

Margaret died in Sefton General Hospital Liverpool in October 1947 of heart failure. She was only young at forty-six years of age. 

According to information from my uncle, Margaret was employed at one point in her life as a confectionery worker in a sweet factory (see photo above). MEG is pictured here on the left with one of her co-workers. Two things stand out for me looking at this photo-- the first is the highly-polished shine on my grandmother's shoes, and the second is the woman sitting at the rear by the cart, who was basically photo-bombing the couple, around 80 years before the term was even invented!  

Finally... the name 'Graham' in my grandmother's name referred to the maiden name of her own grandmother-- Mary Ann Graham, who had been born in 1853 in Raithby, Lincolnshire. And both my parents agreed that I should be named Graham in honour of my grandmother.  

CHARLES GRAHAM LAIT - SEARCHING WITH A SPOON!

I was determined to find the grave location - even though I only had a spoon to dig the ground with!

Grave marker for Charles Graham LAIT - Anfield Cemetary

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FAMILY HISTORY - EUREKA MOMENT

Capturing the moment when I first realised that I had proven the identity of at least one of my family members, who had recorded a list of names and dates into our family bible.

Prior to finding the book hidden away at the bottom of a wardrobe in my mother's house, I had previously very little information about my connections to the Lait family, save for an unconnected list of names compiled from the internet. On the inside pages of the book a list of names and dates had been written - both of birth and of death - and it is thought that at least three different members of my family compiled these lists. The identity of these people was not known and could only be guessed at, that is until the other day when the photo above was taken.

The left hand image shows a section of the 1911 census return from Liverpool, while the right-hand image shows a section of the page from the bible.

Comparison of both images clearly shows that the section highlighted was written by the same hand which had completed the census form... the signature on the form being Charles Graham Lait... my great-grandfather.

The discovery of this information was a revelation for me personally, and proves to underline the often repeated advice for the family researcher to 'keep on digging.' It is true that the varied tales from our family history are many, and this seems to prove that there are always new discoveries to be made, laying just beyond sight around the corner!

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CHARLES GRAHAM LAIT - BIRTH CERTIFICATE - 24 JAN 1874

This is a copy of my great-grandfather's birth certificate.

Charles Graham LAIT was born in East Saint Mary's Gate, Grimsby, in 1874. His father Charles Augustine LAIT was employed as a grocer's assistant.

His mother, Mary Ann, had the maiden name of GRAHAM. This name was consequently passed down firstly through their son; then to his daughter Margaret Eleanor (who was my grandmother), and then to me as my given name.

Charles Graham LAIT - born 24 January 1874