General Notes

The 1871 census shows only Mary and Sarah Margaret living together at 56 Cathcart Street, Birkenhead. Although Mary is recorded as married rather than widowed, she is registered as head of the household. There is no sign of either James senior or junior – both may of course have died in the intervening time or perhaps one or both emigrated (?) Mary’s status as head of the household does of course suggest that at any rate James senior was no longer residing at the family home (as opposed to simply being out at the time of the census).

By the 1881 census Mary and Sarah had moved down the road to 144 Cathcart Street. In this census Mary is registered as a widow. They are however joined by another James Tyack (11 months old) who is registered as son of the head of the household. By this time Mary was 76 suggesting that perhaps James was the illegitimate son of Sarah or possibly one of Mary’s other children.