Margaret BERESFORD was born in Nottingham in 1858 to Maria
BERESFORD. The birth certificate gives no father's name or occupation.
Maria could not sign her name. In the 1861 census, Maria is shown
as a widow, born in Belper, Derbyshire. In 1877 Margaret married
Matthew HOPKINSON and
the marriage certificate gives William BERRESFORD (stone mason
deceased) as her father.
The eldest son (Albert Edward) and daughter (Amelia) of Matthew
and Margaret became Mormons, so the LDS is very interested in
their ancestors. Their daughter, Marjorie, helped to collect much
of the information about the family. According to their records,
Margaret was the daughter of William BERESFORD and Maria KIRK(HAM)
(married 1850 at Hazlewood, Derbyshire) and there is a William
and Maria BERESFORD in Belper in the 1851 census. Maria married
George Harrison between 1861 and 1871 and one of pieces of paper
shows that Maria's former surname was Kirk.
In 1851 there is a William BERESFORD, 21, stonemason, and wife
Maria in Belper. A William BERESFORD, 21, stonemason, died later
in 1851 of typhus at Derby Infirmary and was buried in Milford
(near to Hazlewood). I think it is likely that this William is
the husband of Maria (no sign of them in Belper in 1861) and therefore
is unlikely to be the father of Margaret!
