Victoria & Harry Starkey
Harry Starkey was ten years older than Victoria and was born in Timperly [Altrincham 1855, 1st qt], now a district in the south-west of Greater Manchester. I believe he was the son of a cabinet maker, John Starkey and his wife, Ann (née Faulkner), that he was a baker in 1871, still living with his parents but that by 1881 he was a commercial traveller and lodging in Salford with his ‘wife’, Sarah, also 26 and born in Knutsford, (he is recorded as Harry Starkie, aged 26, and born in Altrincham).
In 1891, Harry, Victoria and her children were living at 3 Buck Lane, Broughton, Salford. Harry was a salesman and the Starkey children were Harry (aka Henry) (10), Mary (4) (née ‘Mary Brown’), Elijah (2), and Cicely (10 months) [b Salford 1890, 3rd qt]; Victoria's eldest daughter, Isabel, was with her grandmother at the time of the census.
By 1901 Victoria and Harry, then a foreman bread baker (apparently reverting to his previous occupation), were living at 12 Newburns Lane, Birkenhead and there were more children - William (6), Frederick (4), Harry (2) and Cyril, aged less than a months (they must have decided against the name Cyril as he was registered as Arthur, by which name he was known thereafter). All their children were born in Birkenhead except for Elijah and Cicely who, like Harry (aka Henry) Starkey, were born in Salford.
By 1911 the family had moved to 75 Briardale Road, Birkenhead, Harry (60) was an electrical skilled labourer
, Victoria (48) was doing my own domestic work
and the census states that they had been married for 28 years. It also reveals that Victoria had ten surviving children but that there were two others who had died. As well as Elijah, William, Frederick, Harry and Arthur there were two more daughters, Edith Starkey [b Birkenhead 1904, 4th qt] and Elsie Starkey [b Birkenhead 1906, 3rd qt]. In 1902 two Starkey girls were born and died soon after birth; one was simply registered as 'female' on her death [Birkenhead 1902, 2nd qt] (her birth was unregistered), the other, May Starkey, [b Birkenhead 1902] did not survive the year [d Birkenhead 1902, 4th qt]. One or both of these could have been children Victoria lost. Another possibility is George Dixon Starkey [b Birkenhead 1906, 3rd qt], who died within a year [Birkenhead 1907, 2nd qt].
Harry died in 1929, aged 75 [Birkenhead 1929, 3rd qt] and Victoria died in 1937, aged 72 [Birkenhead 1937, 4th qt].