Francis Blunt & Margaret Brennan - 3xgreat-grandparents
Francis 'Frank' Blunt was born in 1857 in Northampton, Northamptonshire, into a large family of shoemakers. His parents were Samuel Blunt, from Wellingborough, and Louisa Johnson, from Northampton. A few years later the family moved to London where they settled in Westminster.
Margaret 'Maggie' Brennan was born in 1859 in Strand, London. Her father was Michael Brennan, a labourer from Kilkenny, and her mother was Bridget Joyce. Her parents, who had married in 1856, also had Bridget, Patrick and William. Michael died in 1875 aged fifty, when Margaret was sixteen.
Frank and Margaret married on 10 June 1878 in St. James, Westminster. Frank was a fishmonger and Margaret worked as a laundress. They had one daughter. In 1882, Frank tragically died at the age of 24; his parents both outlived him.
Margaret did not cope with the tragic situation well. She was 23, a widow, with a young daughter. She turned to alcoholism and was first arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct in 1883. Around this time she placed her daughter Louisa in Walthamstow Orphanage. Louisa received an education and later went into domestic service in Hammersmith, before marrying and leading a long, happy family life.
Margaret, however, continually got into trouble with the law, being arrested over 150 times. In July 1893 she was in the news, described as a "respectably dressed young woman", charged with being drunk and disorderly. She had just been liberated from six months prison, and celebrated by getting drunk, after which she gave an evening acrobatic performance in Long Acre. She danced and attempted to stand on her head, much to the approval of the crowd of hundreds who had assembled to view her.
In September 1895 Margaret was arrested, and in the police station broke a pane of glass, threatening that she would break every pane of glass in the place if given the chance. Between November 1889 and September 1895 she had made fifty appearances at the court. On the last three occasions she was arrested on the same day she had been released. When sober, her behaviour was perfect, and she was the best behaved prisoner the authorities had met; they gave her excellent character. Margaret said that she had been in prison so much, that within five minutes of release she got excited.
On one circumstance Margaret was taken to the Salvation Army where she lived and worked as a laundress, staying sober and saving up money. She managed to save over 18s before resuming to her drinking habits. She can be seen living with the Army on the 1891 census. On the 1901 census she appears to be living in a religious institution, possibly as part of her treatment.
Margaret made national news in September 1895 when she was charged for the 100th time for being drunk and disorderly at Bow Street Court. She was described as being alright when sober, but mad when in drink. The Judge offered to assist her making a fresh new start, which she thanked him for, but apparently did not take up as she was still being arrested for similar crimes as late as 1906. At that time she was sentenced to an inebriate reformatory. She was of no fixed abode, but frequented areas where prostitution was rife.
Margaret is believed to have lived into old age; possibly dying in 1939 in London aged eighty.