Elizabeth Burnett

Died October 18th

                                                                                            Below: Elizabeth and family on the 1841 census

Elizabeth Burnett died age 39 on October 18th 1849, in the Alnwick cholera epidemic. She was already a widow.

Elizabeth was born in 1810 to Matthew and Isabella Gibson, and baptised at Christmas on 23rd December. Her father was a shoemaker, from “Silver Street”. Elizabeth was baptised in the Pottergate non-conformist church, as were her siblings: John Gibson, baptised 1808: Richard Robson Gibson baptised in 1812: and Isabella Gibson, born many years later in 1828 to the same parents who were then living in Bondgate. 

Elizabeth Gibson married a shoemaker called Samuel Burnett, who was five years younger than she was, so therefore born about  1815 . They were married on 16th March 1839, in St Michael’s Church in Alnwick, signing the register with a cross. Elizabeth and Samuel had to wait until he was “full age” that was 21, in those days.  Their fathers were Samuel Burnett, mason and Matthew Gibson, shoemaker.

Elizabeth and Samuel were to live and work in Crown Inn Yard off Market Place. He possibly had a shop selling his shoes. Their first child, Isabella Gibson Burnett was baptised on 6th October 1839, seven months after they married.

The family was on the 1841 census for Crown Inn Yard. Surprisingly, Samuel 20, Elizabeth 25 (both ages rounded down on this census) and young Isabella were joined by an “Elizabeth born 1838”, which was before they were married. There was an Elizabeth baptised on 1st September 1839, but born to Thomas and Jane Burnett, so perhaps she was just visiting at the time of the census. See the next page under “Sarah Burnett”. 

Mary Gibson Burnett was born the following year and baptised on 20/2/1842. Samuel was born in January 1844 and was only seven months old when his father died on 25th August that same year, age just 26.

Poor Elizabeth.  To add to her woes,Mary Gibson Burnett also died exactly a year later on 25th August 1845.

Then Elizabeth herself died in the Cholera epidemic, leaving the remaining children to be taken in by the extended Burnett family we think, although we don’t know for sure. We do know that Isabella Gibson Burnett married Joseph Bruce and moved to Newcastle.