Alice married in 1883, just before her sixteenth birthday and two years later she and her husband emigrated to Illinois, USA. Having given birth to a boy in 1886, Alice was to die in 1893, aged just 25.
Alfred James Emptage
Alfred was born into a long line of mariners but, perhaps realising not only that it was a difficult life but also a dangerous one, he and his four brothers turned their back on the sea and sought other means of making a living.
An assurance agent in Margate, Thanet, Alfred rose to the position of a Vice President of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (pictured) in New York.
The Henry conundrum revisited
In July 2013, in the article Too Many Henrys for Comfort, I attempted to address several puzzles, including the marriages of two Henrys in 1797. I was trying to work out which Henry married which woman. My conclusions were wrong and now I revisit that conundrum to explain the correct verdict and to set the records straight.
Foundering of the Rossgull
A maritime disaster off the coast of Jersey in December 1900. One of the crew aboard the steamship Rossgull was Elijah Jarman Emptage.
Presentation of medals
Six members of the Emptage family took part in the rescue attempt of the crew of the Northern Belle in January 1857. Two lost their lives and three received medals at an earlier event. Now it was Alfred Emptage’s turn to receive his medal at a ceremony where special mention was made of his bravery.
A Boatman’s Life
Born into a family of generations of mariners, Albert John Emptage earnt his living by the sea, having begun to work with boats at the age of eight. Whilst he had a turbulent domestic life, his skill at sea was undisputed. Albert was a member of the Margate lifeboat service for 40 years, many of them as coxswain. It was not just his height which made him a ‘giant of a man’.