Margaret McLea (c.1859-1897), née Turner

Margaret was born about 1859 in Glasgow, Scotland to Alex and Margaret Turner.

She married James Brown McLea, a fellow native of Glasgow, and traveled to the United States. Together, they settled in Paterson, New Jersey, where James worked as a jeweler.

Margaret gave birth to eight children between 1884 and 1896, although her daughter Bella died as an infant in 1894. After giving birth to her last daughter, Isabella (evidentally named for the previous Bella), family lore tells us that she died following childbirth. Her death certificate only tells us that she died due to septicemia of two weeks duration, although that is an entirely possible outcome of childbirth for that time in history, given a lack of antibiotics and modern sanitary practices.

Margaret McLea died in Paterson on 8 February 1897, and was buried the next day at Cedar Lawn Cemetery there. She is buried in the same plot with her daughter Bella.

This is a possible photo of Margaret Turner as a young girl. The picture was in the possession of Mary (McLea) Cook, and marked "my mother when younger. MM". No independent corroboration of this image exists. However, it remains a good possibility that this is an image of Margaret Turner McLea. This image awaits photographic analysis in order to determine the type of photograph, as well as the time period of the setting, with the hopes of dating it to the 1860s.