THE FABULOUS FOUR.
You may be puzzled by the title of this chapter. It is a personal one and is my own tribute to the four children of Mary Shardlow and William Lee. My memories of those four children, Emma May, Sarah, John and Elizabeth are affectionate ones and I still feel a deep sense of loss knowing that their qualities passed me by before I really had time to appreciate them.
Family rumours have it that William Lee left the family home because Mary pawned the wedding ring he bought for her. I have no idea whether the rumour is true or not but the fact is that Mary Norcop was left with four children to raise when he departed. The solution to her problems was to marry Absolon Shaw, a widower from Longton. One of Absolon's children, William, would become the husband of Emma May Norcop, Mary's eldest daughter.