Stories and biography
About Margery
Mentioned in other stories
These stories are about someone or something else, and name Margery Clarkson MacKinnon.
1945–2008 · Female
Sex is as recorded in the family tree. Age at death is worked out from the dates shown and may be a range or an approximation. It is left out when a date is missing or is only a “before”, “after” or “between” date, when the research has found a date Unconfirmed, when the two dates conflict, or when they would mean an age over 110.

These stories are about someone or something else, and name Margery Clarkson MacKinnon.
Margery Lee Clarkson grew up in Texas and later made her home in New Hampshire. Her records also use Marjorie and the married surnames Miller and Oak.
Margery was born in Austin on October 24, 1945. In 1950 she lived with her parents in San Antonio. Her obituary says she attended the University of Texas and belonged to Kappa Alpha Theta.
A 1965 yearbook index places her in Austin but does not identify a school in the entry cited here. It is consistent with the obituary's timing without independently establishing the institution or sorority.
At 21, Margery married Rellim James Miller Jr. in Bexar County on December 17, 1966. Their divorce was recorded in Harris County on February 3, 1977, when she was 31. At 35, she married Richard Dixon Oak Sr. in San Saba County on May 20, 1981.
The Texas marriage and divorce indexes establish these dates.
Her third marriage came after her youngest son was born in 1991: she married his father in a private ceremony at their Elm Street apartment in Manchester, New Hampshire, and took the name MacKinnon. The date has not been found. Her 2008 death certificate describes her as married but separated.
The ceremony is her son Mike's first-hand account; her marital status in 2008 is from her death certificate. Her obituary places a remarriage in 1986, which does not fit.
Her obituary describes work as a civil draftsman in Houston before a move to New Hampshire in 1986. A public-records index also gives a Leander, Texas, address in 1986, and the family's baby book places them in New Hampshire by July 1987.
The Leander entry and obituary do not establish the sequence of her moves within 1986; the baby book confirms New Hampshire by July 1987. Specific employers and employment dates are not established.
While pregnant with David, Margery had a breakdown and, without Richard Sr.'s knowledge, took the boys back to Texas. David was born in Houston in November 1988, and the boys later spent time in foster care in Texas.
From her son Mike's first-hand account; for this part of her life the family's account is the evidence.
By the mid-1990s she was settled in Manchester, caring for her youngest son, who was born with Down syndrome and needed constant supervision. The family lived in Section 8 housing on SSI. Her own calendar for 2007 and 2008 records his therapy, school and doctor's appointments.
From her son Mike's first-hand account; for this part of her life the family's account is the evidence. The calendar is her own, in her hand.
Margery lived with serious mental illness: paranoid schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder. Her son David separately described her illness to a court interviewer in 2019.
From her son Mike's first-hand account; for this part of her life the family's account is the evidence.
She died at her home in Manchester on June 9, 2008, at 62, of respiratory failure due to severe COPD; the manner of death is recorded as natural. She outlived Richard Oak Sr. by about four months.
Her New Hampshire death certificate.
According to a family recollection, Margery's daughter sent her a large handwritten pedigree chart from Texas to Manchester in the 1990s. Margery's name was at its root.
The sender is not necessarily the compiler. The chart's exact date and authorship remain unknown, and its relationships—including a distant royal-descent claim—have not been verified.
| When | What the record shows | How sure |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Oct 1945 | Born in Austin, Texas. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997: Margery Lee Clarkson, born 24 Oct 1945, Travis County | Confirmed |
| Apr 1950 | Living with her parents in San Antonio, Bexar County. | Confirmed |
| 26 Mar 1952 | Named in a second Austin newspaper item (held privately). The Austin American, 26 March 1952 (item naming Marjorie Lee Clarkson and other family members) | Confirmed |
| 1965 | Placed in Austin by a school-yearbook index entry. | Likely |
| 17 Dec 1966 | Marries Rellim James Miller Jr., Bexar County. | Confirmed |
| 3 Feb 1977 | Divorces, Harris County. | Confirmed |
| 20 May 1981 | Marries Richard Dixon Oak Sr., San Saba County. | Confirmed |
| 1986 | Indexed at an address in Leander, Texas. | Likely |
| Jul 1987 | In New Hampshire with the family (the family's baby book). | Confirmed |
| 11 Nov 1988 | Her son David is born in Houston, Texas. | Confirmed |
| 1999-2012 | Indexed residence range in Manchester, New Hampshire. | Likely |
| 9 Jun 2008 | Dies at her home in Manchester, New Hampshire, of respiratory failure due to severe COPD. U.S. Social Security Death Index: Margery Clarkson MacKinnon, born 24 Oct 1945, died 9 Jun 2008, Manchester, Hillsborough, NH | Confirmed |
Why: The 1945 birth notice and the 1950 census household name Herbert and Cissie Clarkson as her parents.
Records:
Review: assessed 10-03-2026; evidence: Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined.
Earlier: Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.
Why: The 1945 birth notice and the 1950 census household name Herbert and Cissie Clarkson as her parents.
Records:
Review: assessed 10-03-2026; evidence: Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined.
Earlier: Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.
Why: David's own Colorado death certificate (2021) names Richard Dixon Oak and Margery Lee Clarkson as his parents; his Texas certificate of birth, as corrected, also names Richard Dixon Oak as his father.
Review: assessed 10-07-2026.
Earlier: Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): The FTM import's own unassessed link. · Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.
Why: Travis Raye Oak's 2021 obituary (paragraph 1) names his parents as Richard Dixon Oak Sr. and Margery (Clarkson) MacKinnon, and the memorial of his half-brother Rellim James Miller III lists Travis among her sons. Likely, at the level of his link to his father: an obituary and a memorial, no certificate.
Records:
Review: assessed 10-04-2026; evidence: Find a Grave memorial; volunteer-contributed.
Earlier: Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.
Why: The Texas divorce index lists Margery L Miller and spouse Rellim J Miller (marriage 17 December 1966, divorce 3 February 1977, Harris County), and her son's memorial names Rellim James Miller Jr. and Margery as his parents. An index entry and a memorial, not the marriage record.
Records:
Review: assessed 10-04-2026; evidence: Find a Grave memorial; volunteer-contributed.
Earlier: Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.
Why: His Find a Grave memorial says 'Jimmy was born the son of Rellim James Miller Jr. and Margery Clarkson Miller', lists his mother as Margery McKinnon and names his brother Travis Oak; Travis Raye Oak's 2021 obituary names his mother as Margery (Clarkson) MacKinnon. The memorial is a volunteer-contributed page, not a birth record; it names both parents, so the link is Confirmed. Labeled Likely: the memorial is family-contributed and no certificate exists.
Records:
Review: assessed 10-04-2026; evidence: Find a Grave memorial; volunteer-contributed.
Earlier: Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.
| Born | 24 OCT 1945, Austin, Travis, Texas Confirmed evidence: show whyWhy: The Austin American-Statesman of 25 October 1945 (p. 12) prints the birth notice of Margery Lee Clarkson, born 24 October 1945, daughter of Herbert K. and Cissie Clarkson, and the 1950 census (ED 265-432A, sheet 25, lines 17-19) lists the daughter Margery in the household. Records:
Review: assessed 10-03-2026; evidence: Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined. Earlier: Unconfirmed (09-24-2026, imported tree): From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed. |
|---|---|
| Died | 9 JUN 2008, Manchester, Hillsborough, New Hampshire Unconfirmed evidence: show whyWhy: From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed. Records attached in the tree:
Review: not yet reviewed. |
| Also recorded as | Margery Lee Clarkson; Margery Lee Clarkson; Margery Lee Clarkson Miller; Margery Lee Miller; Margery Lee MacKinnon; Margery Lee Oak |
| Margery Lee birth announcement | 25 OCT 1945, Austin, Texas |
| Margery Lee birth announcement | birth announcement of Margery Lee Clarkson, 25 OCT 1945, Austin, Texas |
| Residence | Relation to Head of House: Daughter; Marital Status: Never Married, 1950, San Antonio, Bexar, Texas, USA |
| Residence | 26 MAR 1952, Austin, Texas, USA |
| Arrival | 29 NOV 1956, Brownsville, Texas, USA |
| Residence | 1962, Houston, Texas, USA |
| Residence | 1964, Austin, Texas, USA |
| Residence | 1965, Austin, Texas, USA |
| Marriage | 17 Dec 1966, with Rellim James Miller Jr 1944–2017 Likely evidence: show whyWhy: The marriage date as the divorce index states it; the index is not the marriage record, and the place of marriage is not given there. Records:
Review: assessed 10-04-2026. |
| Marriage | 17 DEC 1966, Bexar CO, TX |
| Divorce | 3 FEB 1977, Harris, Texas, USA, with Rellim James Miller Jr 1944–2017 |
| Marriage | 20 MAY 1981, San saba, Texas, with Richard Dixon Oak Sr. 1956–2008 |
| Obituary for Cissie L. Chambliss (Clarkson) | 10 JUN 1984, Victoria, Texas |
| Residence | 1984, Houston, Texas, USA |
| Residence | 1986, Leander, TX |
| Residence | BET 1986 AND 2020, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA |
| Address on David's birth certificate | 1988, Humble, Harris, Texas, USA |
| Residence | 1988, Hampton Beach, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA |
| Residence | 1988, The Woodlands, Montgomery, Texas, USA |
| Residence | BET 1993 AND 2016, Houston, Texas, USA |
| Residence | 1993, Manchester, NH |
| Departure | Nov |
| Residence | Manchester |
| Residence | Leander, Texas, USA |
| Residence | Austin, Texas, USA |
| Residence | Leander, TX |
7 newspaper clippings to view here. View them larger, one at a time.
16 record images to view here. View them larger, one at a time.
Share a memory of Margery Clarkson MacKinnon: saved privately, not published (family members can sign in to send one).
Open an evidence label for the sources, assessment and review date. Unreviewed tree entries are Unconfirmed. How sure is each statement?