American Acorns

People: M

Margery Clarkson MacKinnon

1945–2008 · Female

How to read this page

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.

Overview

Margery Clarkson MacKinnon at Christmas, from a photograph supplied by her son. Undated.

Explore this person's tree: ancestors Descendants

Stories and biography

About Margery

Mentioned in other stories

These stories are about someone or something else, and name Margery Clarkson MacKinnon.

Biography

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.

Texas childhood and university

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.

Likely About this evidence

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.

Marriages

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.

Confirmed About this evidence

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.

Likely About this evidence

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.

New Hampshire, Texas and Manchester

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.

Likely About this evidence

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.

Likely About this evidence

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.

Likely About this evidence

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.

Health and death

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.

Likely About this evidence

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.

Confirmed About this evidence

Her New Hampshire death certificate.

A family chart

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.

Unconfirmed About this evidence

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.

Timeline of the public record (12 entries)
WhenWhat the record showsHow sure
24 Oct 1945Born in Austin, Texas. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997: Margery Lee Clarkson, born 24 Oct 1945, Travis CountyConfirmed
Apr 1950Living with her parents in San Antonio, Bexar County. Confirmed
26 Mar 1952Named in a second Austin newspaper item (held privately). The Austin American, 26 March 1952 (item naming Marjorie Lee Clarkson and other family members)Confirmed
1965Placed in Austin by a school-yearbook index entry. Likely
17 Dec 1966Marries Rellim James Miller Jr., Bexar County. Confirmed
3 Feb 1977Divorces, Harris County. Confirmed
20 May 1981Marries Richard Dixon Oak Sr., San Saba County. Confirmed
1986Indexed at an address in Leander, Texas. Likely
Jul 1987In New Hampshire with the family (the family's baby book). Confirmed
11 Nov 1988Her son David is born in Houston, Texas. Confirmed
1999-2012Indexed residence range in Manchester, New Hampshire. Likely
9 Jun 2008Dies 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, NHConfirmed

Family

Parents

Husband: Richard Dixon Oak Sr. 1956–2008
Unconfirmed evidence: show why

Why: From the imported family tree; not yet reviewed.

Review: not yet reviewed.

What the labels mean

Husband: Rellim James Miller Jr 1944–2017
Likely evidence: show why

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.

What the labels mean

Life events

Born24 OCT 1945, Austin, Travis, Texas
Confirmed evidence: show why

Why: 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.

What the labels mean

Image: Texas Birth Index, the page recording Travis's own 6 February 1982 birth, naming Margery and Richard as his parents.
Died9 JUN 2008, Manchester, Hillsborough, New Hampshire
Unconfirmed evidence: show why
(the biography above weighs the records for this date)
Also recorded asMargery Lee Clarkson; Margery Lee Clarkson; Margery Lee Clarkson Miller; Margery Lee Miller; Margery Lee MacKinnon; Margery Lee Oak
Margery Lee birth announcement25 OCT 1945, Austin, Texas
Margery Lee birth announcementbirth announcement of Margery Lee Clarkson, 25 OCT 1945, Austin, Texas
ResidenceRelation to Head of House: Daughter; Marital Status: Never Married, 1950, San Antonio, Bexar, Texas, USA
Residence26 MAR 1952, Austin, Texas, USA
Arrival29 NOV 1956, Brownsville, Texas, USA
Residence1962, Houston, Texas, USA
Residence1964, Austin, Texas, USA
Residence1965, Austin, Texas, USA
Marriage17 Dec 1966, with Rellim James Miller Jr 1944–2017
Likely evidence: show why

Why: 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.

What the labels mean

(the family tree records 17 DEC 1966, Bexar, Texas, USA; Texas, USA)
Marriage17 DEC 1966, Bexar CO, TX
Divorce3 FEB 1977, Harris, Texas, USA, with Rellim James Miller Jr 1944–2017
Marriage20 MAY 1981, San saba, Texas, with Richard Dixon Oak Sr. 1956–2008
Obituary for Cissie L. Chambliss (Clarkson)10 JUN 1984, Victoria, Texas
Residence1984, Houston, Texas, USA
Residence1986, Leander, TX
ResidenceBET 1986 AND 2020, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
Address on David's birth certificate1988, Humble, Harris, Texas, USA
Residence1988, Hampton Beach, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
Residence1988, The Woodlands, Montgomery, Texas, USA
ResidenceBET 1993 AND 2016, Houston, Texas, USA
Residence1993, Manchester, NH
DepartureNov
ResidenceManchester
ResidenceLeander, Texas, USA
ResidenceAustin, Texas, USA
ResidenceLeander, TX

Newspapers

7 newspaper clippings to view here. View them larger, one at a time.

Also cited, with no image here

Record images

16 record images to view here. View them larger, one at a time.

Photos & documents

Sources

Research sources

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?