Margaret (Shinnick) Leilich was born February 28, 1910, in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of William F. "Frank" and Margaret (Gittuigs) Shinnick. She had a brother, Francis, born around 1908. Their father worked as a "shipceiler" joiner, working as a type of carpenter on many of the ships that sailed the Chesapeake Bay. The family made their home on Fairview Avenue in Baltimore, including the children's aunt, B. Florence Barkley, who lived with them there in 1920.
In 1922 her parents were listed as the owners of a lumberyard, the William F. Shinnick Company Inc., located on South Caroline Street. Her father was the president, and her mother, Margaret, was the treasurer. The family had by then moved to 3100 Hilton St.
By 1948 young Margaret had acquired the last name of "Leilich", and was living at 140 East 63rd Street in New York City. On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1948 she set sail on the great ocean liner the Queen Mary, from New York City bound for Southampton, England, planning to remain abroad for one year.
Two years later she was living in London at 4 Basil Street and working as a secretary when she set sail on the Mauretania January 9, 1951, making her return to the U.S. across the Atlantic from Southampton to New York City.
Margaret Leilich died aged 90 on December 16, 2000, at New York-Presbyterian/Queens; and was buried on Hart Island.
Sources: U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007; 1920 U.S. Federal Census; U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995; U.S. Departing Passenger and Crew Lists, 1914-1965; UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960.