Hastings 'black flower seller' in postcard identified as Margaret Sullivan

Researcher Claudine Eccleston identified the woman shown selling flowers in an early 20th‑century St Leonards postcard as Margaret Sullivan; local records indicate Sullivan died in 1919 and some descendants have since contacted researchers.

Claudine Eccleston, founder of the arts project Playing the Race Card, has identified the woman pictured selling flowers in an early 20th-century postcard as Margaret Sullivan. The photograph shows the seller near the Royal Victoria Hotel in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. Eccleston said she found the image on social media in 2013 and then sought help from an online community of amateur history sleuths. She described the moment of identification as joyful because the well-known image finally had a name. Key details: - Claudine Eccleston identified the flower seller as Margaret Sullivan after community research and genealogical checks. - Eccleston reports the earliest local census record for Sullivan is 1881 and records show a death in 1919. - It is reported that Sullivan's husband died in a local workhouse and that she had an unknown number of children. - The postcard picture places Sullivan near the Royal Victoria Hotel in St Leonards-on-Sea. - Relatives of a son who was put up for adoption have travelled from Canada to meet Eccleston and have continued to share information. - Eccleston said the finding illustrated that people who looked like her lived, worked and contributed to the area before the Windrush era. Summary: The identification has restored a name to a previously anonymous figure and prompted contact from descendants and local researchers. Family members and community researchers continue to exchange information about Margaret Sullivan's life. Undetermined at this time.