Peter was the youngest of twelve children born to William and Isabella Whittaker. He was listed on the 1861 census as a coal miner at age 11. I cannot locate an 1871 census for him and his parents had died in 1864 when he was only about 14. The only census I can find that refers to a Peter Whittaker born around this time in Accrington is one that lists Peter as a private in the 2nd Battalion Rifle Brigade at Castle Hill Fort in Guston, Kent. Although approximate age and birth place match, I'm not sure if this is the correct Peter, though I have never found him on an 1871 census with siblings so perhaps that is indeed him. He would have been 21 at this time and the census records him as 19. Another possibility is that Peter had crossed to America during this census period.
My mother recalled a family story of her grandfather having made a trip to America. As Mom remembered it, he went to Fall River in Massachusetts, USA. The story went that he wrote home to bring Margaret, his wife, over to America, but she refused so he returned to England. I did find a Boston Passenger List for July of 1872 that listed a Peter Whittaker, age 22, as travelling in steerage on the Hecla. He arrived in Boston on 10 July 1872. I have not located a return record as of yet. This does not make sense if Peter were already married to Margaret and Mom seemed to think he was when he made the trip. I did, however, locate census records for his elder brother, Henry, who emigrated in 1879 to guess where - Fall River, Massachusetts! It seems the family story is likely correct. I also found Peter's brother George in Fall River in 1870, back in England in 1871 and back in Fall River in 1880. There are two possible Passenger Manifests which list Peter at a time when he would've been married to Margaret. One is for a Peter Whittaker, age 34, aboard the Aurania to New York, arriving 17 Aug 1885. The other is for a Peter Whittaker, miner, age 39, aboard the Alaska to New York, arriving 28 Mar 1887. While the age on the latter is a little off, the fact that he is listed as a miner does make it possible. During both periods, Margaret was living with her parents so she was not alone with the children.
Peter and Margaret married in 1876 and lived with her parents, James and Ann Harrison, at least until after the 1891 census as they appear on both the 1881 and 1891 records with her parents. By 1901, the Whittakers were living at 26 John Street and Peter was listed as head of the household. James Harrison, a widower aged 68 and a retired coal hewer, was living with them. He was listed as father-in-law, so it was indeed Margaret's father.
My grandmother remembered little about her father as she was only 8½ when he died. She recalled that he was standing by the piano singing one night when his heart 'exploded' as she recalled. According to the death record, Peter died from Aortic Regurgitation - Syncope which I think means he passed out as a result of the heart problem which was a valve that didn't close in his heart - in essence, a heart murmur and it would require a valve replacement if he were alive today. Of course, in 1904 there was no means of fixing it. Apparently, he did die immediately and his brother-in-law, H. Robinson, was present at the time and was named on the death record. Margaret's sister, Annie Harrison, was married to Henry Robinson so I assume that was who was visiting at the time.