Emma Jane Bright was born in January 1860 in Farnham, Surrey, to William and Elizabeth Bright (nee Lovell). Emma was baptised on the 8th April 1860.
The 1861 census includes Emma aged just 1 year old with her mother and father at 3 Berkley Street, Lambeth, Surrey. No siblings are noted.
In 1871, Emma was living in Greenwich with her parents and four brothers, George (8), William (6), Arthur (4), and Alfred (7 months), all of them at 20 Acorn Terrace, Blackheath, Greenwich. Emma was noted on the census as a 'scholar'.
In 1881, Emma was a 'housemaid', aged 22, in Charlton, London, at 25 Kidbrook Park Road. Seven years later, in July 1888, Emma married Thomas Crilley in Woolwich. Two years later, Emma gave birth to a baby girl named Elizabeth Ann who was born on the 23rd August 1890. Sadly she only lived for 7 days and died on the 30th August 1890.
In 1891, Emma, now 31 years old, is working as a servant with her husband for the Hirschfeld family at 2 Albert Terrace in Douglas, Isle of Man. It was here that baby Elizabeth was born and died the previous year. Emma was a 'domestic cook' and Thomas was a general man servant.
In 1901, Emma and Thomas (surname written as Critty on the census record) were still servants; more specifically Thomas was a 'butler'. Both of them were working for the McLaughlin household whose abode was at '1+2 Stanley Gardens' in Kensington, London. By now, Emma was 41 and Thomas was 49. They had no living children.
Emma died in April 1910 in Worthing, West Sussex. It is unknown why Emma was in Worthing at the time of her death but she may have been visiting or convalescing for health reasons.