This photo is believed to be of Mary Pike as a child
The earliest known and confirmed record of Mary Pike's
existence is the
registration of her marriage on 27 July 1882. On this day Mary married
Henry William Coward in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
According to information on their Marriage Certificate, Mary had been
born 27 years earlier (about 1855) in "St Columb", Cornwall. Her father
was John Pike (deceased), an Exciseman. Her mother was Christiana
Hocking. No further conclusive evidence of her birth or of her parents
existence can be found.
Later on, Mary told her children and grandchildren that she had worked
as a “governess” for a wealthy English family and had travelled on the
Continent with them. We still have a Passport issued by the British
Embassy in Switzerland to a “Miss Mary Pike” on 2 July 1874.
There the trail goes cold. Searches of English Birth, Marriage and Death
records and of Census records reveal a number of people named John,
Christiana or Mary Pike but none completely fit the known “facts”.
The most likely candidate appears in the 1851 and 1861 censuses of St
Columb Major in Cornwall. In 1851 a 4 year old Maryjane Pike, born St
Columb Major was living as a “lodger” with Elizabeth Harris, a 67 year
old char woman and three of her adult children. She appears again in
1861 as 13 year old Mary J Pike, born St Columb Major. This time she is
a lodger with a 40 year old carpenter named John Barry, his wife and
daughter. Thereafter she disappears. No record of a death or marriage in
England can be found.
If this is “our Mary”, where were her parents? Perhaps there is a clue
here: On the night of the 1861 census a 31 year old widow named
Christiana Pike, born at Wimborne Minster was working as a “nurse” in
the London home of a wealthy merchant named William Angerstein. On 25
September 1854 at Sturminster Marshall, in the District of Wimborne,
Devon, a John Pike of Binstead, Isle of Wight married a Christiana
Lidford of Sturminster Marshall. Wimborne Minster is only about 5 miles
from Sturminster Marshall. In the December Quarter of 1854 a John Pike
died on the Isle of Wight. These records all appear to relate to the same
John and Christiana Pike.
Neither the Angersteins, Mary (Jane), nor Christiana appear in the 1871
census and in 1881 the Angersteins can be found at their country
property at Weeting in Norfolk. Perhaps the Angersteins were abroad in
1871 and Christiana and Mary were with them.
It seems that someone was telling fibs. Was it Mary, her mother or
someone else? Any assistance would be appreciated.
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Last Changed - 24 January 2010
registration of her marriage on 27 July 1882. On this day Mary married
Henry William Coward in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
According to information on their Marriage Certificate, Mary had been
born 27 years earlier (about 1855) in "St Columb", Cornwall. Her father
was John Pike (deceased), an Exciseman. Her mother was Christiana
Hocking. No further conclusive evidence of her birth or of her parents
existence can be found.
Later on, Mary told her children and grandchildren that she had worked
as a “governess” for a wealthy English family and had travelled on the
Continent with them. We still have a Passport issued by the British
Embassy in Switzerland to a “Miss Mary Pike” on 2 July 1874.
There the trail goes cold. Searches of English Birth, Marriage and Death
records and of Census records reveal a number of people named John,
Christiana or Mary Pike but none completely fit the known “facts”.
The most likely candidate appears in the 1851 and 1861 censuses of St
Columb Major in Cornwall. In 1851 a 4 year old Maryjane Pike, born St
Columb Major was living as a “lodger” with Elizabeth Harris, a 67 year
old char woman and three of her adult children. She appears again in
1861 as 13 year old Mary J Pike, born St Columb Major. This time she is
a lodger with a 40 year old carpenter named John Barry, his wife and
daughter. Thereafter she disappears. No record of a death or marriage in
England can be found.
If this is “our Mary”, where were her parents? Perhaps there is a clue
here: On the night of the 1861 census a 31 year old widow named
Christiana Pike, born at Wimborne Minster was working as a “nurse” in
the London home of a wealthy merchant named William Angerstein. On 25
September 1854 at Sturminster Marshall, in the District of Wimborne,
Devon, a John Pike of Binstead, Isle of Wight married a Christiana
Lidford of Sturminster Marshall. Wimborne Minster is only about 5 miles
from Sturminster Marshall. In the December Quarter of 1854 a John Pike
died on the Isle of Wight. These records all appear to relate to the same
John and Christiana Pike.
Neither the Angersteins, Mary (Jane), nor Christiana appear in the 1871
census and in 1881 the Angersteins can be found at their country
property at Weeting in Norfolk. Perhaps the Angersteins were abroad in
1871 and Christiana and Mary were with them.
It seems that someone was telling fibs. Was it Mary, her mother or
someone else? Any assistance would be appreciated.
HOME
Last Changed - 24 January 2010