My great grandmother Mary Pike and my great grandfather Henry William Coward were married in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia on the 22nd of July 1882. Their marriage certificate tells us that Mary was aged 27, she was born in St Columb, Cornwall, England, her father was John Pike, an exciseman (deceased) and her mother Christiana Hocking. Her occupation was given as "housemaid".

Mary's life after her marriage is best described as "typical" for the times. She had seven children (although only three survived to adulthood) and seven grandchildren. My father remembers her as a "lovely old lady", contrasting with her often gruff husband. Her early life however is unknown and might have been quite adventurous. Mary rarely, if ever mentioned her past to her children and grandchildren except to say that she had worked as a governess for a wealthy family and had travelled with them on the continent.

The circumstances of Mary's birth and upbringing are mysterious. She claimed to have been born about 1855 but I can find no evidence of this, nor can I find record of a marriage between John Pike and Christiana Hocking. As an exciseman, I expect that her father would be reasonably well paid and have some education. Likewise I would expect Mary to have some education in order to become a governess. Yet if this was the case, one would expect her birth to be formally registered. Perhaps she was an orphan or illegitimate or both but if so how did she become a governess?

We know that 19 year old Mary Pike was in Switzerland in 1874 because she was issued with a passport by the British Embassy there. Mary kept her passport as a reminder of her past life and it is still in the family. The passport appears never to have been used. In the 19th century passports were rarely issued to "ordinary" people. Merchants and diplomats often carried them. Only a few countries (Russia was one) required all foreign visitors to carry passports.

There are several questions left unanswered:

1. When and where was Mary born?
2. How did she become a governess?
3. Who and what was her employer?
4. Why did she have a passport?
5. Why was it never used?
6. When and why did she emigrate to Australia?

If anyone can answer any of these questions, please send an e-mail through the link below.

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Modified 18th August 2003