Mary Ann Underwood

[Phoenix]

Lol! I've been reading too many detective stories, where the clue is on the first page, and the denoument on the last.

I've looked at the 1851 census so many times, assuming that Mary Ann was living with her father, not her grandfather.
In 1841, three housholds were living together. People in Yardley Hastings seem to have married the girl next door. Best Mate is descended from Mary Ann's uncles Charles AND George. In an eighteen month period first George's wife Sarah died in June 1844, then his parents Mary and finally John late in 1845.
Mary Ann had her first child in the Union Workhouse. The admission register does not survive for the period. I can't help wondering whether she named her son George out of affection for her uncle or for darker reasons.