Could she have been in Scotland? .....

[Maud Jarvis]

I have searched all of the English records I can find, seeking information about my gt grandmother, and now it has occurred to me, could she have been in Scotland, why not, its worth a try!

My gt grandmother, Mary Hannah Copeland born in Derby 1850, married George Nelson Grant, born in Edinburgh 1841. Married in Derby 1868.
I found them both (with my grandmother) in Perth Scotland for the 1881 census. I can only imagine that they were there because one of their sons (George Nelson Grant b.1870) was in an Industrial School there, sadly no records now exist.#

Mary Hannah disappeared after 1881, by then the children were all living in different places, and after 1881, my grandmother was living with her maternal grandmother in Derby, when she died, her elder sister then took her to live in Edinburgh, before having her sent to Canada in 1889.

By 1891 George Nelson Grant had a "wife" Annie, they were then living in England until after 1901 when they went to Leicester. Then I discovered that he and Annie (Packer) married in 1910, George stating that he was a widower. I assume this meant that Mary Hannah must have died, either before or in 1910. So its possible that she too had been with another "husband" and adopted his surname.

This means of course that I cannot trace her death, I have searched in all the usual places where its possible to use a first name only, but with no success.

If anyone has any clues, please contact me, thank you.
I now wonder, could she have remained in Scotland from sometime in 1881, and met another partner , and lived with him there?

If I am right, does anyone in Bonnie Scotland (I was born there also) have an ancestor by the name of Mary Hannah xxxx born in Derby, and if so, what was her surname?
I can think of no other avenue of research that could help me to find her.
This is a long shot but worth a try. Very often, real life can be stranger than fiction!

[SarahND]

Hello Maud,
I have looked at your post a number of times and tried to find Mary Hannah... but it is an impossible task, as you know. First of all, she wasn't necessarily listed in the census as Mary Hannah... As far as I can tell, she was Mary Copeland in 1851 and M A Copeland in 1861. She could be anybody named Mary born in Derby in 1850 (if she told the truth about her age).

Got to admit I'm at my wits end with this one...

Well, I'm sure it is not news to you that you've got a real mystery here! But I didn't want you to think that we were neglecting your post-- just as puzzled as you are.
All the best,
Sarah

[Maud Jarvis]

Thank you Sarah

Like yourself, I think I will have to give up on Mary Hannah, I have tried everything I can think of to try and trace her, but with no success.

This I fear will have to be left and hopefully something may turn up by chance one day, unless I am fortunaste enough to make contact with someone who may have known about her under her new name

Thank you anyway for your efforts, it is appreciated.

[killearnan]

Have you loooked at Scotland's People for a death record?

I'm currently out of credits to check the results but searching for a Mary Copeland b. 1850 +/- 5 years and died between 1881 and 1910 has 5 results -- so it might be worth checking to see if she died in Scotland.

BJ
whose has found a couple female ancestors's/relatives' death records by using their maiden name as the primary surname

[JimM]

I have found my Copland's often written as Copeland....
I have also found them as Copelaw and even as Coppleton (on a poor relief application).
Jim