The beginnings of Mary's adult life seem quite usual as she goes into service as a teenager to George Peddleston, a retired tradesman from Ashford and then marries Walter Godfrey, a local iron moulder and goes on to have four children. However, from there on her life takes an unexpected turn as in 1881 Mary seems to have taken up a position as a domestic servant to Charlotte Seymour (b.1829 Cranbrook, Kent) and resides with Charlotte from there on at the lodging house of Elizabeth Mann in Hastings. This seems especially peculiar given that she is still recorded as married in the 1881 census and her youngest child would have only been 11 at this time. By the 1891 census, she is recorded as widowed.
By 1901 Mary is working as a servant for Elizabeth Mann, a boarding house keeper in Hastings, Sussex. She is recorded as aged 59 and being born in Aldington Kent. [3]
Sources
↑ Baptism - Name: Mary Butcher
Gender: Female
Baptism Date: 15 May 1842
Baptism Place: Aldington, Kent, England
Father:
Richard Butcher
Mother:
Eliza Butcher
FHL Film Number: 1785906 Ancestry.co.uk
↑ Marriage Name: Mary Butcher
Gender: Female
Record Type: Marriage
Marriage Date: 8 Sep 1863
Marriage Place: Aldington, Kent, England
Spouse:
Walter John Godfrey Ancestry.co.uk
↑ 1901 - Registration district: Hastings
Sub registration district: St Mary in the Castle
ED, Institution or Vessel: 16
Piece: 764
Folio: 10 ncestry.co.uk
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Mary by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Mary: