Mary Spencer was my grandfathers sister, yet for a long time, she remained a mystery. It wasn’t until I was well into family history research that I stumbled upon her. Even then, she proved elusive, requiring significant time and effort to piece together her story.
I initially searched birth records, but with such a common name and no confirmed birth year, it quickly became clear that this wouldn’t be an easy task. Birth, marriage, and death certificates are fundamental to family history research, along with census records, which have been taken every ten years since 1841. Today, census records up to 1921 are available online, offering invaluable insights for researchers.
However, family research is rarely straightforward. There are numerous challenges – transcription errors, inconsistencies in recorded dates, and variations in spelling. I’ve come across Spencer written as Spenser, Spensar, and even Spenir. I hoped Mary would appear in the 1911 census and that her mother’s more dinstinctive name, Bertha, would help narrow the search.
Then, finally, in 2017 – I had a breakthrough. Bertha had remarried and was now Bertha Hyde. Mary was living with her mother and stepfather, but her name had been transcribed as “Mary Spenar.”
Mary Ann – her story
Mary was born on 21 February 1902 at 18 Thursday Street, Manchester—most likely at home, as was common at the time. Mary was the third child born to Bertha and Henry Spencer, though sadly, her older siblings, William and Sarah Ellen, had died before she was born. Her mother, Bertha Spencer (née Boot), registered her birth, marking the document with an “X” instead of a signature, a common indication of illiteracy.
Her father, Henry Spencer, worked as a greengrocer, but his health was poor. In 1901 the census was taken on the evening of 31 March, Henry was registered as an inmate in Workhouse & Workhouse Hospital, Crumpsall. When Henry died in 1907 his cause of death was registered as ‘cardiac syncope, acute pthisis’ – TB and heart problem – it is highly probable that Henry was in the Workhouse Infirmary.
Henry and Bertha went on to have a further two children, Alfred, born in 1904 and a sister, Bertha, born in February 1907. But more tragedy was to follow; Henry died on 29 October 1907, acute phthisis (TB) and cardiac syncope (loss of consciousness). Bertha, their youngest daughter, was only nine months old when, on 3 November 1907, succumbed to a cerebral haemorrhage and cardiac arrest – just six days after her father. They are buried together in Phillips Park Cemetery, in grave D859.
Life would have been difficult for a single mum, with limited support systems; Bertha remarried on 31 March 1908, her second husband was James Hyde.
The 1911 census shows Mary living with her mother, stepfather James Hyde, and younger stepbrother, Joseph, at 37 Crissey Street, Failsworth. She was nine years old and attending school.
At the outbreak of the First World War James joined the British Army and saw active service in the towns and villages of Flanders and northern France. Tragically, he was killed in action on August 19, 1917 and is buried in Bard Cottage Cemetery, a military cemetery in Ypres, Belgium. Bertha was widowed for the second time.
24 October 1918, Mary passed away at the age of 16. The cause of death was listed as morbus cordis, a broad term for heart disease. Mary was buried on 28 October 1918, in the graveyard at All Saints Church, Newton Heath.
The image below shows, Alfred Spencer b1904, standing at the rear, likely with his two step siblings Joseph b1910 and James b1914 with Mary. It is likely that this picture was taken around 1915, possibly as a keepsake for James.
Though Mary’s life was brief, her story has now been uncovered, ensuring she is remembered and no longer lost to history.
Family 