Mary Ann Young (nee Smith)

[SandyB43]

My wife is looking for some help regarding her great grandmother, Mary Ann Young. She was born in 1860 in Woodley, Oxfordshire. She married William Henry Young in Henley on Thames in 1882.

She died in 1904 in Henley under suspicious circumstances, according to family members, but although we can find the registration of her death can find no further information. Can anyone help by pointing us in the right direction? We live in Scotland so would have to research online.

Thanks

Sandy Brown

[Pam Downes]

Hello Sandy,

Welcome to British-Genealogy.

Exactly what information are you looking for? If you want to know the cause of Mary's death then initially you need to obtain a copy of her death certificate. You can currently get a PDF copy for £6 from the GRO using the Historical Deaths index.
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/
Depending on how suspicious the death was there may be a report in a local (or even national) newspaper. The British Newspaper Archive is online but obviously doesn't have every single paper, but you can search for free. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/
Most, but not all of the papers, are also available on Findmypast, if you have a sub to that.

Do you have her birth and marriage certificates, and have you found her on the census, or is the latter one of your problems?

Pam

[Lesley Robertson]

There's a report in the Berkshire Chronicle for 28 June 1904 about "a circumstantial report" that a woman had been murdered by her husband. Mary Ann and William Henry Young. It's quite long - you need to see it for yourself (I'm reading the British Newspaper Archive but FMP also has some papers - see Pam's post for links).
To sum up:
Police investigated, found nothing to support the rumour but they held an inquest to deal with the rumours from "busy-bodies who spread or listened to the baseless rumour".
Detailed testimony from Martha Ann Holt (dau.) (parents arguing badly), the Doctor found 5 bruises on her head, couldn't give an opinion without more examination, George (son) found mother on floor of wash house, Esther (dau) saw nothing, neighbour saw nothing until after - husband told her bruises from fall. Verdict - natural causes.

PS when you search for it, watch out. There's a LOT of reports about the death of a Miss Mary Ann Young and her will - appeals for people to claim against the estate, etc. It's not relevant to your lady. You need to specify June 1904.

PPS There's a lot more detail in the Reading Observer 2 Jul 1904