Hi,
Are you sure Eleanor and Mary Ann aren't the same person? I've heard some odd nicknames over the years. My grandmother was Mary Ellen but some people called her Nellie, for example. Eleanor to Mary Ann would be a reach but you never know - have you looked for birth records for either of them? Also, when was your gg grandfather born? Does it match the birthdate for David and Mary Ann's son?
If Eleanor is a separate person, perhaps she is missing from the census records because she went to sea with her husband - occasionally the captain's wife would accompany him on his voyages. Perhaps if you can find him on board his ship during a census, you will also find her?
I agree with Seaweed, you should try to find the crew agreement and log if it exists. You can also look up the official number at the Crew List Index Project -
http://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/vesselsalpha.php. Looks like it might be ON 68221, a brigantine out of Barrow built 1873. The Bidsie & Bell was around until 1925, so at least you know then that David didn't go down with the ship.
Plugging the number into the MHA search engine it appears that the crew agreement for 1877 is in the Lancashire records office! Good news for you, if you are in the UK. I would definately go have a look. They also have 1878. The agreements are filed by year the voyage finished, so you may need to check 1878 as well. The log book may not have survived, but there would certainly be a mention of the demise of the captain in the crew agreement itself - look on the last few pages for notes from the local Britsh consul.
Jennifer.
