Apologies if I wasn't clear enough but researching these more difficult lines is still new to me.
Mary Jane Smith is my great grandmother. In 1895, she married my GGF James Cain. From that point forward, I have every census record without issue.
From the marriage certificate, I know that her father is John Smith. I have her death certificate in 1921, with James Cain being the widower.
My aunt, the only living relative of the generation previous to me, was born in 1935, so never met her and recalls very little said about her.
I therefore have nothing tangible before 1895. The records I do have all point to her being born 1869/70 but I cannot find a birth record that matches this info..
In the 1871 census, there is an entry for a family, John and Mary Smith, with a daughter, of the right age (1) Mary Jane Smith, living in the same area of Manchester as her husband-to-be's family. There is no other evidential link between that census entry and my GGM. Likewise, I cannot find any other census entries in 1881 or 1891 that show my GGM. The reason I thought that the 1871 census Mary Jane might be my Mary Jane is that it shows John and Mary Smith, the parents in the 1871 record, as being Irish. Despite me only finding one Irish ancestor so far, my DNA says I am >40% Irish!
So I came on here to ask for help in trying to trace the birth of Mary Jane Smith, so that I can identify and trace her parents.
Does that make it a bit clearer or am I still asking the wrong questions?
