The elusive "Mary" finally has a last name!

When your ancestors are from Ontario, Canada and Gloucestershire, England, you never think to look for a marriage in Kent, England!

I think I've got the right family here... I knew that my ancestor, George Pike, had married three times. His first wife was Elizabeth Screech/Screen. His third wife was Catherine McCarter. His second wife (my ancestor and -- as luck would have it -- the wife I had the least information about) was either Elizabeth Daniels (according to family stories) or someone named Mary (according to the 1861 Canadian census). On that census, there was a Hannah Daniels living next door. I thought it might be Mary's sister. Was the Daniels surname correct after all?

And then I found a marriage in early 1855 in Dover, Kent, England for a George Pike (widower) and a Mary Daniels (single). Judging by the fact that their first child was born in England in August of 1855, this could very well be the right family. This Mary Daniels also had a younger sister named Hannah (which would fit with the census information I found).

Just when you think you've hit brick walls all around, you get a break. I love finding ancestors!