Could MJK be found from the London census?!

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

I'm just wondering;

If the mystery lady of the victims can ever be found from any census of LVP London?!

Though, this info wouldn't necessarily make the task any easier, in case she used "Mary Jane Kelly" only as her common use name and had her real name on the records!

All the best
Jukka

[The Good Michael]

Jukka,

The problem is, she probably didn't live there in 1881 and was dead before the 1891 census.

Cheers,

Mike

[Sam Flynn]

Some of us have tried, believe me, Jukka - Chris Scott even wrote a book on the subject! Although Chris couldn't track her down (which is saying something), "Will the Real Mary Kelly...?" is a very interesting and useful volume to own.

[j.r-ahde]

Hello Sam!

Yes, I can definitely believe that! I have tried to find that final needle from the haystack of Mary Jane Kellies too!

All the best
Jukka

[Chris Scott]

Hi Guys

Gareth, many thanks for the kind comments about the book!

Jukka, there are two censuses (or censi!) in which we could logically expect Kelly to be listed, those of 1871 and 1881. If Barnett's story has any truth in it, she would in both cases be listed in the Wales census for that year.
1871: This is conjectural in that Barnett says the Kelly family moved to Wales when Mary was "very young." This is a subjective phrase and also depends on Kelly's real age - was she really 25 when she died? If so she would have been about 8 years of age at the time of the 1871 census and so could reasonably be expected to be listed.
1881: the only indications that we have are that Kelly came to London in or about 1884. She would therefore be expected to be still listed in Wales in the 1881 census. The question is in which part. The orthodox account says she married in or about 1879 and was married for two to three years before her husband was killed. She then went comparatively briefly to Cardiff before coming to London. The 1881 census is therefore right on the cusp of when her husband might have died in the alleged explosion. Therefore in April 1881 (the time of the census) she may still have been living with her husband or have already moved to Cardiff.
The abiding problem with Kelly is that we have no fixed point from which to work. Her name, her age, her place of origin, her marital status, her siblings - the indicators that normally assist in tracing an individual - all are problematic and have to date led nowehere.
But of course us obsessives never give up hope and will carry on looking
Regards
Chris