Ada Vernon's parents were not David and Emma Vernon, as I had thought for a long time, which highlights the importance of going back to source documents whenever possible. When I received the copy of Ada's marriage certificate to John Hulme, I found her father was Edward Vernon, a gardener who was born in Manchester in 1819. Ada's mother was Martha Riley and Edward and Martha belong to the Hulme Family Tree.

I thought that knowing Ada's real parents would make the search easier, but they proved to be a very elusive couple, with Martha and their children only appearing in the 1861 Census that I can find. At that time Martha was living with her mother Ann Riley, who was listed as the head of the household. I cannot find any reference to Edward Vernon until the 1881 Census, when he was a boarder in Manchester living in the house of an elderly person. At this time he was listed as being a gardener, which is the same occupation as recorded on John and Ada's marriage certificate.

Edward Vernon's parents were John and Barbara Vernon, and he was christened at the Cathedral Church in Manchester on September 5th 1819. He married Martha Riley in St. John's Church, Manchester in 1853. Presumably the couple separated or divorced before 1861, because there is no record of them living together after that. It was quite a long time before I realized that the elderly person Edward was boarding with in the 1881 Census was his mother, who was recorded as B. Shockledge. I found that his mother, Barbara, had been widowed in 1822 after only 5 years of marriage to John Vernon, and had remarried in 1836 to John Shockledge.

Martha had been born in Claymills, Staffordshire, to John and Ann Riley. I can't find any records of John and Ann's marriage, but I believe it was this Ann Riley who appears in the 1841 Census living with her 30-year-old son John, and 20-year-old daughter, Sarah in Church Eaton, Staffordshire. Presumably, Martha, who would have been 22 at this time had left home, perhaps to work in service.

By 1861, Ann is listed as the head of the household living at 8 William Street, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, Manchester, with her daughter Martha Vernon and her grandchildren, Robert, aged 11, Dorcas aged 9, Ada, aged 6, and James, aged 2. Ann and Martha are listed as being born in Clay Mills, Staffordshire, which is a small village near Stretton. Ann is recorded as being a Monthly Nurse. I looked this up and the description I found was, "a monthly nurse was an untrained but experienced woman who looked after mother, infant and family during the month after childbirth, when the mother was usually expected to be in bed for at least two weeks. She cared for the baby, ran the house and generally 'did' for the family.