Mary Ann had a short life. Living, at the most, 28 years. She was born and raised in Lancashire and worked in the textile mills.
She had her only child, Alice, during the time of the Cotton Panic in Lancashire. The cotton panic was due to overproduction in a compressing market. It was also closely related to the American civil war as some of the mills were set up for the American cotton and others used Egyptian cotton. Those using the American cotton faced supply issues during the war. England in general, and Lancashire in particular, were involved in taking sides. Some places flew confederate flags in support of the south and the cotton production. Others, such as the cotton workers meeting in Manchester supported the freedom of the slaves. Lincoln sent a thank you to Lancashire call them “…an instance of sublime Christian heroism” and sent three shipments of food to the people of Lancashire.
In 1865, the US civil war ended and the cotton recession also ended in Lancashire. Mary Ann, however, lived only a few short years after that, as by 1871 she had passed.