Birth of Mary Bridget Cullen, 1903, Enniscorthy

[Peggy13]

Hi there,
I have been researching this branch for 30 years. I know and have visited relatives of the surgeon who died. At first, I thought he was a cousin but upon rereading the letter, it just says Mae is looking for her late mother's family. I know this man's background extensively as we have relatives in common although I am not related to Mae.  There is one possible connection between Mae and the surgeon based on family rumours but I cannot prove anything. His aunt would have to be Mae's mother and Mae would have to be adopted by the Cullens. I have tried to find a relationship between Mary Anne Sheridan and the surgeon and cannot do so. Believe me, I have tried everything I know of. Maybe it is just rumours but the letters do exist and I do have them.
As far as I know there is no connection between the surgeon and Michael O'Leary. I have tried diligently to find a relationship between Mae and Michael and have been unable to do that either.
I thought I was onto something recently when I thought I had found proof of an adoption for Mae with the two birth records and one cancelled but that seems to have fizzled out.
Peggy

[aghadowey]

Am I reading this correctly?

"There is one possible connection between Mae and the surgeon based on family rumours but I cannot prove anything. His aunt would have to be Mae's mother and Mae would have to be adopted by the Cullens."

Dr. Christopher Harfield West born 1860 England and Mae born 1903 so would Dr. West's aunt not be too old to be Mae's mother?

[Peggy13]

That is part of the problem. Aunt Alice Davis would be 60 which is highly unlikely but not impossible I guess. I have been thinking more likely to be Aunt's husband's second wife which means West not really related but there is a connection through uncle by marriage. Of course, there may be an option that I haven't thought of. One story is that Aunt, who was separated from her husband since 1883,  went back to Ireland and had Mae. My reaction was that Aunt would be 60. Second wife would be 52 in 1903. The other problem is that although no one can find date of death for Aunt, she is rumored to have died in 1888. 
Second wife in 1901 says she had one child and one living. In 1911, she says two children and two living which would allow for Mae. However, when she dies in 1912, her obit only mentions having one child, a son. Crazy, crazy. Her will leaves everything to her husband except for her jewelry which she leaves to her son Harry. Maybe husband's will would help.
I really can't figure this out.

[Wexflyer]

Aunt Alice Davis would be 60 which is highly unlikely but not impossible I guess.

While it may not be impossible now, it was then.

I should point out that the common ancestor in cases like this may be much further back than you may think.  I finally, conclusively solved an adoption case of my own just a few weeks ago, after 22 years of effort.  Time scales are similar to yours - a great-aunt of mine was born in 1896, and was already adopted by the time of the 1901 census.  The most recent common ancestors of her father, and the relatives who adopted her, were born in the 1780s at the latest.  The baptismal record which conclusively established the link is from 1807 - 90 years before her birth.