The Bonthron bit threw me & until I received the marriage certificate I thought maybe they had adopted Mary Jane based on their ages.
It's the Bonthron bit that is ringing bells on a story she remembers.
Was interested in finding the link between John Martin and the Bonthron name (which is rather uncommon), so did a bit more research for you.
As John was born in South Petherwin, I looked for Bonthrons who had connections to this area, and came across a lady called Joanna Bonthron, who was born in South Petherwin around 1801; she was married to a man called John Bonthron.
Here she is in 1861, but she is also easy to find in the other censuses:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M7B7-YS7I then delved deeper and found her on the 1841 census with a young woman called Elizabeth Martin, who was working as their servant:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQT5-P91The Martin connection made me think I was onto something, so I kept going.
I then looked at John's siblings, thinking she may be a sister, and that's when I found this baptism:
Joanna, daughter of William & Jenny Martyn, baptised on 29th December 1799 in South Petherwin, Cornwall.
It seems as though Mary's middle name may have been inspired by John's sister Bonthron and/or her husband (if I've got the right people!). I cannot find a marriage for them, but I'm thinking that it is because John may have already been married, specifically to a lady called Sarah Thomas in 1818.
Queenie
