A collateral ancestor of my wife was a lady named Maria Withers. She was heiress to a bequest of £1000 from her uncle c.1798 and this attracted the attentions of a James Thom(p)son with whom she and her mother and brothers were lodging in London. She was a ward of court with her mother as her guardian. It is a long story but James Thompson married her without her mother's consent, when she was only 14, by getting a license from the church when he stated that she was over 21 ! There was a long court case and he was sent to gaol in the Fleet Prison and when he came out he disappeared to America. The Times newspaper says in a much later reference that Maria Withers or Thom(p)son then went on the stage for some years and made a considerable amount of money as an actress. In 1826 in Bristol she married a second time to a surgeon named Mathias O'Hara. Presumably she was on the stage in the period c.1800 - 1826, perhaps under the name Maria Withers or Maria Thom(p)son. Another possible name might have been Maria Baker as her father was a Richard Baker who, at some point, took the name Withers probably after inheriting some money from that family. Being an actress she could have used any of these names or maybe something quite different ! If anyone has come across or comes across in future anyone of one of these names I should be most interested to hear. I have had a search carried out by the University of Bristol in their theatrical collection but they were unable to find any references. But of course she could turn up anywhere ! Regards to all members Bob Sanders Cardiff Wales