Mary Jane Merricks' date of birth has been given erroneously as 19 May 1837, but new records show she was born on 20 November, 1836 and died 19 May, 1873). She was the mother of a well known 19th century historical figure called Joseph Carey Merrick

Joseph Merrick

Joseph Carey Merrick , sometimes incorrectly referred to as John Merrick, was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man. He became well known in London society after he went to live at the London Hospital...

, better known as The Elephant Man.

There are not many known facts about Mary Jane Merrick. She was born Mary Jane Potterton in Evington

Evington

Evington is an electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicester, England. It used to be a small village centred around Main Street and the Anglican church of St Denys but was close enough to Leicester to become one of the outer suburbs in the 1930s...

. According to family accounts, she was "crippled". This did not prevent her marriage to Joseph Rockley Merrick on 29 December, 1861.

Their eldest son Joseph was born on 5 August, 1862 in Leicester

Leicester

Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...

. A second son, John Thomas, was born on 21 April, 1864 but only lived three months, dying on 24 July, 1864. Their youngest son William Arthur Merrick was born on 8 January, 1866, followed by their daughter Marion Eliza Merrick on 28 September, 1867. William contracted scarlet fever

Group A streptococcal infection

The group A streptococcus bacterium is a form of β-hemolytic Streptococcus bacteria responsible for most cases of streptococcal illness. Other types may also cause infection...

 and died on 21 December, 1870. Marion Eliza had been disabled since birth but would survive until 19 March, 1891, dying from a myelitic seizure.

Mary Jane was a devote Baptist and admirer of William Carey

William Carey

William Carey was an English Baptist missionary and a Reformed Baptist minister, known as the "father of modern missions." Carey was one of the founders of the Baptist Missionary Society...

, the great Baptist missionary. She gave her son Joseph the middle name of Carey in his honor. Mary Jane herself taught Sunday School She also helped run her husband's haberdashery, on top of managing a household of three children. After her son William died, Mary Jane never quite recovered her health. She herself died from bronchial pneumonia on 19 May, 1873. Her husband was re-married to Emma Wood Antill on 3 December, 1874. Emma soon convinced her new husband to send the deformed Joseph away.

The Elephant Man

The Elephant Man (film)

The Elephant Man is a 1980 American drama film based on the true story of Joseph Merrick , a severely deformed man in 19th century London...

, a film first released on 3 October, 1980 , features her son "John" speaking high of her. "She has a face of an angel

Angel

Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...

" by his words. John is depicted looking at a small picture of his mother very often in the film.