The clue's there.

I've been told there is a clue to the Ripper's identity right on the cover of this book.... I'm suspecting the man with a bowler or a bearded policeman?

Niggling

Finally, I've got the story line and found Mary's voice. I'm accepting Mary as Irish born, although I have a niggling feeling she was Dutch ...

Mary Jane Kelly and Elizabeth Jackson.

Mary Jane Kelly and Elizabeth Jackson. Now there’s a puzzle. Not only did they share the same appearance, they were linked by the same name and a pair of second hand drawers. 

Mary was extraordinarily tall (5 ft 7 in) for the period. Men’s average height, at the outbreak of WW1, was 5 ft 6 in. She had reddish blonde hair, a fair complexion, and blue eyes. She was twenty five years of age (approximately).

Elizabeth Jackson was tall. She stood 5 ft 5 in. She had sandy blonde hair and a fair complexion. More than likely she had blue eyes. She was twenty five years of age. Six months after the slaughter of Mary Kelly in her room at 13 Millers Court -November 1888, Elizabeth Jackson was murdered -early June 1889. Her body parts were discovered at various locations around the Thames. Her torso was hidden in amongst shrubbery in Battersea Park. Her body was divided into twelve separate parts. Her head was never found. The name L. E. Fisher was written on the waistband of her undergarment and used to wrap a portion of her body.

Several newspaper sources referred to Mary Jane Kelly as ‘Lizzie Fisher’ when reporting her murder. The drawers bearing the name “L. E. Fisher” on the band were bought at a lodging house at Ipswich. They originally belonged to a domestic servant at Kirkley; near Lowestoft. Her mother sold the drawers as rags while staying near her daughter in November 1888. She was traced to Byker, near Newcastle, her father, who had marked the clothing, recognized his handwriting, to Bill Quay, on the Tyne.

Mary Jane Kelly was known as: Marie Jeanette Kelly, Mary Ann Kelly, Ginger, Fair Emma, Mary Janet Kelly and Lizzie Fisher.

A widow had a certain status in Victorian society ...

Why would a married woman, recently widowed, use her maiden name (Kelly) and not her married name (Davies)? A widow had a certain status in Victorian society ...

"Barnett told the press that she 'kept out of the way' on one occasion when her father came to London to look for her. A story that suggests that she was anxious to escape her past. It is also unlikely that Barnett recalled her random recollections accurately. Nevertheless, there is almost certainly some truth in Barnett's narrative." Sugden.

But then if she was intent on hiding why use one of the names by which she was known? Why not create an alias?

She was in contact with at least one of her relatives in Ireland. Perhaps that answers my question posed above regarding an alias. Mary's Landlord, John McCarthy, believed she received letters from her mother. But Mary stated she was estranged from her family. I believe the correspondence was from her 'sister' Bridget. She doesn't reappear in the census until 1891. I think she returned to Ireland with her Irish husband, Edward Davies the cab driver, for the period covering the census of 1881 and soon after her marriage.

OK, I've answered my question about not inventing a name, but why return to her maiden name?

Cold Case: Jack The Ripper.

Cold Case  www.questtv.co.uk/ aired 26th Dec 2015.

Cold Case: Jack The Ripper. "If it's good enough for the investigating officer at the time, it's good enough for me..." Therefore, the man who made that statement isn't satisfied they found the right man! Macnaughten, who believed the Ripper was Kaminsky, wasn't a serving officer in 1888.

Mary Kelly

Mary Kelly.

Blindingly, bloody obvious.

Ah! Bridget and Mary are first cousins. At last. She speaks. OK, just a murmur, but surprisingly, she's in a place that raised an eyebrow.

Yet another Mary Jane Kelly.

Yet another Mary Jane Kelly.
Ireland Civil Registration Indexes
Name     Mary Jane Kelly
Event Type     Marriage
Event Date     Apr - Jun 1878
Event Place     Galway, Ireland
Registration Quarter and Year     Apr - Jun 1878
Registration District     Galway.

Name: Mary Jane Kelly

Mary Jane Kelly
mentioned in the record of John Kelly
Name     Mary Jane Kelly
Gender    Female
Son     John Kelly
Other information in the record of John Kelly
from Ireland Births and Baptisms
Name     John Kelly
Gender     Male
Birth Date     12 Mar 1881
Birthplace     Parsonstown, Kings, Ireland
Mother's Name     Mary Jane Kelly.

This Mary Jane is an unmarried mother. Parsonstown workhouse would be the the position of last resort for a woman bearing an illegitimate child.

Cousins perhaps?

More Kellys living in Wrexham. Cousins perhaps? Unfortunately the head of the house isn't listed.

Bridget Kelly

England and Wales Census, 1851 born 1845

Name		Bridget Kelly
Event Type		Census
Event Date		1851
Event Place		, Denbighshire, Wales
Registration District		Wrexham
Residence Note		Mount Street
Gender		Female
Age		6
Relationship to Head of Household		Daughter
Birth Year (Estimated)		1845
Birthplace		Ireland
Household	Role		Gender	Age	Birthplace
Bridget Kelly	Daughter	1845	F	6	Ireland
Cathrine Kelly	Niece	1832	F	19	Ireland
John Kelly	Nephew	1817	M	34	Ireland
Patrick Kelly	Nephew	1841	M	10	Ireland
William Freeman			M	18	Liverpool, Lancashire
Bryan O’Neil			M	70	Ireland
Thomas Munchon			M	40	Ireland
Bridget Munchon		1815	F	36	Ireland

Joe Barnett and Bridget Kelly.

Most of what is known about Mary Kelly is taken from Joseph Barnett's statement.
Her name: Mary Kelly. Her age: twenty five. Her age on marriage: sixteen. Her husband's name: John Davies or Davis. His death in a  mine explosion. She had a child living with her: six to seven years of age. etc etc. All well reported and easily found with a few keywords in a search engine.
There is John Davies killed in a mine explosion Brymbo 1880. This would place her marriage, common law or not, in the year 1878, 1877, if she were married to this collier for two to three years .
Why would 'Mary Kelly' move to London?

There is a correlation or at least coincidental data regarding the discredited Kellys of .Brymbo. I've not discounted them, not yet ...
The census of 1871:

Name	Bridget Kelly
Event Type	Census
Event Date	1871
Event Place	Lodge, Brymbo, Denbighshire, Wales
Enumeration District	4
Gender	Female
Age	12
Relationship to Head of Household	Daughter
Birth Year (Estimated)	1859
Birthplace	C Galway, Ireland

***

Hubert Kelly	Head	M	38	C Galway, Ireland
Bridget Kelly	Wife	F	36	C Roscommon, Ireland
John Kelly	Son	M	14	C Galway, Ireland
Bridget Kelly	Daughter	F	12	C Galway, Ireland
Hubert Kelly	Son	M	10	C Galway, Ireland
Mary A Kelly	Daughter	F	8	C Galway, Ireland
Patrick Kelly	Son	M	3	C Galway, Ireland
Elizabeth Kelly	Daughter	F	1	C Galway, Ireland

***
Bridget Kelly has toddled off from this family home by 1881.

Bridget Kelly married one of the following people Edwin Senior or Edward Davies.

Marriage
Registration Quarter     Apr-May-Jun
Registration Year     1878
Registration District     Wrexham
County     Denbighshire
Event Place     Wrexham, Denbighshire, Wales
***
Curiously, Bridget's mother (also called Bridget) comes from Roscommon Ireland and Edward Davies was born in Roscommon Ireland.

So why did 'Mary Kelly' go to London?  Because her sister was there? I'm not saying I believe these people have a relationship with the Mary Kelly because I simply don't know, but the following is intriguing.
Bridget Kelly turns up again in the census of 1891, 1901 and then again in 1911. She's living in London with Edward Davies and he is listed as a cab driver:

Bridget Davies

England and Wales Census, 1891

Event Type	Census
Event Date	1891
County	London
Parish	St Marylebone
Ecclesiastical Parish	THE RECTORY
Registration District	Marylebone
Residence Note	Westmorland Street
Gender	Female
Age	31
Marital Status	Married
Relationship to Head of Household	Wife
Birth Year (Estimated)	1860
Birthplace	Ireland Galway

Household	Role	Gender	Age	Birthplace
Edward Davies	Head	M	36	Ireland Co Roscommon
Bridget Davies	Wife	F	31	Ireland Galway
Kathleen M Davies	Daughter	F	10M	London, England

***
Edward Davies

England and Wales Census, 1901

Name			Edward Davies
Event Type			Census
Event Date			31 Mar 1901
Event Place			St Pancras, London, Middlesex, England
County			London, Middlesex
Civil Parish			St Pancras
Ecclesiastical Parish			St Mary Somers Town
Sub-District			Somers Town
Registration District			St Pancras
Residence Note			Clarendon Street
Gender			Male
Age			45
Occupation			CAB DRIVER
Relationship to Head of Household			Head
Birth Year (Estimated)			1856
Birthplace			Ireland
Household	Role	Gender		Age	Birthplace
Edward Davies	Head	M		45	Ireland
Bridget Davies	Wife	F		37	Ireland
Kathleen Davies	Daughter	F		10	Marylebone, London
Edward F Davies	Son	M		9	St Pancras, London
Mercedes M Davies	Daughter	F		6	St Pancras, London

***

Bridget Davies

England and Wales Census, 1911

Name	Bridget Davies
Event Type	Census
Event Date	1911
County	London
Parish	St Pancras
Sub-District	East St Pancras
Registration District	St Pancras
Gender	Female
Age	48
Birthplace	Ballinasloe Resident, County Galway.

***
The last tie, so far, linking these families together, Bridget of Brymbo's sister, Elizabeth, was born in Ballinsinasloe, Galway:
Hubert Kelly
mentioned in the record of Elizabeth
Name     Hubert Kelly
Gender    Male
Wife     Bridget Kelly
Daughter     Elizabeth
Other information in the record of Elizabeth
from Ireland Births and Baptisms
Name     Elizabeth
Gender     Female
Christening Place     32, BALLINASLOE, GAL, IRE
Birth Date     06 Apr 1870
Birthplace     Ballinasloe, Gal, Ire
Father's Name     Hubert Kelly
Mother's Name     Bridget Kelly

A trained soldier would know this . . .

A strike to the solar plexus will deflate the lungs. No muscles cover this area below the sternum. It is the most efficient spot to hit to wind someone.

'If someone hits this position it will hurt. The pain will subside in a few moments, but it takes longer for the lungs to inflate. The pain fades, but it takes several really deep breaths before the lungs fill and it is possible to speak . . . or scream.' The Art of Writing Fight Sequences.

A trained soldier would know this . . . 

John Davies of Brymbo didn't exist? So who's this?

Jack the Ripper.John Davies, collier, of  Brymbo, died in a mining accident. Is this the husband of Mary Kelly and said not to exist? If so Mary Kelly had a child.
"c. 1879: At the age of 16 she marries a collier named Davies. He is killed in an explosion two or three years later. There is a suggestion that there might have been a child in this marriage."
According to the family records he was twenty six when he died and born in 1854. As he died in June 1880 that's a five month window to find his place and date of birth date and through him discover 'Mary Kelly'.

Davies was killed in a mine explosion.

"Davies was killed in a mine explosion. The mine-owners stalled for eighteen months before paying her a miserable pittance by way of a widow's compensation, and it was this delay which drove Mary on to the streets, first in the Tiger Bay region of Cardiff, and later in London." Tom Cullen.
He's made an emphatic statement in his book, Autumn of Terror. 
The gratuity had a moral means:
'Any free member ... who may by losing a limb, or having one disabled by accident or otherwise, or through blindness, imperfect vision, apoplexy, epilepsy or paralysis, be rendered permanently unable to follow any of the branches of the trade ... (provided such was not the result of intemperance or other improper conduct), shall receive the sum of £100 on the production to the Executive Council of satisfactory medical and other testimony of such permanent disablement.
Finally, the union offered members a funeral benefit, which provided ten pounds on their death. Five pounds was paid on the death of their wife. The aim was not to assist the dependents of a dead member, but to ensure that members received a proper burial and wake. The only provision for widows and orphans was a separate discretionary Benevolent Fund, funded from special levies.'
It would appear Mary Kelly lacked moral (Victorian) standards, if indeed Tom Cullen's assertion is correct.

Mary Kelly's child

There can only be one person. Thinking aloud really...
It doesn't fit with the story I'd conjured.
I'll check this again, and probably again. Then some more.
'Mary Kelly' wasn't called Mary Kelly and she wasn't ruddy Irish, but she knew the family. Came from the same village.
But why call herself a member of the Kelly family?
So she wasn't a catholic ... Least her son wasn't, unless he followed his father's denomination.

John Davies, husband of "Mary Kelly".

He exists.  He has a researchable beginning and an end to his life. Within his framework is 'Mary Kelly,' who appears to have a child. Although, if this offspring is female ...
Tom Cullen, wrote about Mary Kelly's abandonment by the friendly societies, or pit clubs. I wished he'd referenced his certainty. But John's widow is in print and reported.
So what did Tom Cullen know? And where the hell are his notes?

Strange, Mary Kelly inspires such devotion but her acolytes fear finding her. But she's there, about two hundred or so monikers distant in the tedious genealogical trawling.
Two women, so far, have anomalies. Either would make a good story.

Mary Ann – An effeminate man.

I have no idea what this signifies, if anything, bearing in Mind Eddowes used this moniker after her drunken incarceration by the City Police: Mary Ann – An effeminate man. (L. London, 19 cent.). Passing English of the Victorian era: a dictionary of heterodox English, slang and phrase.
 5ft 7 ins is tall for a woman of the period.

John Davies (alleged husband of Mary Kelly)

Ooh, now that is intriguing. John Davies (alleged husband of Mary Kelly) according to a newspaper report, left a wife and child. It doesn't say whether a son or daughter. And why, oh why, couldn't it have given her name? It merely states the wife of John Davies.
Mary Kelly, according to some witness statements, had a son who ranged from age seven  to eight.

The term regarding John Davies's death was stated as 'odd'.

 Tom Cullen. Autumn of Terror:

..... Davies was killed in a mine explosion. The mine-owners stalled for eighteen months before paying her a miserable pittance by way of a widow's compensation, and it was this delay which drove Mary on to the streets, first in the Tiger Bay region of Cardiff, and later in London.

 I wonder, with the caveats applied by insurance societies, the debate was over whether this was an accident. The term regarding John Davies's death was stated as 'odd'.

'It has long since been a practice in the English colliery districts, on the occasion of accidents, to make provision for the injured or survivors of the killed, by means of contributions, not only from the workmen, but also from the employers. The proceedings in earlier days were the same as those in Friendly Societies of the primitive form. Collections were first started to meet each case as it arose; in course of time, regular subscriptions were levied, and a fund was thus established, which, however, invariably proved inadequate when any great catastrophe occurred. These societies, or " pit-clubs," as they were called, being as a rule restricted to the workmen in a particular colliery, could not possibly, thus isolated as they were, bear the risks of any accident of magnitude. The consequence of this was, that as soon as any calamity took place, involving the loss of many lives and necessitating the relief of many families, they were compelled to appeal to public benevolence.'

Elizabeth Stride and the view into the yard.

In the search for Mary Kelly

I came across this:

Old Irish naming conventions

For sons

The 1st son was named after the father's father.
The 2nd son was named after the mother's father.
The 3rd son was named after the father.
The 4th son was named after the father's eldest brother.
The 5th son was named after the mother's eldest brother.

For daughters

The 1st daughter was named after the mother's mother.
The 2nd daughter was named after the father's mother.
The 3rd daughter was named after the mother.
The 4th daughter was named after the mother's eldest sister.
The 5th daughter was named after the father's eldest sister.

Which should assist in the quest for the illusive Mary.

Mary Kelly. Now there’s a coincidence.

·  Kate Eddowes called herself Mary Ann Kelly on release from jail. She was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct on the night of her murder.

·  Elizabeth Jackson was murdered and dismembered June 1889.

·  Elizabeth Jackson’s drawers bore the name LE. Fisher.

·  Kate Eddowes’s sister was called Elizabeth Fisher.

·  The newspapers reported the murder victim’s, Mary Kelly, name as Fisher. “With regard to the drawers bearing the name ‘L E. Fisher’ on the band, and which the man Faircloth had stated had been bought at a lodging-house at Ipswich, it had been found that they belonged originally to a domestic servant at Kirkley, near Lowestoft, and had been sold as old rags by her mother while staying near her daughter in November last.” The Times, 26 July, 1889. Last November 188 was the month and year of Mary Kelly’s murder.

·  Elizabeth Jackson would walk Battersea Park to pick up her clients.

·  Mary Kelly would visit Lambeth to visit a friend.

·  Mary Kelly: approximately twenty five 5ft 7 in. tall with golden hair. Elizabeth Jackson: twenty five, and approximately 5ft 5 in. tall with bright sandy coloured hair. The two women had similar physical characteristics.

·  Eddowes partner was called John Kelly

·  Eddowes claimed to live in a shed in Dorset Street. Millers Court is a small room off Dorset Street.

·  13 Millers Court was host to not one murder’ Years later, in the room directly above the room where Mary Kelly lodged, 1898 26 November, Kate Marshall murdered her sister, Elizabeth Roberts.