Sylvia Robbins of Coed Hirwaun, Port Talbot, says: I'm researching my family tree but have come to a full stop over one line.  Old family stories say that Mary Matthews lived in St. Albans and as a girl was known as "the beauty of St Albans" and played in the Abbey grounds.  She married John Cooper but we don't know where - although we believe there is some link with Leatherhead in Surrey.  We have a record of them in the 1841 census living in London and so we can date her birth to between 1791 and 1796.  The other family story concerning them was that one of their sons had the family tree traced back to royalty although we don't know whether it was from the Matthews or Cooper side.  Mind you, I would be surprised if it were true because every other line that we have traced back has ended in illegitimacy and poverty!  I have just E-Mailed HALS to see if they do a search service.  I noticed that there was a Mary Matthews on the Mormon register baptised at the Abbey in 1795.  Was Matthews a common name in those parts?

The surnames Cooper and Matthews both occur in reasonable numbers in Hertfordshire, and the given names John and Mary don't help much - so there is plenty of scope for finding the wrong people - see Right Name, Wrong Body.

Familysearch shows that the parents of the Mary Matthews baptised in the Abbey in were John and Mary Matthews (which doesn't help linking via unusual family given names) and they had no other children baptised at the Abbey (I haven't looked at the other St Albans parishes). I did notice that a John and Jane Matthews had daughters baptised in the Abbey - Patty in 1792 and Anne in 1798 and I suggest you check the register to see what it says in case there is an error in indexing and all entries refer to the same family. (I have had a case where the mother's name was wrong in the register - but the error could be detected because one can be pretty sure that when a mother makes a will she knows who her daughters are!) You should also check the burial registers to ensure that the Mary Matthews baptised in 1795 did not become one of the many children who died in infancy and the marriage registers to make sure she didn't marry someone else.

I also noted, from the British Vital Records, that a John Cooper was born at Wheathampstead on 26 Oct 1790 and baptised on 28 Nov 1790, the son of Thomas and Martha Cooper. Could it be relevant?

It might well be worth trying to find Mary in London in the 1851 census - which would give the place of birth - and hopefully would give a more precise age. If she died before then, her death certificate and/or burial records should also give her age.