Mary's maiden name was Attewell and she was the daughter of Frederick, a farm labourer, and Eliza, his wife, nee Dance. She was baptised at Enbourn, Berkshire, on 1 September 1867. In July 1887 she married Edwin Jesse Compton in Brighton. Her father-in-law was Edwin Compton, an artist born in Worthing in 1848, whose mother's maiden name was Dyer, which is important to this account. He gave art lessons at 6, Chapel Road, Worthing. and there are three of his paintings in Worthing Art Gallery and Museum. Edwin Jesse was witness to an attempted murder in Buckingham Road, Worthing, on 13 July 1892. The screams of children were heard in the backyard of a neighbouring house where Robert Dyer, his wife, Ellen Elizabeth, and their five children lived. Ellen was discovered standing beside a water tub holding her youngest child, William Robert, aged 2 years, face down in the water. Emily Richards, of 3, Buckingham Road, next door, struggled to pull Ellen away from the tub and called for help. Another neighbour, Mrs Compton, helped by a young man, Edwin (Jesse) Compton, (aged 24 at the time) managed to take the drenched but conscious child from Ellen and took him to her own home. This was not MARY Compton but reported in the Worthing Gazette to be REBECCA Compton, Robert Dyer's sister. She was the wife of Albert Compton, of 5, Buckingham Road, a brother of Edwin Compton, the artist. William soon recovered and it was discovered that his mother had been detained in the Haywards Heath Asylum between 19 January 1884 and 30 August 1884 and was generally known to be convinced that her children would be taken away. She was arrested and at Lewes was found guilty but "not responsible for her actions" and she was ordered to be "detained during Her Majesty's pleasure." Where she was detained was Broadmoor. She was discharged on 17 May 1897. Surprisingly, in the 1901 Census she was back with her husband, Robert, and children, including William, now aged 11. Meanwhile, Mary Compton had died during the Typhoid epidemic on 23rd August 1893 and on 27 October 1894 Edwin Jesse Compton married his cousin, Rebecca Compton, the daughter of Albert and Rebecca Compton. Mary was buried at Heene on 25 August 1893. Her husband was given a small amount of money from the Sick Poor Fund to help with funeral expenses. He wrote to the local paper to complain that it wasn't enough to cover the funeral and child care costs.