Mary Lean daughter of Pertheneya Lean née Trevaun (unsure of spelling) and William Lean, was baptised at St Erth, Cornwall, England on 11 Jun 1826 and was buried on 19 Sep 1900 aged 74

Mary Lean's mother died c1837 when she was 10 and Mary was the eldest girl living in the household when the census was taken on 6-7 June 1841.
The household consisted at Gurlyn Mill,1, William Lean, 55,,Mine Agent,In county, and Martin Teague 55, miller. The children listed are Mary Lean 15, John Lean 14, Bodicia Lean 11, Lewis lean 10, and Elizabeth Lean 7.
On 30-31 March 1851 the siblings were living at Bullers Row, Civil Parish of Redruth, and all were born at St Erth
John Lean, Head, U,28, Lewis Lean, Brothr, U,19, Tin & Copper Miner, Bodicea Lean, Sister, U, 22, Housekeeper, and Elizth Lean, Sister, U, 17, Dress Maker,
She married Henry Ralph when she was twenty. The marriage banns for Henry and Mary were posted in the St Erth Cornwall Methodist Church on 26 July 1846. At the time Henry was a 29 year old bachelor and miner living in Cowan, about 2 miles from St Erth. The witnesses at their marriage were William Maycock and John Lean.

Two years later Henry and Mary traveled with their daughter Pertheneya to Australia aboard the William Money which departed from Bristol on 19 September 1848 and arrived in South Australia, via Plymouth on 3 January 1849 under Capt. T Buckley. The family disembarked at Adelaide. The ship was 835 tons, built in Calcutta in 1820, owned by Green & Co. Mary gave birth to Mary Elizabeth on the voyage but the baby died on 6 February 1849 aged 5 weeks old. This means she must have given birth just before the ship docked!

Sometime between 1851 and 1854 the family moved to Maldon, Victoria.
The 1856 Victorian Electoral Roll has Henry listed as a miner of Chapel Street, Maldon. There are only five male Ralph's of voting age listed on the roll. Women were not allowed to vote. According to the indexes held at the Maldon Museum and Archives, on 15 September 1857 the family were living in a brick house at 13a Spring Street, on the corner of Chapel Street, Maldon. Between the birth of William in 1862 and the birth of Christian in 1865 Henry's occupation was given as a Dairyman. Henry and two mates donated 12 oz. or £50 worth of gold to the Wesley Church in Maldon (undated).

Mary and Henry had ten children. Between 1861 and 1865 Mary lost her three youngest children and her husband Henry. Mary was 39 and her youngest child, Christian, was only 11 weeks old when Henry died aged 48.