Mary, the youngest child of William and Mary Ann Beardsley, was born at Shottle and baptised at Christ Church, Belper, on 1st May 1864. She worked as a general servant before marrying George Henry Morral in 1891. After their marriage they lived in Ilkeston, with George initially working as a coal miner, but by 1901 he was a Hay and Milk dealer, and by 1911 he was a general grocer, with Mary assisting in the business.
After her husband’s death in 1928, Mary moved to The Yews, Lane End, Belper, where she died on 21st June 1938. She was buried three days later at Duffield Cemetery on 24th June.
Mary wrote her last will and testament on 10th November 1933 in which she appointed her nephews Frank Leonard Beardsley and William Bowmer, together with Thomas Henry Sleath, as her Executors and Trustees. She bequeathed each of them £5 ‘(free of duty) as some acknowledgement for their trouble’. Mary directed that her household goods, furniture, chattels and effects be held on trust for the ‘free use and enjoyment’ of her brother George ‘during the term of his natural life’. Mary owned five houses on Baker Gate, Ilkeston: she bequeathed number 3 to William Bowmer; number 4 was bequeathed to his brother Isaac Bowmer; number 6 was bequeathed to his sister Olive; and number 7 was bequeathed to his sister Mary. Number 2 was bequeathed to Mary Morral’s niece Annie Sleath. Mary also directed that the remainder of her estate be converted into money and shared equally between these five beneficiaries plus six children of her brother Isaac, and the widow of her nephew Laurence Beardsley. On George's death, the items held in trust were to be sold and the proceeds shared equally between these 12 beneficiaries (George Beardsley died in 1944).