E2MGG

Hi Malcolm,

I think you should start with what you know, you know her name Sarah Jane Bates & she died in 1920's, so look for her death cert .

I had a quick look at familysearch.org (free site) & I put in a search for her with a death from 1910 - 1930 & it produced 1582 suitable deaths, if you wish to narrow the search you will be more successful.  On your mother's & aunts birth certificates, it will state if she is married & between those dates you will know that she changed her name & the name of her partner, so using that information look for the relevant marraige cert.

Ancestry & findmypast (fee based) sites carry the 1901 & 1911 census & you could use those to find where she lived & with whom did she live with.  On both sites you will also be able to get marraige & death certificates & details of any children she may have had. 

I am assuming that she has a link with Ireland, hence your query, to take the query over here, you will need to find out the County she came from & then narrow it down to Parish & townland.

Best of Luck with your searches, if you need any more direction, please let me know.  

Carmel O'Callaghan