Mary Jane Snodgrass

b. 16 March 1839, d. 3 September 1902
FatherSamuel M. Snodgrass1,2 b. 7 Dec 1805, d. 8 Jan 1843
MotherMargaret Clark3,1 b. 20 Oct 1803, d. 9 Jun 1847
Birth16 Mar 1839 Mary Jane Snodgrass was born on 16 Mar 1839 in Washington County, Virginia.4 
Ward26 Aug 1844  Mary Jane's father died in 1843. In August, 1844, Mary Jane was named the ward of her mother, and of her mother's brother Robert Clark.2 
Cens-18501850  However Mary Jane's mother died in June 1849. By 1850 Mary Jane was living in the household of her uncle John Clark and his family.5 
Ward27 Nov 1851  The following year the Washington County courts named Robert Grant as her guardian. He was the husband of Mary Jane's older sister Ann.6 
Marriage24 Nov 1859 She married John Buchanan Edmondson, son of Andrew Edmondson and Rosanna Buchanan, on 24 Nov 1859 in Washington County, Virginia.7,8 
Cens-18608 Aug 1860 The summer after they married John and Mary Jane were enumerated on the 1860 federal census for Washington County. Mary Jane would have been 7 months pregnant with their first child, Samuel, who died at two months of age. John was a farmer whose personal property was worth $3,200.9 
Cens-1860- Slave18 Aug 1860  This included the 3 slaves residing with the family.10 
Military When the Civil War broke out John enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in Company D of the First Virginia Cavalry.11 
  A son was born to the couple in April 1865, a few days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse. John and Mary Jane named the newborn Robert Lee Edmondson. 
Cens-18805 Jun 1880 The 1880 census clarified that the family was living in the Holston District of Washington County. John and Mary both listed their ages as 41. Their children were enumerated as: Rosa 18, Robert 15, Margaret 12, Andrew 12, William 7, James 4 and Charles two.12 
  Three additional children were born following the 1880 census.13,14 
Widowed14 Mar 1890  Mary was widowed on 14 Mar 1890. 
20 May 1898  She may have spent a few years in Clayton, New Mexico in the years after John's death.15 
Death3 Sep 1902 Mary died on 3 Sep 1902 at age 63.4 
Burial She was buried at Rock Spring Cemetery in Washington County, Virginia.4 

Research Comment:

This family suffered the loss of many of its members in the years after the 1880 census enumeration. Son James died of unrecorded causes in September 1880 or '81 at age 4 or 5. John Edmondson himself died in March 1890 at age 51. Although his death was recorded in the Washington County death records the cause was not legible. What is known is that in the 4 years that followed at least 4 children died of consumption: Margaret (May 1890 at 22), Charles (July 1893 at 15), William (Dec. 1893 at 20) and Andrew (Feb. 1894 at 23). Another son, Robert, died in 1891 at age 26, but his cause of death was not recorded.

Daughter Rosa, who had married William Cole in 1884, died in 1897 at age 35. She herself lost two children in the 1890s, including a young son who died of consumption in 1896 (another daughter died at 18 in 1905). John's mother, Rosanna (Buchanan) Edmondson died in 1894. John's sister, Rosa Miriam (Edmondson) Clark died of consumption in April 1892, two months after giving birth to twin daughters who also died. Interestingly, another of John's sisters, Margaret (Edmondson) Reed, also lost 6 children at young ages. The only one for whom a death record has been located was Nancy Reed, who died in 1896 at age 24, also of consumption

Of John and Mary Jane's 11 children only 3 survived at the turn of the century, and only one, daughter Mary Helen, married and remained in Virginia. John and Mary Jane's 2 surviving sons, Frank and Marion, both married and moved to New Mexico where John's brother Samuel and several of his children had settled.

Related Links and Images:

Mary's inscription on John and Mary Edmondson family monument (see John's page for additional photos)
Other interments in Rock Spring Cemetery

Family

John Buchanan Edmondson b. 14 Dec 1838, d. 14 Mar 1890
Children
ChartsDescendants of James Clark and Isabella Breckenridge
Last Edited26 Jul 2013

Citations

  1. [S6] Thomas Colley, Washington Co. VA Marriages 1853-1880, p. 101. Bride's parents listed as Samuel M. & Margaret Snodgrass.
  2. [S28] Gerald H. Clark, Guardian Bonds Washington Co., VA, p. 36. Robert Clark and Margaret Snodgrass named guardians of Ann L., James C., Martha G., Mary Jane and William L. Snodgrass, orphans of Samuel M. Snodgrass, deceased. Bond: $4,000. Sureties: James Clark and Peter Clark.
  3. [S11] "Family notes of Mrs. Lizzie Ryburn."
  4. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 207. Mary J. Edmondson, w/o John B. Edmondson, 16 Mar 1839-3 Sept 1902.
  5. [S367] Capt. Clark household, 1850 U.S. Census, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., 67th District, p. (after 107 stamped), dwelling 612, family 612, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Dec. 2006, image 80 of 289. Enumeration includes: Capt. Clark, age 68, farmer, owns land val at $4,000; Mary, 54; Rosanah, 23; Martha 21; James, 20; Elizabeth, 15; John, 10; Ellen, 7; M. J. Snodgrass, 9; James Rhea, 18, farmer; all b. VA.
  6. [S28] Gerald H. Clark, Guardian Bonds Washington Co., VA, p. 46.
  7. [S6] Thomas Colley, Washington Co. VA Marriages 1853-1880, p. 101. John Buchanan Edmondson, 21y, sgl, b & res WCV, farmer, s/o Andrew & Rosanah Edmondson AND Mary Jane Snodgrass, 20y, sgl, b & res WCV, d/o Samuel M. & Margaret Snodgrass; 24 Nov. 1859.
  8. [S1344] Notification re the estate of Jean Buchanan, dec'd, The Journal Virginian, Oct. 11, 1962. No marriage date given.
  9. [S234] John B. Edmondson household, 1860 U.S. cens, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., Liberty Hall post office, p. 170, dwelling 1268, family 1215, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Sept. 2005, image 172 of 361. Enumeration includes: John B. Edmondson, 21, farmer, personal real estate of $3,200; Mary Jane, 21; both b. VA.
  10. [S1308] John B. Edmondson, owner, 1860 U.S. census, Washington Co., Virginia, slave schedule, p. 14 (original script), line 12, viewed online at Ancestry.com. 3 slaves: 1 male (4y) and 2 females (27 and 2y); 1 slave house.
  11. [S958] James L. Douthat, Civil War Records of Washington Co., Virginia, p. 53.
  12. [S165] John B. Edmondson household, 1880 U.S. Census, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., Holston District, ED 100, page 246C (stamped), dwelling 87, family 87, viewed online at www.Ancestry.com, Nov. 2004, image 11 of 54. Enumeration includes: John B. Edmondson, 41, farmer; Mary J., 41, wife; Rosa B., dau, 18; Robt Lee, son, 15; Margaret, dau, 12; Andrew, son, 10; William S., son, 7; James C., son, 4; Charles H., son, 2; all b. VA; all parents b. VA.
  13. [S979] Dr. Howard V. Jones, "Descendants of Andrew Edmiston", report dated 2004.
  14. [S1344] Notification re the estate of Jean Buchanan, dec'd, The Journal Virginian, Oct. 11, 1962.
  15. [S16] Howard Jones reports that the records of Rock Spring Church in Washington County, Virginia state that Mary Jane was dismissed from the church in 1898 for Clayton, New Mexico. I have been unable to locate her on the 1900 census in either Virginia or New Mexico.
  16. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 207. Samuel Meek Edmondson, s/o John B. & M.J. Edmondson, 15 Oct.-14 Dec. 1860.
  17. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 207. Rosa B. Edmondson, d/o John B. & M.J. Edmondson, 12 Nov. 1861- 20 Feb. 1897.
  18. [S123] William R. Wheeler, Washington Co., VA Marriage Licenses 1881-1890, p. 20, 31. Rosa B. Edmondson, 23, sgl, b. & resid. Washington Co., VA, d/o John B. & Mary Edmondson AND Wm R. Cole, 26, sgl, b & resid WCV, farmer, s/o James & Eliza Cole; 15 Oct. 1884.
  19. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 207. Robert L. Edmondson, s/o John B. & M.J. Edmondson, 24 Apr. 1865-26 May 1891.
  20. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 207. Maggie C. Edmondson, d/o John B. & M.J. Edmondson, 4 Oct. 1867-17 May 1890.
  21. [S3] Moore and Stephens, Washington Co., VA Birth and Death Records, p. 43. Andrew Russell Edmondson, b. 1870 to John B. & Mary J. Edmondson, Glade Spring twp.
  22. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 207. William S. Edmondson, s/o John B. & M.J. Edmondson, 17 Feb. 1873-5 Dec. 1893.
  23. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 207. James Clark Edmondson, s/o John B. & M.J. Edmondson, d. 7 Sept. 1880, age 4y 10m 26d (new stone: 11 Oct. 1875-7 Sep 1881).
  24. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 207. Charles H. Edmondson, s/o John B. & M.J. Edmondson, 16 Jan 1878-17 Jul 1893.
  25. [S8] Hockett and Hunt, 1891-1902 Marriages of Washington Co. VA, p. 32. Frank Preston Edmondson, 21, s/o John B. & Mary J. Edmondson, farmer AND Stella May Pafford, 21, d/o W.F. & C.E. Pafford; marr: 2 June 1902 by W.W. Hicks.