b. 9 June 1856, d. 5 January 1918
Birth | 9 Jun 1856 | Mary Mc Ryburn was born on 9 Jun 1856 in Washington County, Virginia.2,3 |
Marriage | 22 Feb 1882 | She married first Leander Ramsey, son of John Ramsey and Catherine Rosenblam, on 22 Feb 1882 in Washington County, Virginia.4 |
Devisee | 30 Jun 1886 | Mary's father, William Ryburn, wrote his will four years after her first marriage. He left her all the carpeting in the house, which she was to share with her sister. She also received a weaver's loom and $100 from the sale of the "Knob land". William also left her 2/3 of the farm known as the "Halls Bottom", to include the grainery and stable, the spring, and the dwelling house. The remaining 1/3 William was to sell to Mary's husband Leander Ramsey. If Mary died without issue the land was to revert to William's other heirs. Also, any property, real or personal left to Mary was to be held in a separate estate from her husband and free of any debts, management or control. William added a codicil following the death of Mary's brother, Samuel, and bequeathed Mary an additional $100.1 |
Widowed | 3 Oct 1891 | Mary was widowed at the age of 35 when Leander died in 1891 leaving her with 5, if not 6, children under the age of 8. |
Cens-1900 | 7 Jun 1900 | A few months before her second marriage Mary was recorded on the 1900 federal census. She stated that she was a farmer and the mother of 6 children, 5 of whom were living. All five were recorded with her that year.5 |
Marriage | 7 Nov 1900 | In her early 40s Mary married secondly, on 7 Nov 1900, T. H. Mitchell who was thirty-two.6 |
Cens-1910 | 16 Apr 1910 | Mary's second marriage does not appear to have been a happy one as she was divorced by 1910. She was recorded that year as the head of her household. Living with her were her sons Charles and Leander, and Charles's wife Cecelia.7 |
| | Mary's father suggested in his will that all of his children would live "comfortably" from the proceeds of his estate. Though Mary may not have wanted for material things, her life cannot have been easy. Her husband died young leaving her with 5 (possibly 6) boys, the youngest having been born just 2 weeks before his father's death. She lost one child at a young age and another in 1913 at the age of 23. And a second marriage does not appear to have been successful. Her youngest son, Leander, named for his father, died in 1920 at the age of 29, but by then Mary was also deceased. |
Death | 5 Jan 1918 | Mary died on 5 Jan 1918 at age 61.3 |
Burial | | She was buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery, Washington County, Virginia. Her headstone reads, "Mary M. Ramsey, wife of Leander Ramsey" which seems to indicate she did not keep her second husband's name.3 |