Chasing George through Mary Ann . . .

Looking at the 1880 census. I see that Mary Ann claims her father was born in Ohio, her mother in Georgia. These are among the first clues about her and George’s parents. I’m skeptical, of course, as this is the only evidence of her parents origins. Additional lines of data are preferable, but it is another point to research.

Nothing new to report on George J. Mathews. Let me again summarize what I know about him. First, he was born in 1824 in Meigs County, Ohio. Second, in 1845 he married Emeline Watt in DeWitt County, Illinois. Together, they had four children: Albert, Sarah, Mary, and Amanda. Third, about 1857 George marries Charlotte Shuler in Lawrence, Kansas. They have a son, George W. in 1856. Yes, I know the dates show that George W. was born before his parents were married. This probably wasn’t true, but I’m following what the data says rather than speculating . . . for now. Fourth, in January 1862, George J. and perhaps his son, Albert, volunteer for the 1^st Kansas Battery – Light Artillery.  In May 1862, George dies from pneumonia at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His place of interrment is unknown.

George J. has a sister, Mary Ann, who married William Baldwin in McLean County, Illinois in 1837. William also served with the 1^st Kansas Battery, dying in 1863 from wounds inflicted from an accidental shell explosion.

As dead men leave few clues, I’ve latched on to Mary Ann. In hopes that she left some paper trail that will lead me to her parents, and the grave of her dear brother and my great-great-great grandfather George J.

This past week, with the help of my collaborator in Oregon, I discovered the transcription of an 1895 Rocky Mountain News obituary on Find-A-Grave.com. While the dates do not exactly match, I do believe that this is the same Mary Ann Baldwin that calls George J. Mathews her brother. Here is an excerpt from that obituary:

“Mrs. Baldwin with her husband settled in Illinois in 1832 when that country was part of the wild West, moving in 1853 to Missouri, and two years later to Kansas. She participated in the first battle between the whites in Kansas, a distinction of which she was justly proud.

Ex-Governor Robinson, while attempting to remove Mrs. Baldwin's tent from a section of land where Lawrence now is received a slight injury at her hands. During the late war she was taken prisoner by Quantrel's (sic) band a few miles from Lawrence, but was shortly after returned by a strong guard.

Mrs. Baldwin was the mother of ten children, all of whom are living and were present at her demise. She also had three grandchildren and four great grandchildren.”

The article notes that she was buried at Riverside Cemetery. A trip to Denver, Colorado, the Denver Public Library, and Riverside Cemetery is in order to obtain this article and photograph her headstone. Additionally, there is a ton of research that can be done from the contents of the above article. Which battle was the “first battle,” in Kansas? Can her imprisonment by Quantrill’s men be verified? Again, pursuing these clues may lead me to George J.