Meet Mary

She was born somewhere in Texas. (Aug 1849)
She had an older brother and an older sister.
I think she was their half-sibling. I think her brother, Samuel, and her sister, Susanna's, mother died some time after Samuel was born. Mary's mother was Winnie.
She spent her early years in South Central Texas, in and around Medina County.
At the age of 18 (1867)
she married a man about 13 years older, William Parrish.
I don't know much about William J. Parrish. I have lots of theories but zero factual knowledge.
10 months after they married,
Mary and William welcomed a baby boy, James E. Parrish. (Oct 1868)
They lived in Kinney County, Texas. A few years later, another boy arrived Thomas Walker Parrish. (1871)
I am uncertain about what happened to this family of four during the next 9 years but I do know it must have been one heck of a tough time.
Nine years after Thomas arrived this family is now living at Uncle Samuel's house without dad and Mary has re-married and the new husband Lawrence Hagarty has fled to Mexico without a trace. (1880)
Poor Mary.
She is 31, two children, two husbands- but none around for support.
I lost track of Mary around this time and don't meet up with her for another 20 years.
She is 51 (1900)
(but she fibs about her age). She has remarried -been married 18 years now to a man named Calvin M Slator. They have two children, Clara who is 16 and Joseph who is 8. They are living in north Texas by this time. Not sure what brought them there but seems they liked it.
I like to think this was a good time in Mary's life.
When next I hear from Mary, some 10 years have past. She is living in New Mexico with her son Joseph. She has lost Calvin. She is 61. (1910)
By 71, (1920)
she is living in Los Angeles........I am not clear what brings Mary out west. I suspect that her daughter Clara, has married and is settled near by with her own family. I like to think she was looked in on and visited often.
At 81, (1930)
Mary is back in Texas living with Thomas in San Antonio. Thomas has raised his family, lost his wife, remarried and adopted an orphan child.
Mary dies soon after.
What a life she led.

Mary E. Hutchison Parrish Hagarty Slater -she was the daughter of William Hutchison (born about 1805) they say he was some sort of doctor -but it is hard to say.
Her eldest child, James E Parrish was my great grandfather. He abandoned his family after the death of his wife. My grandfather Carroll Henry Parrish was raised by his maternal grandparents in the tiny town of D'Hanis, Medina county, Texas.

A few years ago, I got an e-mail from the Hagarty family in Ireland. They were looking for information on Lawrence Hagarty. Seems Lawrence had sent many letters home to his mother in Ireland. He also ran into so legal trouble and is said to have fled to Mexico. Imagine my thrill when the Hagarty family said they had a picture of Mary. They sent it to me. What a moment it was, when I first laid eyes on my great great grandmother.

Much of what I have learned has been from census records. I haven't found any great grandchildren.

She and Thomas (her other son) are buried in unmarked graves in a San Antonio cemetery.

Go back and highlight the spaces after Mary's ages....the corresponding year is typed in white type.