In 1827, at the age of 16 or 17, George Washington married Mary Ann Boyer. She was born on September 22, 1808 in Cocke Co., TN. It appears that George Washington and Mary were childhood sweethearts and lived “next door” to each other. Ironically, Mary’s brother, Henry Huffman Boyer, married George Washington’s older sister, Rachel.
George Washington and Mary had at least 8 children, the first of which was born when Washington was about 18 years old. The children are: Henry B. b. 1829, William b. December 3, 1832, George Washington, Jr. b. February 7, 1834, Harrison b. April 14, 1836, John b. abt. 1838-1839, Mary Ann b. September 7, 1841, Miles b. February 22, 1845, and Calvin b. abt. 1850. If you refer to the narrative on Washington’s parents, Darius and Polly, you can see that George Washington named his children after his siblings. In approximately 1833, George Washington took his family and pioneered westward to Clinton Co., Missouri. He homesteaded in Clinton Co., MO, for 10 years. He is listed on the 1840 census of Clinton Co., Missouri on page 50. After many hard winters, the family sold out in 1843 and caught a riverboat at Kansas City. By this time, they would have had 2 children, Henry B. and William, born in Tennessee, and 4 children, G.W. Jr., Harrison, John, and Mary Ann, born in Missouri. The O’Neills, with their 6 children, traveled down the Missouri River by boat to St. Louis and then down the Mississippi River to where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi meet. There they purchased a wagon and joined a wagon train bound for Texas. It is believed that their original destination was the coastal region of Texas, but a breaking of a wagon wheel in Leesville, Gonzales County, TX, area delayed the wagon. By the time the repairs could be made, the family had decided to stay and had found a home in the community of Leesville. They had arrived in Texas in 1845, some 2 years after leaving Missouri. In addition, Mary was pregnant during part of the travels, which may have contributed to the family settling down in Leesville rather than pushing on to the Gulf coast. Their son Miles was born February 22, 1845.
1880 Census - Gonzales, Texas - Calvin ONeal (27) head of house b. TX; Henry ONeal (16) Cousin b. TX; Mary A ONeal (63) mother b. MS; Newborn W ONeal (2) b. TX; [1]
Lived out her later years with son Calvin, but was living with Miles at time of death.[2]
Mary, died November 14, 1893 in Lavaca County, Texas, and is buried in Pilot Grove Cemetery, Yokum, Texas, Lavaca County.
The following is from [2]Find A Grave:
Mary Ann O'Neill
Birth: Sep. 22, 1808
Cocke County
Tennessee, USA
Death: Nov. 14, 1893
Yoakum
DeWitt County
Texas, USA
Daughter of Jacob Boyer & Margaret [Huffman] Boyer
Married George Washington O'Neil Married September 22, 1829 Divorced October 24, 1866
Mother of 8 children: Henry O'Neill William Miles O'Neal, Sr. George Washington O'Neill, Jr Harrison O'Neal John W. O'Neal Mary Ann [O'Neil] McFarland Miles O'Neill Calvin O'Neil
Lived out her later years living with son Calvin: but was living with son Miles at time of death.
Family links: Parents: Jacob Boyer (1763 - 1838) Margaret Huffman Boyer (1765 - 1850)
Spouse: George Washington O'Neill (1811 - 1882)
Siblings (Calculated relationship):
John Creed Boyer (1790 - 1873)*
Hannah Boyer Harned (1792 - 1850)*
Aaron Boyer (1797 - 1871)*
Elizabeth Boyer Parrott (1799 - 1862)*
Lewis Boyer (1802 - 1893)*
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Mary is 22 degrees from Zendaya Coleman, 27 degrees from Sting Sumner, 16 degrees from Josh Brolin, 19 degrees from Timothée Chalamet, 18 degrees from José Ferrer, 15 degrees from Frank Herbert, 16 degrees from Richard Jordan, 18 degrees from David Lynch, 19 degrees from Virginia Madsen, 20 degrees from Charlotte Rampling, 27 degrees from Patrick Stewart and 19 degrees from Denis Villeneuve on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
Excerpt of Gonzales County, Texas Civil Court Records Book: October 2 4, 1866 after being separated for three years, George W. O'Neill filed for a d ivorce from Mary Ann (Boyer) O'Neill. George showed up for the hearing with a lawy er, but Mary did not appear nor was she represented by legal counsel. A jury o f twelve people heard the evidence..The jury's findings were as follows: "We t he jury find that the Plaintiff, G.W. O'Neal and Mary Ann O'Neal, the Defendan t were married and lived together as man and wife several years previous to t he year 1860. We also find that the said Mary Ann O'Neal abandoned the aforesa id G.W. O'Neal with intention never to return. We find that this occured moret han three years previous to the filling of this suit." George was granted the di vorce by the court. The court also ordered that Mary was to reimburse George for th e cost of the divorce.