Mary Jane (Saunders) Mattox (1838 - 1893)

Born 2 Dec 1838 in Madison, Arkansas, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Perry Washington Mattox — married 26 Nov 1861 in Hunt County, Texas, United States

Died 6 Jul 1893 at age 54 in Wagner, Hunt, Texas, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Ellen Steger [send private message] and Robert Reedy [send private message]

Biography

• Fact: Residence (1870) Precinct 2, Hunt, Texas, United States
• Fact: Residence (1880) Precinct 1, Hunt, Texas, United States

Mary was born in 1838 in northwest Arkansas. She was the daughter of Levi Sanders and Martha Sherrod. He migrated in about 1849 with his family to the fledgling town of Buffalo in what was then Navarro County, now Henderson County, Texas where he and his family appear in the 1850 Census.^[1] The town failed to prosper and by 1852 they were living in Bell County, Texas where her father was the County Sheriff and a Texas Ranger. During the winter of 1852-53, the family migrated to Hunt County, Texas where they remained until after the CIvil War.

In 1857 at the age of 19, Mary married William H Wilson, age 30, in Hunt County, Texas. based on the birth of their daughter in 1858 as shown in the 1860 Census.^[2] William Wilson and Mary Jane Saunders had the following children:

1. Callie Wilson (1858-)

William died after the 1860 Census, which was enumerated that August, and before Mary married her second husband in late 1861. William Wilson was likely the ranching partner of Mary's father Levi. Family lore tells of an Indian raiding party, probably Comanche raiders from their nearby Oklahoma reservation, who attacked Levi's home and kidnapped his wife Martha and one of their young daughters. Levi and (William) Wilson along with several ranch hands chased the Indians and engaged in a gun battle during which Levi was badly wounded and Wilson was killed.

In 1861, Mary married Perry Washington Mattox, age 38, in Hunt County, Texas.^[3] Perry was a farmer and they lived for the remainder of their lives in Hunt County.^[4][5][6] Perry Mattox and Mary Jane Saunders had the following children:

1. Ellen Mattox (1863-1866)
2. Metta Virginia Mattox (1866-1945), m. 1882 James Francis Moody
3. Mollie Oliver Mattox (1869-1961), m. 1887 Solomon Wesley Wyatt
4. Judge Perry Mattox (1871-1960), m. 1904 Irene Young
5. Mattie Augusta Mattox (1874-1942), m. 1891 Pomeroy M Wyatt
6. Magnolia Iola "Maggie" Mattox (1875-1969), m. 1895 Clinton Calvin Epps
7. William Spaulding Mattox (1878-1954), m. 1901 Mary Clark
8. Mertyl Best Mattox (1880-1894)

It is not clear what happened to Mary's first daughter Callie, but she evidently passed away before the 1860 Census. Several of Mary's children lived into their 80s and 90s. Mary passed away in 1893 at the age of 55. Perry passed away in 1901 at the age of 78.

Sources

1. ↑ The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: Navarro, Navarro, Texas; Roll: 913; Page: 95b
2. ↑ The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Residence Date: 1860; Home in 1860: Beat 5, Hunt, Texas; Roll: M653_1298; Page: 322; Family History Library Film: 805298
3. ↑ Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin, Texas; Texas Marriage Index, 1966-2019
4. ↑ Year: 1870; Census Place: Precinct 2, Hunt, Texas; Roll: M593_1593; Page: 348B
5. ↑ Year: 1880; Census Place: Precinct 1, Hunt, Texas; Roll: 1312; Page: 430A; Enumeration District: 064
6. ↑ Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 2, Hunt, Texas; Roll: 1647; Page: 5; Enumeration District: 0125

• Ancestry Profile: accessed 5 July 2020, profile for Mary Jane Saunders.
• Unsourced family tree handed down to Robert Reedy.