Mary Adeline (Watson) Raines (abt. 1854 - abt. 1883)

Born about 1854 in Arkansas

Wife of C. Silvanus Raines — married 31 Mar 1878 in Lincoln County, Arkansas

Descendants

Died about 1883 at about age 29 in Lincoln County Arkansas

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Joyce Henley [send private message]

Biography

For a few more details, see the biography of her husband, C. Silvanus Raines, on his profile. This is a somewhat shortened version.

According to Maude Bostian Meek via J. Little, her Raines grandparents' first names were Savannah and Addie. Addie died when Victoria was around two years old, and she was raised by Addie's mother, Grandma Parker. It's been assumed that Addie's surname was Parker, but the only available records I've found for the correct time and place point to Watson (unless I've made a grand error). If I'm correct, it could have been that Grandma Parker had remarried sometime after Addie's birth, or alternatively, the Watson surname was from an earlier marriage by Addie, though her marriage record to Silvanus (C. S.) called her "Miss". I haven't found census or marriage records to corroborate either hypothesis.

Sometime after the 1870 Census, Silvanus' first wife, Sarah, most likely died. In 1876, Silvanus (C. S.), listed as 45, a likely widower, married Julia Cameran (sic), age 28. It's uncertain what happened to Julia, but on 31 March 1878, a reportedly 46 yr old C. S. Raines, then married 24 yr old Adeline Watson, whom I think also had the name Mary. The 1880 Census listed the new family (the older children by Sarah were living nearby, some of them married) as Sylvanns (in my transcribed copy - probably misread by the transcriber), wife Mary, 1yr old Callie, and 1mo. old Christopher. Daughter Callie would be the clue that would prove Silvanus and Mary were indeed our fabled Savannah and Addie, along with an interview of their granddaughter who is my grandmother, Mary Lee Bostian Andrews that I did back in the 1970s:

Yesterday, 3 June 2015, I found Callie Raines' marriage record to Oscar Sturgis. His name seemed vaguely familiar, but my Morgan side married into Sturgises, so I thought that was why. At the time they married, she was living in Ogamaw, Ouachita County, AR, and he in Kingsland, Cleveland County, AR, both places located Hwy 79 and most likely connected by railway back then. Their marriage license was issued in Cleveland County. That marriage information by itself meant little until I decided to reread that old interview today. And there it was:

From the interview with MawMaw (Mary Lee Bostian Andrews):

Me: What did you do after you left school?

Mawmaw: “I stayed at home an’ worked in the fields ‘till I was about sixteen. Then we moved to Warren, an’ I got a job at the Hargrave Hotel waitin’ on tables, makin’ beds, sweepin’ floors, an’ whatever. I was workin’ down there when I met my husband, Sterlin’. It was in January of 1920, an’ me an’ my girlfriend, Ollie, was walkin’ out to visit Uncle Oscar Stergiss (sic). Well, Ollie was datin’ Sterlin’ at the time, an’ as we was walkin’, we met Sterlin’ comin’ down the road. When we stopped to talk, he asked Ollie who the new girl was an’ she interduced us to each other. While we was talkin’, he told me then an’ there he was goin’ to marry me someday! I know Ollie felt like killin’ him!”

Uncle Oscar Sturgis! Callie's husband! I have the right family! Yay! BTW the misspelling was mine. No internet to check name spellings in the 1970s. The only thing we could get online back then was the laundry.

Addie died ca. 1883, according to Aunt Maude, and in 1884, 50 yr old C. S. Raines married 30 yr old Fanny Milton. But this would not be the last marriage for C. S. Raines of Lincoln Co. AR. In 1887, he, again listed as age 50 though obviously older, married Elizabeth Melton who was shockingly only 15 yrs old.

Sources

[1] Marriage to C. Silvanus Raines

[2] 1880 US Census, Mill Creek, Lincoln Co. AR

[3] Interview mentioning Callie's husband Oscar Sturgis