Mary Ella (or possibly Ellor) was probably born in Itawamba County, MS, where her Mauldin grandparents lived for a while, or possibly in Prentiss, MS (where her father was in 1870), or in the Pontotoc, MS area. She was the baby of the family, one of four children (a boy and three girls). In the 1880 census, just before moving westward, the family was in Itawamba County.
Father:
Dr. Nicholas P. Matthews, M.D.
Born about 1838 in TN, married Narcissa in MS on 07 Dec 1864, and died circa 1881-1884. Verbal recollections (in 1989) from Lizzie Matthews Mullins' daughter Nellie say that Nicholas died on the trip west and was buried beside the Comanche River, but she did not know in which state. He obtained his medical training at the University of Nashville (now Vanderbilt University) about 1859/1860.
Mother:
Narcissa Thomas (Mauldin) Matthews
Born in Sep 1847 in Alabama (probably in Lawrence County) and died in the 1880s. (One unverified source says 14 Jan 1885). Nellie Mullins' recollections say that Narcissa died on a wagon train heading west and was buried "around" Pueblo, CO. Narcissa was a daughter of Ransom Mauldin (# 95196115) by his second marriage, to Elizabeth Mariah Barbee. Myrtis A. Perkins (# 75894971) said that Nicholas and Narcissa both died in their thirties and forties, not long after their migration from Mississippi to the Pueblo, Colorado area (where a sister of Narcissa, Marriah/Maria Turner (Mauldin) Porter Johnson, is buried, #29955172). The family has never been able to find out exactly how/when/where they died or are buried. There is a little bit of information in Edwin Mauldin's Choctaw enrollment papers on Nicholas and Narcissa, but not very much, and in Nellie Mullins' verbal recollections. That's about it.
Following the deaths of Nicholas and Narcissa, the girls were raised by an uncle, Narcissa's younger brother Edwin A. Mauldin, who had been living with them back in Itawamba County, MS at the time of the 1880 census. However Mary Ella said they were treated about like slaves by their uncle. One sister, Emma Eizabeth "Lizzie" Matthews (# 37961628, born about 1870), married a Raymond Clayton (probably in Indian Territory) to get away from her uncle. Mary Ella married William M. "Mat" Perkins in the town of Manassa, Conejos County, Colorado on 23 Jan 1894. (The marriage record has her name incorrectly as Ellen Mary Mathis.) There were Mauldin and Perkins family members in this area at the time.
Also according to Myrtis Perkins and her son, Mary Ella told them that she was one-quarter Cherokee (although small chance it could be Choctaw). She said her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Mariah (Barbee) Mauldin, Ransom's second wife, was a Cherokee and was on the Trail of Tears as a young girl. (This was told to her by her mother when she was a little girl, and might have also been told to her by her uncle Edwin.) The present-day family has not been able to verify this though. She married "Mat" Perkins, a sawmill worker and gambler, who was shot and killed in Feb 1908 at age 34 in Louisiana. Myrtis had said that he was killed by someone, but several newspapers of the time say that he shot himself, due to being despondent over financial difficulties. Mary had to put most of her children in an orphanage in Lake Charles, LA for a time, but was able to get them back later. For a number of years Mary Ellor lived in the Choctaw areas of pre-statehood Oklahoma, in what is now Pushmataha, Le Flore and McCurtain Counties. Three of her sons were born there: William Clarence Perkins, Sr., # 75894970, in Albion in Dec 1894; Henry Marvin Perkins (who later legally changed his name to William M. Perkins), # 35967155, in Lenox (now a ghost town) in Nov 1896; and Edward Randolph "Dolph" Perkins, (no memorial), in Eagletown in Sep 1899. The other four younger children were born in Louisiana in 1901-1907/1908. She never remarried following her husband's death. She did cooking and laundry for lumber crews for a while, and later worked as a janitor, cleaning the Franklin Building in downtown Oklahoma City. She came out to California in her final years.
Father:
Dr. Nicholas P. Matthews, M.D.
Born about 1838 in TN, married Narcissa in MS on 07 Dec 1864, and died circa 1881-1884. Verbal recollections (in 1989) from Lizzie Matthews Mullins' daughter Nellie say that Nicholas died on the trip west and was buried beside the Comanche River, but she did not know in which state. He obtained his medical training at the University of Nashville (now Vanderbilt University) about 1859/1860.
Mother:
Narcissa Thomas (Mauldin) Matthews
Born in Sep 1847 in Alabama (probably in Lawrence County) and died in the 1880s. (One unverified source says 14 Jan 1885). Nellie Mullins' recollections say that Narcissa died on a wagon train heading west and was buried "around" Pueblo, CO. Narcissa was a daughter of Ransom Mauldin (# 95196115) by his second marriage, to Elizabeth Mariah Barbee. Myrtis A. Perkins (# 75894971) said that Nicholas and Narcissa both died in their thirties and forties, not long after their migration from Mississippi to the Pueblo, Colorado area (where a sister of Narcissa, Marriah/Maria Turner (Mauldin) Porter Johnson, is buried, #29955172). The family has never been able to find out exactly how/when/where they died or are buried. There is a little bit of information in Edwin Mauldin's Choctaw enrollment papers on Nicholas and Narcissa, but not very much, and in Nellie Mullins' verbal recollections. That's about it.
Following the deaths of Nicholas and Narcissa, the girls were raised by an uncle, Narcissa's younger brother Edwin A. Mauldin, who had been living with them back in Itawamba County, MS at the time of the 1880 census. However Mary Ella said they were treated about like slaves by their uncle. One sister, Emma Eizabeth "Lizzie" Matthews (# 37961628, born about 1870), married a Raymond Clayton (probably in Indian Territory) to get away from her uncle. Mary Ella married William M. "Mat" Perkins in the town of Manassa, Conejos County, Colorado on 23 Jan 1894. (The marriage record has her name incorrectly as Ellen Mary Mathis.) There were Mauldin and Perkins family members in this area at the time.
Also according to Myrtis Perkins and her son, Mary Ella told them that she was one-quarter Cherokee (although small chance it could be Choctaw). She said her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Mariah (Barbee) Mauldin, Ransom's second wife, was a Cherokee and was on the Trail of Tears as a young girl. (This was told to her by her mother when she was a little girl, and might have also been told to her by her uncle Edwin.) The present-day family has not been able to verify this though. She married "Mat" Perkins, a sawmill worker and gambler, who was shot and killed in Feb 1908 at age 34 in Louisiana. Myrtis had said that he was killed by someone, but several newspapers of the time say that he shot himself, due to being despondent over financial difficulties. Mary had to put most of her children in an orphanage in Lake Charles, LA for a time, but was able to get them back later. For a number of years Mary Ellor lived in the Choctaw areas of pre-statehood Oklahoma, in what is now Pushmataha, Le Flore and McCurtain Counties. Three of her sons were born there: William Clarence Perkins, Sr., # 75894970, in Albion in Dec 1894; Henry Marvin Perkins (who later legally changed his name to William M. Perkins), # 35967155, in Lenox (now a ghost town) in Nov 1896; and Edward Randolph "Dolph" Perkins, (no memorial), in Eagletown in Sep 1899. The other four younger children were born in Louisiana in 1901-1907/1908. She never remarried following her husband's death. She did cooking and laundry for lumber crews for a while, and later worked as a janitor, cleaning the Franklin Building in downtown Oklahoma City. She came out to California in her final years.
Mary Ella (or possibly Ellor) was probably born in Itawamba County, MS, where her Mauldin grandparents lived for a while, or possibly in Prentiss, MS (where her father was in 1870), or in the Pontotoc, MS area. She was the baby of the family, one of four children (a boy and three girls). In the 1880 census, just before moving westward, the family was in Itawamba County.
Father:
Dr. Nicholas P. Matthews, M.D.
Born about 1838 in TN, married Narcissa in MS on 07 Dec 1864, and died circa 1881-1884. Verbal recollections (in 1989) from Lizzie Matthews Mullins' daughter Nellie say that Nicholas died on the trip west and was buried beside the Comanche River, but she did not know in which state. He obtained his medical training at the University of Nashville (now Vanderbilt University) about 1859/1860.
Mother:
Narcissa Thomas (Mauldin) Matthews
Born in Sep 1847 in Alabama (probably in Lawrence County) and died in the 1880s. (One unverified source says 14 Jan 1885). Nellie Mullins' recollections say that Narcissa died on a wagon train heading west and was buried "around" Pueblo, CO. Narcissa was a daughter of Ransom Mauldin (# 95196115) by his second marriage, to Elizabeth Mariah Barbee. Myrtis A. Perkins (# 75894971) said that Nicholas and Narcissa both died in their thirties and forties, not long after their migration from Mississippi to the Pueblo, Colorado area (where a sister of Narcissa, Marriah/Maria Turner (Mauldin) Porter Johnson, is buried, #29955172). The family has never been able to find out exactly how/when/where they died or are buried. There is a little bit of information in Edwin Mauldin's Choctaw enrollment papers on Nicholas and Narcissa, but not very much, and in Nellie Mullins' verbal recollections. That's about it.
Following the deaths of Nicholas and Narcissa, the girls were raised by an uncle, Narcissa's younger brother Edwin A. Mauldin, who had been living with them back in Itawamba County, MS at the time of the 1880 census. However Mary Ella said they were treated about like slaves by their uncle. One sister, Emma Eizabeth "Lizzie" Matthews (# 37961628, born about 1870), married a Raymond Clayton (probably in Indian Territory) to get away from her uncle. Mary Ella married William M. "Mat" Perkins in the town of Manassa, Conejos County, Colorado on 23 Jan 1894. (The marriage record has her name incorrectly as Ellen Mary Mathis.) There were Mauldin and Perkins family members in this area at the time.
Also according to Myrtis Perkins and her son, Mary Ella told them that she was one-quarter Cherokee (although small chance it could be Choctaw). She said her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Mariah (Barbee) Mauldin, Ransom's second wife, was a Cherokee and was on the Trail of Tears as a young girl. (This was told to her by her mother when she was a little girl, and might have also been told to her by her uncle Edwin.) The present-day family has not been able to verify this though. She married "Mat" Perkins, a sawmill worker and gambler, who was shot and killed in Feb 1908 at age 34 in Louisiana. Myrtis had said that he was killed by someone, but several newspapers of the time say that he shot himself, due to being despondent over financial difficulties. Mary had to put most of her children in an orphanage in Lake Charles, LA for a time, but was able to get them back later. For a number of years Mary Ellor lived in the Choctaw areas of pre-statehood Oklahoma, in what is now Pushmataha, Le Flore and McCurtain Counties. Three of her sons were born there: William Clarence Perkins, Sr., # 75894970, in Albion in Dec 1894; Henry Marvin Perkins (who later legally changed his name to William M. Perkins), # 35967155, in Lenox (now a ghost town) in Nov 1896; and Edward Randolph "Dolph" Perkins, (no memorial), in Eagletown in Sep 1899. The other four younger children were born in Louisiana in 1901-1907/1908. She never remarried following her husband's death. She did cooking and laundry for lumber crews for a while, and later worked as a janitor, cleaning the Franklin Building in downtown Oklahoma City. She came out to California in her final years.
Father:
Dr. Nicholas P. Matthews, M.D.
Born about 1838 in TN, married Narcissa in MS on 07 Dec 1864, and died circa 1881-1884. Verbal recollections (in 1989) from Lizzie Matthews Mullins' daughter Nellie say that Nicholas died on the trip west and was buried beside the Comanche River, but she did not know in which state. He obtained his medical training at the University of Nashville (now Vanderbilt University) about 1859/1860.
Mother:
Narcissa Thomas (Mauldin) Matthews
Born in Sep 1847 in Alabama (probably in Lawrence County) and died in the 1880s. (One unverified source says 14 Jan 1885). Nellie Mullins' recollections say that Narcissa died on a wagon train heading west and was buried "around" Pueblo, CO. Narcissa was a daughter of Ransom Mauldin (# 95196115) by his second marriage, to Elizabeth Mariah Barbee. Myrtis A. Perkins (# 75894971) said that Nicholas and Narcissa both died in their thirties and forties, not long after their migration from Mississippi to the Pueblo, Colorado area (where a sister of Narcissa, Marriah/Maria Turner (Mauldin) Porter Johnson, is buried, #29955172). The family has never been able to find out exactly how/when/where they died or are buried. There is a little bit of information in Edwin Mauldin's Choctaw enrollment papers on Nicholas and Narcissa, but not very much, and in Nellie Mullins' verbal recollections. That's about it.
Following the deaths of Nicholas and Narcissa, the girls were raised by an uncle, Narcissa's younger brother Edwin A. Mauldin, who had been living with them back in Itawamba County, MS at the time of the 1880 census. However Mary Ella said they were treated about like slaves by their uncle. One sister, Emma Eizabeth "Lizzie" Matthews (# 37961628, born about 1870), married a Raymond Clayton (probably in Indian Territory) to get away from her uncle. Mary Ella married William M. "Mat" Perkins in the town of Manassa, Conejos County, Colorado on 23 Jan 1894. (The marriage record has her name incorrectly as Ellen Mary Mathis.) There were Mauldin and Perkins family members in this area at the time.
Also according to Myrtis Perkins and her son, Mary Ella told them that she was one-quarter Cherokee (although small chance it could be Choctaw). She said her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Mariah (Barbee) Mauldin, Ransom's second wife, was a Cherokee and was on the Trail of Tears as a young girl. (This was told to her by her mother when she was a little girl, and might have also been told to her by her uncle Edwin.) The present-day family has not been able to verify this though. She married "Mat" Perkins, a sawmill worker and gambler, who was shot and killed in Feb 1908 at age 34 in Louisiana. Myrtis had said that he was killed by someone, but several newspapers of the time say that he shot himself, due to being despondent over financial difficulties. Mary had to put most of her children in an orphanage in Lake Charles, LA for a time, but was able to get them back later. For a number of years Mary Ellor lived in the Choctaw areas of pre-statehood Oklahoma, in what is now Pushmataha, Le Flore and McCurtain Counties. Three of her sons were born there: William Clarence Perkins, Sr., # 75894970, in Albion in Dec 1894; Henry Marvin Perkins (who later legally changed his name to William M. Perkins), # 35967155, in Lenox (now a ghost town) in Nov 1896; and Edward Randolph "Dolph" Perkins, (no memorial), in Eagletown in Sep 1899. The other four younger children were born in Louisiana in 1901-1907/1908. She never remarried following her husband's death. She did cooking and laundry for lumber crews for a while, and later worked as a janitor, cleaning the Franklin Building in downtown Oklahoma City. She came out to California in her final years.
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