She was born a slave near Clarksville, Tennessee. Her “master” Abraham Brantley allowed her to marry another slave named Henry in 1852, but when the slave owner died the couple was separated when they were auctioned off separately. They were apart for ten years. Henry escaped to Union Army lines, and miraculously, with the help of a Union captain, found his wife. They accompanied the army officer to Ravenna, Ohio on August 28, 1862 where Henry and Mary both worked for Judge C.A. Reed. At their death the judge had a stone erected in their memory. The stone states that this couple lived "honest and industrious lives". The word "Emancipation" is inscribed on the stone as well as a symbol of a hand with a broken manacle.
She was born a slave near Clarksville, Tennessee. Her “master” Abraham Brantley allowed her to marry another slave named Henry in 1852, but when the slave owner died the couple was separated when they were auctioned off separately. They were apart for ten years. Henry escaped to Union Army lines, and miraculously, with the help of a Union captain, found his wife. They accompanied the army officer to Ravenna, Ohio on August 28, 1862 where Henry and Mary both worked for Judge C.A. Reed. At their death the judge had a stone erected in their memory. The stone states that this couple lived "honest and industrious lives". The word "Emancipation" is inscribed on the stone as well as a symbol of a hand with a broken manacle.
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