"Mary "Polly" McRee was born 15 Oct, 1950 in Polk County TN to David McRee and his second wife, Lavina Deal McRee. She was their youngest daughter and the next to their last child.

PLEASE NOTE: Mary McRee was not given a middle name by her parents and she never used one of her own selection. Numerous family trees on genealogy websites show her as Mary Catherine McRee or Mary Susan McRee or even Mary Pauline McRee but all of these are in error. Some even show a statement from one of her granddaughters that shows her as Mary Susan McRee but that dear departed granddaughter was incorrect. You will never find a document on her where a middle name is shown (including her family Bible which I have in my possession as her great-granddaughter) and you will never find her signature showing other than "Mary M. Connelly". If you have an online family tree on her please remove the middle name. Please don't confuse researchers down the road.

Polly married widower Robert "Bob" Wainwright Connelly on 28 Sep in either 1871 or 1872 depending on which record is used. The Alexander County marriage records show 1872 but the couple's family Bible shows 1871 in Polly's handwriting.

There is also disagreement on the date of birth of their first child, Lavina Caroline. She was born on 28 Nov in either 1870, 1871 or 1872 depending on which record is used. Polly wrote her date of birth in the family Bible as 28 Nov 1872. When Lavina Caroline married on 5 Jun 1887, she gave her age as 15 which would indicate a year of birth as 1871. Her death certificate and headstone show year of birth as 1870. I give more credence to her mother's family Bible entry since Lavina Caroline may have wanted to appear older when she married. It was family lore that she married at age 14 and had her first child at age 15. No confirmation on where the 1870 year of birth originated.