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Mary Elizabeth <I>Akins</I> Runnels

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Mary Elizabeth Akins Runnels

Birth
Arkansas, USA
Death
1921 (aged 73–74)
Lake County, California, USA
Burial
Lower Lake, Lake County, California, USA Add to Map
Plot
159 1st Addition
Memorial ID
View Source
Age 74?

[Two of the letters, the "R" and "S", and a "4" have been picked loose and removed from this stone. Identity confirmed from cemetery records.]

According to the Findgrave.com text on the memorial for her first husband, Hamlin Nelson Herrick, her full maiden name was Mary Elizabeth Atkins. Census records show that she was born in Arkansas and he in Kentucky. It is likely that they married in Kentucky about 1862, as they were living in Kentucky when their first child, Clara Herrick, was born in 1863. They moved to Lake County, California in 1864 and their second child, Hamlin Webster Herrick, was born there in 1865. Mary was the mother of 6 children.

Mary and Hamlin divorced between 1875 and 1880. Mary's marital status was listed as divorced in the 1880 Census. She was living with her 6 children on her farm in Lake County, CA. Her ex-husband, Hamlin, was living alone in a separate residence next door also showing his marital status as divorced.

The 39 year-old Mary next married 52 year-old Martin Reynolds (of Van Buren County, Iowa)in Lake County on 6 October 1886. This apparently was his first marriage. His brother, James S. Runnels and wife Mary had been residents of Lake County for over 26 years.

It is not known how long Mary and Martin's marriage lasted, but it apparently ended in a separation prior to 1900 without any children.

In the 1900 Census Mary Runnels lists her marital status as "widow" and is living with her 31 year-old single son, Middleton, in Lake County. At the same time, her 2nd husband Martin Runnels is enumerated living with his brother James in the same county. In the 1900 census, Martin shows his marital status as "Married 13 years" and his occupation as farmer. To understand this "widow" issue for Mary, one needs to remember the social stigma of divorce in the Victoria era and quite often the term "widow" was use synomously with "divorce" and folks sometimes called them "grass widows".

In 1920, Mary is living with another single son, Osian Herrick, in Lake County, California. She is listed as head of household and owner of her farm. She will die the next year.

So far, there is no record of her second husband, Martin Runnels after the 1900 census. His brother James is still living, but is a widower, at the time of the 1910 Census. It is likely that Martin died in Lake County between 1900 and 1910 and did not have a permanent marker placed on his grave.

Martin Runnels was a step-brother of my gg-grandmother Winnifred Andrews Wolverton. Her mother, Mary Davenport, was the second wife of Martin's father, John M. Runnels. Martin was John's son from his first marriage to Sarah Tillery in Tennessee in 1821.

(Mary's bio submitted on April 28, 2014 by William D. Gorman, FAG Member # 47658044)
Age 74?

[Two of the letters, the "R" and "S", and a "4" have been picked loose and removed from this stone. Identity confirmed from cemetery records.]

According to the Findgrave.com text on the memorial for her first husband, Hamlin Nelson Herrick, her full maiden name was Mary Elizabeth Atkins. Census records show that she was born in Arkansas and he in Kentucky. It is likely that they married in Kentucky about 1862, as they were living in Kentucky when their first child, Clara Herrick, was born in 1863. They moved to Lake County, California in 1864 and their second child, Hamlin Webster Herrick, was born there in 1865. Mary was the mother of 6 children.

Mary and Hamlin divorced between 1875 and 1880. Mary's marital status was listed as divorced in the 1880 Census. She was living with her 6 children on her farm in Lake County, CA. Her ex-husband, Hamlin, was living alone in a separate residence next door also showing his marital status as divorced.

The 39 year-old Mary next married 52 year-old Martin Reynolds (of Van Buren County, Iowa)in Lake County on 6 October 1886. This apparently was his first marriage. His brother, James S. Runnels and wife Mary had been residents of Lake County for over 26 years.

It is not known how long Mary and Martin's marriage lasted, but it apparently ended in a separation prior to 1900 without any children.

In the 1900 Census Mary Runnels lists her marital status as "widow" and is living with her 31 year-old single son, Middleton, in Lake County. At the same time, her 2nd husband Martin Runnels is enumerated living with his brother James in the same county. In the 1900 census, Martin shows his marital status as "Married 13 years" and his occupation as farmer. To understand this "widow" issue for Mary, one needs to remember the social stigma of divorce in the Victoria era and quite often the term "widow" was use synomously with "divorce" and folks sometimes called them "grass widows".

In 1920, Mary is living with another single son, Osian Herrick, in Lake County, California. She is listed as head of household and owner of her farm. She will die the next year.

So far, there is no record of her second husband, Martin Runnels after the 1900 census. His brother James is still living, but is a widower, at the time of the 1910 Census. It is likely that Martin died in Lake County between 1900 and 1910 and did not have a permanent marker placed on his grave.

Martin Runnels was a step-brother of my gg-grandmother Winnifred Andrews Wolverton. Her mother, Mary Davenport, was the second wife of Martin's father, John M. Runnels. Martin was John's son from his first marriage to Sarah Tillery in Tennessee in 1821.

(Mary's bio submitted on April 28, 2014 by William D. Gorman, FAG Member # 47658044)

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