The first child of John Berry, Sr. and Hannah Devore, she was born June 22, 1832 in Liberty County, Texas. She died in April 1902, and is buried at Berry's Creek Cemetery near Georgetown, Texas. Her first name was given her in honor of her grandmother, Polly Black Devore, the mother of Hannah Devore Berry.

Mary's early years were eventful, for she was born during the period of Texas' struggle for independence from Mexico. Among her earliest memories was that of sitting on the lap of David Crockett while they repaired Crockett's rifle just before his fateful journey to the Alamo.

In later years, Mary told of the frightening trip with her family to Fort Parker, fleeing from the army of Santa Anna, when she was only four years old. When she was a young woman of fourteen, her father received his land grant in Williamson County, and the family moved to their new home which Mary was never to leave until her death many years later.

As the oldest in a family of twelve children, Mary had many responsibilities to fulfill for her mother. Life on the frontier was not an easy one, and the women and older children found their tasks as numerous as those of the men. The first few years the family spent on the Berry League, life's comforts were few, and hard work, by all who were old enough to be useful, was the rule. This experience later stood Mary in good stead in raising her own large family.

She married October 30, 1850 in Williamson County to John Calhoun Compton. Their marriage license is number five registered in the county, and thus one of the earliest on record. Five children were born to them in the first eleven years of the marriage.

John and Mary continued to make their home near Hannah Berry and to add to the acreage they already had. Their home was on the portion of the League nearest the Berry's Creek school, where all the Compton children received such education as was available to them. Six more children were born to John and Mary during these years; their three oldest children married and began families of their own.

One morning in the spring of 1876, Mary mounted her horse and rode to the home of her sister, Catherine Jackson, a mile or so away. Her youngest son, Billy, then only seven, was on the saddle in front of her. She told Catherine that John had left her, taking several of the children with him. She expressed no regret that john had gone, only that some of the children went along, also.

It's not known what caused the dissolution of a marriage that had lasted 26 years and produced ten children. John and Mary had many ties to bind them together. He was highly regarded by his wife's family, and was a leader in the community. Whatever the cause, perhaps Mary hoped he would return, for she waited two years before obtaining a divorce in April, 1878.

After her divorce from John, Mary went about her life in her usual way, but she never married again. She still had three of her children at home: John B., Lillie Margaret, and William (Bill). However, Lillie married in 1878, leaving just Mary and her two sons.

Sometime in the 1880's, Joseph Compton returned to Williamson County to live with his mother. With the help of her three sons and nearby relatives, Mary farmed her land and made a living for the family. All three boys helped on the farm until, one by one, they left home to marry, and Mary was finally left alone.

She sold a small portion of her land in 1883 for $800. Again in 1895 she and her son, Billy, sold a few more acres for $220, but she was able to keep intact the main portion of her cherished farm, the heritage from her father. Mary also helped care for her aging mother, Hannah.

Mary developed consumption, and was ill for a long while before her death in 1902. She's buried in Berry's Creek Cemetery beside her nephew, Joseph Jackson. The inscription on her gravestone, shows that she was very conscious of her pioneer heritage:

"Mary Compton, Daughter of John and Hannah Berry, 1832 - 1902."