Mary Elizabeth “Polly” Southern Reece (1820-1909)

Mary Elizabeth “Polly” Southern Reece

Birth

1 Dec 1820

South Carolina, USA

Death

12 Aug 1909 (aged 88)

Dawson County, Georgia, USA

Burial

Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery

Ellijay, Gilmer County, Georgia, USA Show Map

Plot

Memorial ID

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Mary Elizabeth "Polly" Southern was the daughter of Miles Southern and Jane "Jinnie" Brown. She was the wife of James Marion Reece.

She was born in South Carolina.

In the 1850 census, she appears in Gilmer County, Georgia, with the following family members:
-James Reece, 30
-Mary Reece, 30
-James M Reece, 10
-William Reece, 7
-Andrew J Reece, 6
-Jefferson T Reece, 4
-John W Reece, 2

In the 1860 census, she appears in Dawson County, Georgia, with the following family members:
-James Reece, 39
-Mary Reece, 39
-James Reece, 19
-William Reece, 17
-Andrew Reece, 15
-Jefferson Reece, 13
-John Reece, 11
-Johnson Reece, 9
-Franklin Reece, 6
-Calvin Reece, 4
-Alfred Reece, 2

*Note: Alfred had a twin brother, Jesse, who did not survive infancy, and does not appear on any census records.

In the 1870 census, she appears in Round Prarie, Benton County, Arkansas, with the following family members:
-James Reece, 50
-Mary Reece, 49
-Frank Reece, 16
-Calvin Reece, 14
-Sarah Reece, 9
-Mary Reece, 6

After her husband's murder, she and her family returned to Georgia, where she remained for the rest of her life.

In the 1880 census, she appears in Gilmer County, Georgia, with the following family members:
-David P Goss, 20 (son-in-law)
-Mary E. Goss, 16 (daughter)
-Mary Reece, 60

In the 1900 census, she appears in Gilmer County, Georgia, living on her own.
-Mary Reece, 80

However, she is living next door to William Southern, probably a relative, and two houses away from Jefferson Reece, her son. This census noted that she could not read or write English, but could speak it. The census also states that she had 8 living children in 1900, and that she had 12 children total. Mary passed away in 1909 at the age of 88.