Mary A Cottrell Headington, Died June 19, 1903, Aged 86y, 8m, 14d, Green Park Cemetery, Jay County, Indiana
This is the tombstone of Mary Ann Cottrell Headington, located in Green Park Cemetery, Portland, Jay County, Indiana. The gravestone is inscribed: Mary A Cottrell Headington, died June 19, 1903, aged 86y, 8m, 14d. Her date of birth was 5 October 1816, calculated from the age given on her tombstone. Mary Ann Cottrell married William Headington on 24 March 1838 in Baltimore County Maryland. (source: Maryland Marriages 1655-1850, abstracts from the Maryland Historical Society, Ancestry.com; his surname was abstracted as Hedrington)
Mary Ann was my fourth great grandmother. I descend from her daughter Elvira, who married Daniel Reid. Mary Ann was the subject of a 1903 Portland newspaper article that I featured in a recent blog, A Snapshot of the Past—Five Generations of My Family.
Mary Ann Cottrell was born in Maryland and died in Portland, Indiana, according to her death record from the Jay County Health Department. Her cause of death was capillary bronchitis and she was a housewife. The record shows a surviving spouse was William Headington, but he had died in 1879. The information on her death record was taken from Book H-5:28.
Mary Ann’s parents may have been Henry and Mary Cottrell, nee Bently. (source: Jay County, Indiana, 1982, compiled by the Jay County Historical Society) This source is too recent to use as proof, but it gives information for further research. Henry Cottrell and Mary Bently were married 23 March 1801 in Baltimore, Maryland. (source: Maryland Marriages 1655-1850, abstracts)
Mary Ann Cottrell and William Headington had the following children: Elvira (1839-1911), Ruth A (1840-1940), Mary E (1843-1906), Louisa V (c1846-?), Rebecca (c1849-?), Wesley E (c1852-?), Celina (1854-1856), Sarah Ellen (c1857-?). According to the 1900 census, Mary Ann had given birth to ten children but only six were living in 1900.
Mary Ann Cottrell Headington (1816-1903) Photo taken c1898
