Mary Unknown Stanton

~1813 - 1888
Co Mayo, Ireland - Warrick Co, Indiana

The mother of our Stantons was born in about 1813 in, presumably, Co Mayo.  I do not know what her maiden name was.

Her first child (that we know of) was born in about 1835, so presumably she was married in the early 1830s.  She married a man called Michael Stanton - and we know even less about him than about her.

She and Michael had 6 children that we know of:

Thomas, born May 1835, (according to the 1900 census)
Mary Ann, born 1836 (according to the inscription on her gravestone)
Patrick, called Patsy when young, born 1839
John born 1842
Michael born 1845 (or August 1841, according to the 1900 census)
Austin born 1847.

The family left Ireland during the Great Hunger. They landed in the US on 4 Jan 1848, in New Orleans.

Viceroy - Liverpool to New Orleans - arrival date 4 Jan 1848:
     Michael Stanton 44 born County Mayo laborer
     Mary 36 wife / Thomas 13 / Mary 10 / Patrick 9 / John 4 / Michael 2 / Austin ?Sept? infant

They settled in southern Indiana, in Warrick County.  It is possible they traveled by boat up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. We have no idea why they chose that spot (although it is beautiful country). I can't help thinking they knew (or were related to) someone who lived there, perhaps the Thomas Stanton who was there briefly in the 1820s - but I have no evidence whatsoever.

Not long after they arrived, Mary's husband Michael died, leaving her a widow in a strange land with very little money and six children to feed.  Son Patrick said his native language was Irish, so she probably didn't even speak much English.  How on earth did she manage?

She and the children are on the 1850 census:

1850 Indiana Warrick Anderson  159 - 30 Anderson 160
    Mary Stanton 37 F Ireland
          Thomas 17 farmer Ireland
          Mary 13
          Patsey 11
          John 8
          Michael 5
          Austin 3 all born Ireland

(There was another family of Stantons in Warrick County in 1850 - William and Lena, in their 20s, both from Germany.  They don't seem to be related at all.)

In 1851, I think Mary married John P Baker:

Stantlin, Mary 23 Nov 1851 Baker, John P by Thomas Fuller p. 233
Lant, Kay. Warrick County marriages, 1813-1859 : copied from the original bond books in Warrick County Courthouse. Evansville, Ind. (21 First Ave., Evansville 47710) Tri-State Genealogical Society, c1986.

It is possible that John P Baker was the son of William Baker, grandson of John McCoy Baker. (see the Baker page - John son of William) If so, he was born in about 1803, married Nancy Richards? in Ohio in 1824, moved to Warrick County sometime before 1830.  He and Nancy had 10 or more children, and they are in the 1850 census - and that is the last I have been able to find of them.  So I have made a bunch of guesses here: (1) that John P is the same as John III and the same as the son of William; (2) that his wife Nancy died shortly after the 1850 census; (3) that "Stantlin" is a misspelling for "Stanton."   I have no proof for any of this.  I haven't found any trace of John P after that marriage license, nor have I found his children. (Supposedly his son John Wilson Baker died in Wisconsin.)

In 1853, Mary's daughter Mary Ann married Thomas Baker.  IF John P Baker was indeed the son of William, then Thomas would have been his nephew - the son of John P's brother James.

Staunton, Mary A 22 Feb 1853 - Baker, Thomas by Solomon Rhodes MG p. 307 (Lant, p. 87)

Mary's first grandchild was born in 1854 - James Baker, named after Thomas's father.  He was joined in 1857 by Leah Ann (named for Thomas's mother) and then Sarah in 1859.  No children seem to have been named after Mary, unless her middle name was Ann, and then Leah would have been named after both grandmothers.

I think Mary Stanton's husband John P Baker - if he was her husband - died before 1860, because in that year, Mary was living with James and Leah Baker (her brother- and sister-in-law - AND her daughter's parents-in-law).  She was listed then as Mary Baker, and with her were her sons Patrick and Austin.  John was living with sister Mary Ann and her husband; Michael was living with the McCools, and Thomas was possibly seeking his fortune in California. (Or Thomas may have been in Kentucky - during the Civil War, he served in the Kentucky Cavalry.)

1860 Indiana, Warrick, Boon
p. 817 - house 112 Boon
         James Baker 50 m farmer Tennessee/ Leah 49 f KY/ Josiah ? F 9 m Ind
         J- Hudson? 29 m farmhand Tennessee
         Patrick Stanton 21 m Ireland
         Mary Baker 45? f “?
         Austin Stanton 10 m “? “ probably is 14
109 - Boon Twp taken 4 Sep
        Thomas F Baker 27 m farmer 1000 Indiana
                 Mary A 23 f Ireland?
                 James H 6 m Ireland/ Laura 7 f/ Sarah 1 f
        John Stanton 18 m farmhand Ireland
100-733 (804) Benjamin McCool 51 m farmer 800 Ky / Miranda? 50 f
                        Polly A (or Sally) 24 f Ind/ Fletcher 20/Eleanor 18/Eithen f 18/ Elizabeth 18
             Michael Stanton 16 m Ireland
1860 -California, El Dorado, Mud Springs Twp stamped 965 - 21 July - line 6
   Thomas Stanton 30 m miner Ireland - with 3 other miners
     there are plenty of Stantons - from Ireland - out in California/Nevada at this time

When the Civil War started, John enlisted on August 19, Patrick on August 20 - he was a bugler. Thomas Stanton and Thomas Baker both enlisted in the Kentucky Cavalry, but there's a little interesting confusion about Thomas's service in the Civil War - see Thomas's page. John was killed almost immediately - buried on November 2, 1861 - and Michael enlisted the same week, using John's birthdate instead of his own. (This information - about Michael using John's birthdate - comes from a granddaughter of Alice Belle Stanton, one of Rufus's sisters.) Austin, the baby, enlisted in 1864.  There is a record of Austin being mustered out in 1866, but Mary's obit says she lost 2 sons in the war, and the others are accounted for - and I have found no trace of Austin after the military info.

1861 Aug 19 John Stanton - Enl.8/19/1861 "I" Co. IN. 25th Inf. - d. 2 Nov, 1861
1861 Aug 20 Patrick N. Stanton Enl. 8-20-1861 "G" Co. IN 1st Cav.- Out. 9-12-1864 - Bugler
1861 Oct 30 Michael Edward Stanton.- Enl.10/30/61 "K" Co. IN 42nd Inf.-Out as Sgt 7-21-865
1861 Nov 2 John dies - buried Mt Gilead cemetery Boon Twp
1861 Aug 13 Thomas Baker joins Co H 12 Ky Cav
1862 Oct 3 Thomas Stanton joins Co H 6 Ky Cav
1864 Mar 8 Auston /Austin Stanton- Enl. 3-8-1864 "E" Co IN 120 Inf., Out 1-8-66

I don't know where Mary was for the 1870 census.  In 1880, she was living with daughter Mary and her husband William Baker.  This is another little puzzle.  Thomas Baker died sometime before 1872 (when a widow's pension was applied for) and in 1879 Mary Baker married William Baker.  I have no proof that this is our Mary Ann, but her son John (born ~1870) - and her mother Mary Stanton - were living with them.

1880 Indiana, Warrick, Boon Twp - taken 29 June
p. 205 Line 46 501- 502 -
Stanton, Mary wf 60 widow keeping house Ireland Ireland Ireland
Baker, William 63 married farmer Ind Ky
Mary wife 43 Ireland Ireland Ireland/
John wm son 11 Ind Ind Ind

Mary Ann Stanton Baker died in 1883 (or 1886).  Mother Mary died in 1888:

Boonville Standard, Boonville, Indiana - Friday, June 8, 1888
Mary Stanton, living with James Thompson, about a mile South of town, died last Saturday at the age of 75 years. She had five sons who served in the late war, two of whom were killed on the field of battle. The remains were buried on Sunday at Mt Gilead cemetery. For some time past the deceased was partly supported by the township.

I have no idea why Mary was living with James Thompson - he doesn't seem to be a relative - but daughter Mary had died and none of her sons was particularly well-off.   It seems a sad ending to what appears to have been a life with its full share of sadness.

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contact me at: lee@leesgenes.com

page last updated 4 Oct 2010