Home > United States of America > Iowa > Madison County > Crawford Township > McGinnis Cemetery > Mary Edna Eyerly Corwin McGinnis Low

Mary Edna Eyerly Corwin McGinnis Low

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Birth	:	25 Sep 1854 Washington County, Iowa, USA
Death	:	29 Jul 1946 Stuart, Adair County, Iowa, USA
Burial	:	McGinnis Cemetery, Crawford Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate	:	41.3520012, -93.8929977
Description	:	Mary Edna Eyerly was the eighth of ten children born to Samuel M. Eyerly and Mary Ann "Polly" Thuma. Both of her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, but like so many westward-moving families of that period they had made their way to Ohio and then to Iowa, where Mary was born in Brighton Township, Washington County, Iowa, on September 25, 1854. Mary's father, Samuel Eyerly learned the carpenter's trade and was a working carpenter for much of his life. At age 27, he married Mary Ann Slyder from Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Tragically, Mary Ann died 7 months... Read More	Mary Edna Eyerly was the eighth of ten children born to Samuel M. Eyerly and Mary Ann "Polly" Thuma. Both of her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, but like so many westward-moving families of that period they had made their way to Ohio and then to Iowa, where Mary was born in Brighton Township, Washington County, Iowa, on September 25, 1854. Mary's father, Samuel Eyerly learned the carpenter's trade and was a working carpenter for much of his life. At age 27, he married Mary Ann Slyder from Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Tragically, Mary Ann died 7 months later in December of 1830. Samuel then married Regina Hiskey of Cumberland, Maryland in March of 1832. Four sons were born to this union: Daniel, Josiah, William, and Benjamin. Regina died shortly after the birth of Benjamin in December 1838. Samuel married a third time on March 28, 1839 in Richland County, Ohio, to Mary's mother, Polly Thuma. Samuel and Polly welcomed the first three of their ten children while living near Mansfield in Richland County: Mary Ann (1841) who died as an infant, George (1843), and Erastus (1844). In 1846 Samuel and Polly moved their family to Washington County, Iowa, making the trip from Cincinnati to Keokuk by riverboat and settling on Dutch Creek Prairie in Brighton Township. During their nine-year stay in Washington County Polly gave birth to five children: Nancy (1846), Harriet (1848), Catherine (1850), an unnamed son born in 1852 who died as an infant, and Mary Edna Eyerly (1854). Samuel and Polly relocated again to Black Hawk Township in Jefferson County, Iowa in 1855, where he became the owner of valuable land. Daughter Alice was born there in 1857. As the Civil War was unfolding in 1861, seven-year-old Mary Edna, also known as Mollie, moved with her family to Jefferson Township in Warren County, Iowa. Samuel and Polly's tenth child, James Harlan, was born in there in 1862. Three of Mary's older brothers, Josiah, William, and George, enlisted and served actively in the Union Army.  While the war raged on, Samuel and Polly moved their family of five girls and two sons to Madison County, Iowa, in 1864, purchasing a farm in Crawford Township. Mary Edna was ten years of age. Soon after settling in Madison County the family received the tragic news that Mary's brother William had been killed in action during the Battle of Atlanta in July of 1864. Samuel continued to practice carpentry and farmed his tract of land with the aid of his son Erastus. Samuel and Polly moved to Jefferson Township in Warren County some time before the 1870 census on which fifteen-year-old Mary Edna is listed as living with her parents, her older sister Nancy, and her younger brother James. Mary Edna's father, Samuel, died the following year in May of 1871. Mary Edna most likely stayed in her brother Josiah's household in Jasper County after the death of her father. It was there she met Bryant Eugene Corwin at some point between 1871 and 1876. Bryant was admitted to the Iowa Bar November 10, 1876, just five days after he and Mary Edna were married in on November 5, 1876 in Monroe, Iowa. Bryant Corwin was characterized as "a kind and loving husband and good father, a generous neighbor, an honest man, of frank and generous disposition--as full of hope as spring." He practiced law, served as the Monroe City Solicitor from 1877 to 1879, and taught for six years in the Monroe public schools. Four of those years he also served as school principal. During this time Mary Edna bore two daughters, Anna Maud Corwin in 1878 and Edna Bryant Corwin in 1880. Mary Edna and Bryant were raising their two young daughters together when, in mid-September of 1883, Bryant, age thirty-three, "was taken with bleeding at the lungs." This malady finally culminated in his decease on October 30, 1883. Mary Edna had just passed her twenty-ninth birthday. She was left a young widow with two daughters, Anna (age four) and Edna (age three). Mary Edna remained a single mother with her two daughters for six and a half years. It appears she remained in Monroe. On April 16, 1890 Mary Edna married Joseph McGinnis at Newton in Jasper County, Iowa. Joseph was recently widowed and had two teen-aged sons. Joseph was characterized as "a man of upright character and clean morals; highly respected by everyone and thoroughly reliable and trustworthy." In 1895 Mary Edna and Joseph were living on Joseph's farm in Union Township near the city of Winterset, in Madison County, Iowa. The household included three children, Burt (age 17), Anna (age 16), and Edna (age 14). On the 1900 U.S. Census the McGinnis household, living on Brown Street in Winterset, consisted of Joseph, a landlord age 56; Mary Edna, housewife age 44; Joseph's son Bert, a shoe salesman age 23; and Mary Edna's daughter Anna, a music teacher age 21. Joseph McGinnis died in September of 1904 leaving Mary Edna a widow for the second time. On the 1905 Iowa State Census, Mary Edna is listed as "single" living in a home in St. Charles, Iowa. Fifty-two-year-old Mary Edna married for the third and final time to Thomas James Low, the recently widowed husband of her sister-in-law, Sophia McGinnis. Mary Edna and Thomas James Low were married on December 20, 1906, in Des Moines, Iowa. This became Mary Edna's longest marriage, enjoying thirty-six years together as grandparents and great-grandparents living on Harrison Street in Stuart, Iowa. Mary Edna and Thomas interacted with their family. There are numerous photographs that portray a loving relationship with grandchildren. Mary Edna was affectionately known as "Grandma Low" or "Aunt Mollie." Mary Edna and Thomas visited out-of-town family as evidenced in the 1925 Iowa State Census where they are listed in the household of Mary Edna's daughter, Anna Snyder, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Mary Edna was characterized by her great-grandson as a somewhat austere and deeply religious woman. The same great grandson described her husband Thomas as "a kindly, white-haired gentleman with a full mustache." At some point Mary Edna altered her religious affiliation from Baptist (1895 state census) to Congregational (1925 state census). Interestingly, Thomas identifies his religious affiliation as simply "Christian" on the 1925 Iowa State Census. About 1934, as Mary Edna and Thomas advanced in age and their health declined, Mary Edna's daughter, Anna Snyder, came to live in their household on Harrison Street in Stuart, Iowa, providing needed care and assistance. Thomas died at age 98 at home on May 16, 1943. Attended by her daughter, Mary Edna, age 91 passed away peacefully three years later, also at home in Stuart, Iowa, on July 29, 1946. She was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Stuart, Iowa, with Thomas Low. Mary Edna's name was added to Joseph McGinnis's cemetery stone at the McGinnis Cemetery in Madison County, Iowa. (See Find A Grave Memorial #11033311.)

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Mary Edna Eyerly Corwin McGinnis Low's memorial?
Mary Edna Eyerly Corwin McGinnis Low's memorial is located at: McGinnis Cemetery, Crawford Township, Madison County, USA.
When did Mary Edna Eyerly Corwin McGinnis Low death?
Mary Edna Eyerly Corwin McGinnis Low death on 29 Jul 1946 in Stuart, Adair County, Iowa, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Mary Edna Eyerly Corwin McGinnis Low's memorial?
Latitude: 41.3520012
Longitude: -93.8929977

Family Members:

Parent

Samuel Minsker Eyerly

(1803 - 1871)

Mary Ann “Polly” Thuma Eyerly Lovelace

(1815 - 1900)

Spouse

Joseph Simpson McGinnis

(1843 - 1904)

Siblings

Alice Cary Eyerly Ferrin

(1857 - 1943)

Josiah Bartlett Eyerly

(1834 - 1907)

Children

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. McGinnis Cemetery
Crawford Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3520012, -93.8929977

2. Montpelier Cemetery
Crawford Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3610001, -93.8759995

3. Union Chapel Cemetery
South Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3086400, -93.8935800

4. Neal Cemetery
Union Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3940010, -93.9079971

5. Close Cemetery
South Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3139992, -93.8519974

6. Farris Cemetery
Union Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3919983, -93.9329987

7. Blair Chapel Cemetery
South Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3310013, -93.8290024

8. Brush Ridge Cemetery
Crawford Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3323212, -93.8220825

9. Sayre Cemetery
South Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2747002, -93.8806000

10. King Cemetery
Scott Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2750015, -93.9160995

11. Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
Union Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3520012, -94.0014038

12. Jefferson-Goar Cemetery
Jefferson Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4350014, -93.9189987

13. Saint Charles Cemetery
South Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2809982, -93.8209991

14. Winterset Cemetery
Winterset, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3301000, -94.0097000

15. North McDonald Cemetery
Jefferson Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4227677, -93.9730057

16. Viney Cemetery
South Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2638815, -93.8291110

17. Calvary Cemetery
Jefferson Township, Warren County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3953018, -93.7707977

18. Dillman Cemetery
Jackson Township, Warren County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2970120, -93.7781030

19. Saint Patrick's Cemetery
Lee Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4259987, -93.7919998

20. Beem Cemetery
Scott Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2625008, -93.9747009

21. Wallace Cemetery
Jefferson Township, Warren County, USA
Coordinate: 41.3413430, -93.7464960

22. Farson Cemetery
Ohio Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2399929, -93.8227221

23. Peru Cemetery
East Peru, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.2305984, -93.9393997

24. Trester Cemetery
Madison Township, Madison County, USA
Coordinate: 41.4361007, -94.0189000