Here a Mary, There a Mary: Headstone Mystery #1

A couple of weeks ago Jim Proehl at the Bandon Historical Society emailed a mystery to me. He wrote, “I walk through the Averill/GAR/Catholic cemetery in Bandon almost every day and was surprised yesterday to discover two new/old headstones that popped up along the road. One of the stones made me think of you.”

The photo of a headstone with a broken lamb certainly intrigued me since I share a first name and surname with the individual memorialized by the stone. Although the mystery extends beyond Randolph and involves a family unrelated to my own, I could not resist looking for clues: Who was Mary A Russell (08 Aug 1877-30 Oct 1887) and where was she buried?

Clues from Cemeteries

Find a Grave shows that two Mary Russells in Oregon who died in 1887 might fit the data above: one buried in Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery in Portland, Multnomah County; the other buried in Denmark Cemetery, Langlois, Curry County. The only information I found for the Mary buried at Lone Fir was her burial date: 31 Mar 1887 — seven months before the date of death inscribed on the mystery headstone. This strongly suggests the headstone is not from the Lone Fir Cemetery.

So, what about the Mary buried at the Denmark Cemetery in Langlois?

Clues from Census Records

Two-year old “Mary A Russell” is recorded as living in Floras Creek Precinct of Curry County, in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census for Oregon (01 June 1880; page 2, line 48). She was born in Oregon to parents James P Russell and Nancy C (Looney) Russell. Mary isn’t listed in either the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Federal Censuses for Floras Creek. However, both censuses note that her mother had given birth thirteen times, but only twelve children were alive in both 1900 and 1910. The census records strongly suggest that Mary was Nancy Russell’s child who died prior to 1900.

Feeling relatively confident that the mystery headstone matches the biographical data available for Mary Russell of Floras Creek, what about the other headstone resting in the Denmark Cemetery? Although abbreviated in detail, it’s engraved with the same basic information as that on the mystery marker. Could the Denmark Cemetery marker and the mystery marker memorialize the same Mary?

Clues from Grave Markers

Comparing photos taken at the Denmark Cemetery (and posted to Find a Grave), it appears that the markers for Mary, her father, her, mother, one of her sisters, and two of her brothers, were made from the same stone material and were engraved in the same style. Although I haven’t found any published accounts about markers being replaced, I’m guessing that Mary’s original headstone was replaced in the Denmark Cemetery when markers were made for other family members who died decades later.

Clues from Readers?

If the broken lamb headstone is in fact the original marker for Mary’s grave, where has it been all these years and why was it recently placed along the road of a Bandon Cemetery, about 30 miles north of Langlois?

If you have any information about the headstone or how you’ve solved a similar mystery, please contact me or leave a comment below.