Presenting the chronicles of Mary Will Myers

Marion, Louisiana

*

1874- 1963 Timeline The Birth of Mary Lou Will

1874 Mary and John Miles marries

1892 The return to Marion 1904 The 1912 escape to Arkansas

and the name change from Miles to Myers

Life in Breckenridge, Arkansas 1912-1924

The children go west 1920-1924 The heartbreak years 1922-

1934 Mary’s life 1934-1963

Mary Will Myers

A Portrait Of Mary Will MyersMary Will Myers ca 1925, 51 years old

•Born Mary Lou Will on Saturday Feb 28, 1874•Daughter of William and Sinia Will•Place of Birth Marion, LA•The eleventh of thirteen children•The mother of eight children•Married 32 years, remained a widow for 39 years•The grandchildren nicknamed her Deenie

U.S. Events during the time of Mary’s birth: •Ulysses S. Grant was President•The Reconstruction Period was in process•Religious events: Jesus was suppose to appear in 1874•The year of the grasshopper

plague

The 1880 Census Of The Will family Marion, Louisiana

FatherMother

Mary* Correct age is 6

*5 years old

*Julia, Laura, Henry and Allen are not listed

Around 1891, 17 year old Mary Will Meets a 25 year old Lumberjack named John Miles

On Palm Sunday April 10, 1892 Mary age 18 and John Miles age 26 jumped the Broom in Marion, LA.They stayed in Marion and had two children. Around 1895 they moved to Arkansas, John’s home.

Upon their return from Arkansas nine years later and and five children, John and Mary purchase landin Marion in 1904. They bought 120 acres for $150.00.

The Return Home

Three years after they bought the land; in 1907 there was a Boll Weevil infestation. The tiny insect devastated their cotton fields and forced farmers like John to pursue mixed farming and working in the lumber yards. John and Mary had seven childrento support and in need of income. They sold 80 of their 120 Acres to the Union Saw Mill Company On Thursday October 22, 1908 to support the family.

They originally paid $1.25 an acre for their land and sold at $1.87 an acre, a profit of 62 cents.

The Miles Family 1910 Census, Union Parish, Louisiana

Shelly died in Breckenridge Township, Arkansas before she could take a picture in Los Angeles…

John Allen Emma Ora Edna Columbus

Jack Oliver Trudy Shelly Hazel Lou

1893- 1895- 1897- 1899-

*1902- 1904- *1907- 1909-

Mary and John’s Children

Around 1912 John and Mary abandoned their 40 acres and moved back to Arkansas. The abrupt move was brought about by an assault on Mary by a White Man in Marion.When they arrived in Breckenridge, Arkansas, John changed his name to Sam and the family surname to Myers.

1920 Census Breckenridge, Arkansas

Sam MyersMaryColumbusOliverTrudyShellyHazel

*John, Emma and Edna not listed were married

The Arkansas economy became depressed around 1920 creating hardship. Work was becoming scarce and times were tight. During this time the Klu Klux Klan was on the rise. Mary and Sam gets a call from older son John Allen who was out in California; he told them about a better life out west. So Mary and Sam sends the children one by one to Los Angeles to stay with their elder son John Allen. Columbus first, Jack, then Trudy, then it was Shelly’s turn but Shelly develops TB and dies around 1922 before she could go. Before Mary and Sam could pack up and move, Sam becomes ill and dies around 1924. Mary, heartbroken of the deaths, moves with younger daughter Hazel to LA to be with the other children. Emma the oldest daughter remains in Arkansas with husband and children.

The family goes west

John Allen Myers

The Myers Children -1925

John Allen

Emma

Ora Edna

Columbus

Jack Oliver

Trudy Hazel Lou

1893-1934

1895-1929*

1897-1967

1899-1928*

1902-1975

1904-1925*

1909-1931*

Birth/ Death

When Mary Myers arrives in LA the heartbreak continues.The children were getting sick and dying randomly.

By 1934 there were only two children living, Mary lost Six children and a husband in 12 years

Mary Myers and surviving Children

* Died from TB

Great.. Mary

1930 Census

Edna

HazelJack

Breckenridge to Boyle Heights

1930 Census for Los Angeles County

Hazel’s son Harold Walters andone of Edna’s daughters, Futcha are listed

Mary and the family lived just east of the Los Angeles river on Michigan Ave in the mid 1920s, a place called Boyle Heights a gateway for newcomers to the city. From the 1920s to the 1950s it was Los Angeles' most heterogeneous neighborhood, serving as home to large concentrations of Jews, Mexicans, and Japanese Americans, as well as Russian Molokans, African Americans, and people of Armenian, Italian, and Chinese descent. Around 1930 Mary and the family moved near Central Ave., a place nicknamed Harlem West.

Mary Myers and family in Los AngelesMary Wills Myers Odessa Will Carr

(Allen Will’s daughter)

Jack Myers (Son)

Edna Magness (Daughter)

ca 1950 Thanksgiving Dinner

* * ***Grandchildren

Mary Myers, 76 years oldEdna Magness, 53 years oldJack Myers, 48 years oldOdessa Carr, 41 years old

Mary Will Myers 1874 - 1963Mary Lou Myers

On a Tuesday evening June 4, 1963; Mary Myers succumbs to a Heart Attack while traveling on a Los Angeles City Bus.

The End

Thanks to the following people

Margaret Clemons

Mary Jackson

Katherine Myers

Ruth PuckettTillman Puckett

Lenda Hunter

Oh yah!Thank U