Staggs Family History

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    Mary Mariah Eaton (1835–1886)

    BIRTH: 5 Jan 1835, Concord Township, Washington County, Missouri, USA
    DEATH: Feb 1886, Courtois Township, Crawford County, Missouri, USA
    FATHER: Abraham Eaton Jr (1791–1867)
    MOTHER: Mary Almeda Reeves (1800–1888)
    SPOUSE: 1st: Azel Dillon Edgar (1830–1873)

    When Mary Mariah Eaton was born on January 5, 1835, in Concord, Missouri, her father, Abraham, was 43, and her mother, Mary, was 34. She had seven sons and two daughters with Azel Dillon Edgar between 1853 and 1869. She died in February 1886 in Courtois, Missouri, at the age of 51, and was buried in Cherryville, Missouri.

    The Life of Mary Mariah Eaton

    Mary Mariah Eaton entered the world on 5 January 1835 in Concord Township, Washington County, Missouri, the daughter of Abraham Eaton Jr. and Mary Almeda Reeves. She grew up in a large frontier family, one of many children in a household that moved between Washington and Crawford counties as her father acquired land and carved out a living in the Ozark hills. The Eaton children learned early the rhythms of rural life: planting, harvesting, tending animals, and helping one another survive in a landscape that demanded resilience.

    By 1850, Mary appeared in the census as a 17‑year‑old girl living with her parents and siblings in Crawford County. Her world was one of close‑knit families, neighbors who were often kin, and a community shaped by the rugged terrain of Courtois Township.

    Marriage and the Edgar Years

    On 1 May 1851, at just sixteen, Mary married Azel Dillon Edgar, the son of William Conner Edgar Jr. and Charlotte Dillon. The marriage was performed by her relative, Isaac G. Eaton, a minister — a reminder of how intertwined the Eaton, Edgar, Dillon, and Martin families were in this region.

    Mary and Azel settled near the Osage and Courtois creeks, where Azel farmed alongside his brothers and father. Their household grew quickly. Between 1853 and 1869, Mary gave birth to nine children, each one arriving into a home where work was constant and resources often thin: John Franklin “Frank” (1853), Missouri Jane (1854), James William (1856), Marshall (1858), Walter Monroe (1860), George H. (1862), Mary S. (1865), Eliza “Liza” (1866). and Finas Marion (1869).

    The 1860 and 1870 censuses show Mary as the center of a bustling household — a young mother with children ranging from infants to teenagers, living in a farming community where survival depended on cooperation and endurance.

    The Civil War years were especially hard on rural Missouri families. Though Azel does not appear in military records, the Edgars lived in a region marked by raids, shortages, and uncertainty. Mary kept her children fed and clothed through these years, a quiet strength that defined her life.

    Loss and Reinvention

    On 26 April 1873, tragedy struck. Azel Dillon Edgar died at only 43 years old, leaving Mary a widow with nine children, the youngest just four.

    The attached document records the moment starkly: “Azel Dillon Edgar died near Cuba Post Office, Courtois Township, Crawford County, Missouri, United States on 26 April 1873.”

    Mary was thirty‑eight, with a household still full of dependents. In rural Missouri, a widow with young children faced enormous hardship. Survival often required remarriage — not out of romance, but necessity.

    A Second Marriage: The Self Household

    On 26 April 1875, exactly two years after Azel’s death, Mary married Lemuel Self, a widower and longtime neighbor.

    This marriage was more than a union of two individuals — it was the merging of two families. Lemuel had previously married Mary’s older sister, Sarah A. Eaton, decades earlier. Now, in a twist common in frontier communities, he married Mary after both had lost their spouses.

    By the 1880 census, the Self household included: Lemuel Self, age 65, Mary M. Self, age 45, and all of Mary’s younger Edgar children, listed as stepchildren.

    Mary had successfully kept her children together — a remarkable feat for a frontier widow.

    Legacy of Mary Mariah Eaton

    Mary lived only six more years after her remarriage. She died in February 1886, near Cherryville, and was buried in Freeman Cemetery, the same ground where many of her kin rest.

    Her life spanned:

    • The migration of her family from Washington to Crawford County
    • Marriage into the Edgar family
    • The birth and raising of nine children
    • The hardships of the Civil War
    • The loss of her first husband
    • The rebuilding of her household through remarriage
    • The launching of her children into adulthood

    She left behind a large family whose descendants spread across Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and beyond.

    Mary’s story is not one of dramatic headlines or public achievements. It is the story of a frontier woman whose strength, adaptability, and devotion shaped generations. Her life, preserved in census lines, marriage records, and the memories of her descendants, reflects the quiet heroism of the women who held rural Missouri families together in the 19th century.

    Parents

    FATHER: Abraham Eaton Jr (1791–1867)
    MOTHER: Mary Almeda Reeves (1800–1888)

    Married

    1st: Azel Dillon Edgar (1830–1873) on 1 May 1851

    2nd: Lamuel Self (1813–1903) on 26 April 1875

    Children

    • John F Edgar (1853-1923) married Addie Cole (1857-1934)
    • Missouri Edgar (1855–?)
    • William Edgar (1857–1920) married Mary T Kreamalmeyer (1865–1889)
    • Marshall Edgar (1858–?)
    • Walter Monroe Edgar (1861–1950) married Darcas Annis Martin (1863–1951)
    • George Edgar (1862–?) married Mary Alice Eaton (1866-1939)
    • Mary S Edgar (1864–1951) married George B Duncan (1859-1930)
    • Liza Edgar (1866–1895)
    • Fenis Edgar (1869–1945) married Olive Louisa (1874–1918)

    Documents

    • Birth Records
    • Wedding records
      • None
    • Death records
      • Find a Grave > Mariah Mariah Edgar Self, death date: 1886
      • Burial: Freeman Cemetery, Cherryville, Crawford County, Missouri, USA
    • Census Records
      • 1860 United States Federal Census > Missouri > Crawford > Courtois > A. D. Edgar (30, farmer) with wife Mary M Edgar (26) and children J F Edgar (8), M J Edgar (6), Wm Edgar (4), and Marshal Edgar (2). Real Estate Value: $350, Personal Estate Value: $302
      • 1870 United States Federal Census > Missouri > Crawford > Courtois > Dillon Edgar (42, farmer) and Maria Edgar (33, homemaker) and siblings John F Edgar (18), Missouri Edgar (15), William Edgar (13), Marshall Edgar (12), Monroe Edgar (10), George Edgar (8), Mary S Edgar (6), Liza Edgar (4), and Fenis Edgar (1). Personal Estate Value: $370
      • 1880 United States Federal Census > Missouri > Crawford > Courtois > 054 > Mary W. Self (age 45, keeping house) living with husband Lemeul Self (age 65, farmer) and children (listed as stepchildren to Lemeul Self): Frank Edgar (27), William Edgar (22), Monroe Edgar (18), George Edgar (16), Mary Edgar (14), Eliza Edgar (12), Finis Edgar (10)
    • Other

    Relation of Azel Dillon Edgar to Karen Edgar: 2nd great-grandmother

    Page last updated May 13, 2026

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