M. (1) 24 Jul 1872 in Jersey County, Illinois
Husband: James Ross
M. (2) 9 Aug 1887 in Labette County, Kansas
Husband: Albert Leonartz
D. 18 Jan 1899 in Labette County, Kansas
When Mary Edith Luckey was widowed at a young age, she desperately needed a husband, and she apparently found one on her father's farm.
Mary's entire heritage traced back to North Carolina. She was born in Jersey County, Illinois on June 18, 1854 to Samuel Luckey and Mary Jane Davis, the oldest of 10 children. On July 24, 1872, Mary married her first cousin James Ross (Mary's father and James' mother were brother and sister). Between 1873 and 1882, they had five children.
In 1879, the Ross family moved to Labette County, Kansas, along with Mary's parents and most of her siblings. The two families bought adjoining farms near the town of Parsons. In February 1884, a big storm damaged their roof, and James went up to repair it, exposing himself to the winter chill. He came down with pneumonia, and died 5 days later, leaving Mary a widow with five children at age 29.
Mary managed the farm for at least a year. In 1885, she had 40 acres valued at $1,000, raising 35 acres of corn and a half acre of potatoes. About two years later, she became pregnant, and on August 9, 1887, she married her father's farmhand, Albert Leonartz, at her farm. Her baby was born a month later; presumably, Albert was the child's biological father, but this isn't known for certain.
License for Mary's marriage to Albert Leonartz.
It was said that Albert was a rough man. He was of a German background, illiterate, and strict with her children. Besides the child Mary had in 1887, she had two more children with Albert born in 1890 and 1893. By 1895, the family lived on a farm of 160 acres with a cash value of $2,660. They raised corn, oats, and flax; plus they had an orchard of 300 apple trees, and several peach and cherry trees. They also owned six horses, one cow and one dog.
Mary died on January 18, 1899 of "la grippe" (influenza). The Parsons Daily Sun reported on Januray 20, “The funeral services over the remains of Mrs. Albert Leonard [sic], who died at her home near this city on Wednesday, took place from the family residence yesterday afternoon, Rev. J.T. Crawford of the Baptist church officiating.”
Mary's two daughters, Laura Sheridan and Agnes Leonartz, in about 1910.
Children by James Ross:
1. Laura Ethol Ross – B. 24 Sep 1873, Jersey County, Illinois; D. 17 Mar 1917, Los Angeles, California; M. Howard Milton Sheridan (1871-1951), 6 Mar 1895, Oswego, Kansas
2. James Anderson Ross – B. 8 Aug 1875, Jersey County, Illinois; D. 20 Feb 1939, Iowa; M. Alberta Louella Goodknow (1883-1956), 12 Sep 1900, Clarksville, Iowa
3. Charles Howard Ross – B. 4 Aug 1877, Jersey County, Illinois; D. 2 Dec 1918, Los Angeles, California
4. Edward Auguster Ross – B. 23 Jan 1880, Labette County, Kansas; D. 4 Jan 1964; M. Ora Itasca Turner (1895-1987), about 1912
5. John L. Ross – B. 6 Aug 1882, Labette County, Kansas; D. 28 Sep 1892, (probably) Labette County, Kansas
Children by Albert Leonartz:
1. Simon Alexander Leonartz – B. 9 Sep 1887, Labette County, Kansas; D. 1923
2. Flora Agnes Leonartz – B. 5 May 1890, Labette County, Kansas; D. 17 Jan 1965, Wenatchee, Washington; M. (1) Robert James Malcolm (~1876-?), 26 Jul 1907, King County, Washington; (2) Jesse Lee Rader (1885-1968), 16 Apr 1919, Chelan County, Washington
3. Thomas Jefferson Leonartz – B. 19 Oct 1893, Parsons, Kansas; D. Jan 1972, Lone Jack, Missouri; M. Laura M. [?] (1898-1979), about 1917
Sources:
Family bible of Mary Leonartz
Marriage certificate of James Ross and Mary E. Luckey, Jersey County, Illinois, 24 Jul 1872
1860, 1870, 1880, 1920 and 1930 U.S. Censuses, Illinois and Kansas
1885 and 1895 Kansas State Censuses, Labette County
Marriage certificate of Albert Leonartz and Mary Ross, Labette County, Kansas, 9 Aug 1887
Obituary of Mary Leonartz, Parsons Daily Sun, 20 Jan 1899
Interviews of Thomas Michael Mitchell, 1976-1977
Death certificate of Laura Ethol Sheridan, 17 Mar 1917
Kansas marriages database, 1840-1935
Death certificate of Howard M. Sheridan, Mar 1951
Social Security death index
1920, 1930 and 1940 U.S. Censuses, Washington
World War I draft card database
Transcribed tombstones of Rosebank Cemetery, Mulberry, Kansas
Washington death records index, 1940-1996
