GORDON, Martha Ann "Mattie" Darnall - Putnam

Our great grandmother Martha Ann ('Mattie') DARNALL was born, probably near Bainbridge, Putnam County, Indiana, 22 February 1852. She was the daughter of Johnson DARNALL and Martha Ann YEATES. As far as we¹ve determined, Martha was the last of nine children born into the Johnson DARNALL family. Her father was a prominent farmer near Bainbridge, Putnam County.

On 3 December 1874, at the age of 22, Martha married John Riley GORDON, age 26. During his lifetime, John was a prominent educator, county assessor and appraiser, lawyer, and three-term member of the Indiana House of Representatives. They made their home in Bainbridge until about 1879, when John practiced law in Greencastle (Putnam County), Indiana. Three children were born to their marriage, Benjamin Lowell (1875), Mary H. (1879), and Lucy Lee (1884).

Tragically, our great grandfather John Riley GORDON died 7 May 1888, of pneumonia, at the early age of 39. Just two and a half years later, at age 38, Martha Ann ('Mattie') DARNALL Gordon died at 8:45 a.m., 11 November 1890, after a two-year bout with consumption (tuberculosis). Her funeral was held, 12 November 1890, at the family residence on Hanna Street in Greencastle, Indiana. She was buried in Lot 3, Block 3, Range 9 of Forest Hill Cemetery in Greencastle, where her husband had been laid to rest in 1888, and her daughter Mary was to join them in 1901.

Martha left behind three children, ages fifteen, eleven, and seven years old. Unfortunately, we have yet to determine what happened to the three young children after their mother died. Their maternal grandmother Martha Ann YEATES Darnall lived until 20 June 1905, and their paternal grandfather James Smith GORDON lived until 4 September 1911. There also were numerous aunts and uncles in the area that the children could have lived with.