Mary (Yaeger) Farley was born in Tennessee sometime between 1823 and 1845 and was likely born into slavery. In 1865 she was living in Texas where she and Henry Farley had their first child, Sampson. By 1869, Mary was living in Greene County, Missouri. She and Henry were legally married on May 15 of that year. In 1880, Mary was living on a farm near Ash Grove with her husband and their four sons. By 1900, the couple was living alone within the city limits. Mary stated in that year that, in all, she had birthed 12 children, 8 of whom were still living. By 1910, Henry had died, and Mary lived in Ash Grove with her son, Sampson. Following her son’s death in 1915, she boarded with John Harris. Mary died on January 14, 1923, probably of tuberculosis (Russel 2012).
Grave Marker: Mary Farley's specific place of burial within the Berry Cemetery is unknown and there is no individual headstone for her. However, Mary is memorialized by the inscription of her name (shown below) on the new monument, installed in 2017, for individuals interred in unmarked graves in the Berry Cemetery.
