Mary Jane Lyday was born in 1838 in the Republic of Texas in what is now Lamar County, Texas.  Her father, Jacob Lyday, arrived in Texas 26 January 1836.  She was the oldest of three children.  In 1856, she was married to James Tilton Yates in the Methodist Episcopal Church South by James Graham, Minister of the Gospel, Paris, Texas.  It seems to have been a joyous occasion, as it is written in some of the history books of that county.

Mary Jane sold some of her inheritance in Lamar County and the family went to live in Throckmorton County on her father’s Headright land, issued by the Republic of Texas.  I always wondered, “Why were they in Throckmorton County?”  I found this through my search for history and truths.

Mary Jane Lyday died in July 1882 while visiting her daughter, Lela Yates Clayton, in Runnels County, Texas.  She had what they called “galloping consumption”.  I go to her grave often, now, and as a little girl, I went.  It is a lone grave with a little picket fence around it.  At the time of her death, she was buried all alone in a pasture close to her daughter’s home.  She is still in the lone grave, but across the road from the Talpa Cemetery in Coleman County, Texas.  I keep a little Texas flag on her grave commemorating her birthright and my feelings of pride for her life.  It is a good thing.  That is why I visit her often . . . for her and for me.

Sylvia Kennedy, Descendant