Great Aunt Mary

Mary Manassas Eager Joiner with granddaughters Dorothy Lee Joiner, Nancy Stuart Joiner & Mary Eager Joiner, about 1926. Photo provided by Leroy Gharis.

Birth: Aug. 17, 1861
Clinton
Hinds County
Mississippi, USA
Death: Jul. 30, 1953
Arlington
Tarrant County
Texas, USA

Born to Reverend Eleazer C. Eager (1813-1899) & Harriet Ide Eager (1815-1879). Mary was named for the Battle of Manassas, also known as Bull Run, which was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas. It was the first major land battle of the Civil War. While it was a decisive Confederate victory, both sides were sobered by the violence and casualties of the battle, and they realized that the war would potentially be much longer and bloodier than they had originally anticipated.

Mary married Rev. James Monroe Joiner, a Baptist minister, on Oct. 16, 1884, in Brownsville, TN. Her father married them.

Both James Joiner & Mary Eager were the children of Baptist preachers. After their marriage, James & Mary were Baptist missionaries with Lottie Moon to China from 1884 to 1887, where two of their children were born. They returned to the U.S. for health reasons or "in broken health" as "A Century of Protestant Missions in China," published 1907, states. By 1904, James & Mary were pastor and first lady of the Baptist church in Elkton, Kentucky.

Children: Webb Broadus Joiner (1885-1967), James Patrick Joiner (1887-1971) & Mary Eager Joiner Evans (2/6/1891 in AL-?).

After returning to the US, they lived in Robertson County, TN, in 1900. By 1910, they were in Hamilton County, TX. They moved frequently following the call to pastor different churches. In 1930, Mary, now a widow, was living with her daughter, Mary Joiner Evans and her husband, Joe Evans, in Shelby County, TN. In 1938, she moved to Arlington, TX, to be near her son, Webb. She died at age 91.


Family links:
Parents:
Eleazer Chapin Eager (1813 - 1899)
Harriet Ide Eager (1815 - 1879)

Spouse:
James Monroe Joiner (1849 - 1914)

Children:
Webb Broadus Joiner (1885 - 1967)
James Patrick Joiner (1887 - 1971)



Burial:
Oakland Cemetery
Dallas
Dallas County
Texas, USA
Plot: Section 8, west 1/4 of Lot 140; call 214-421-2244