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There was much confusion about William's wives, Eliza in particular.Her Powell descendants
always assumed her name was Ooley since onedaughter carried that as a middle name. In her
book, William'sdaughter, Clara, said William's first wife was a Berry, which wasconfirmed in
books by the Graham daughters-in-law. Marriage recordshad McMahan only as Eliza's last name.
And at least one researchersaid William had 3 wives listing Eliza McMahan as #1, Elvira Berry
as#2, and Ellen Jane Tanner as #3. Finally the real Eliza McMahan Berry was found and everything fellinto place, making perfect sense. Family lore says the New Salem, IL, store where Abraham Lincoln metAnn Rutledge was owned by a Berry, a relative of Eliza. |
| Their marriage date of 1827 (no month or day) was recorded in thefamily Bible but Eliza would have been only 14 at that time. SangamonCo records recorded the marriage as posted and those records recordedher last name as McMahan, not Berry. |
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Her side of the gravestone reads: "Our labor's done, securely laid In this our last retreat Unheeded o'er our silent dust The storms of earth may beat." |