Mary was a beloved grandmother for Nora Alexander Ward.
Mary grew up in Iowa. Her parents were Daniel and Rebecca Jane Miller Walker. Both of her parents were born in NC and moved to Wayne County, Iowa.
Mary married John Thornburg June 06, 1876 in Iowa. He was reportedly a Cherokee Indian working on the Railroad. Mary was working at the Railroad Depot. They had one child Hetta Rebecca Thornburg in 1877. Info from the 1880 Census in IA vol2 ED 245 says Hetta age 2 was with her mother Mary Thornburg at the home of Mary's mother Rebecca Walker. John Thornburg moved back to Oklahoma.
In 1885, Mary remarried to Andrew James Harris and had four children. He died in 1895. In 1898, she remarried to David Batterson. They had one child, Polly.
It was 1944 when Mary passed away at the home of her daughter Polly. She was buried at the Harris Cemetery, Monroe Twp, Wayne County, IA.