Forrest Mary Ann Montgomery Forrest

Good posts, thanks for the info. Does anyone know the circumstances of Mrs. Forrest's death (Mary Ann)?

She died in 1893, age 67, but I've never been able to find out what exactly was the cause. She wasn't very old, really, even for those days. She did spend her last years helping Willie raise his three children - his first wife died. After the birth of their daughter, she was never well. Forrest was always very careful of her and made sure she was never alone but the chronic infirmity seemed to be related to the birth. There were no more children as that would have been too risky for her. The loss of her husband was probably part of it - she never really got over it although she was a very strong person.
 
Just a note: There is a picture captioned as Mary Ann Forrest floating about the internet.

forrest_wife__large.jpg

This is Mariam Beck Forrest Luxton - Forrest's mom. On the back of the brooch this photo is inside is this picture:

Expired Image Removed

That is William Forrest, Forrest's dad.
 
Cool. I remember your sharing that with us several years ago, but couldn't seem to find it again. Forrest definitely took after both of them, didn't he?

Sure got his mama's eyes! Think he took after her more than his pa. Larry has a couple of different pictures of William Forrest on his Brothers Forrest thread. Some of the brothers, too, but he couldn't find out which! The Luxtons had a good deal of Forrest family things, being as Mariam took them with her to her second marriage of course. It's a little weird to think 44 year old Forrest had a 12 year old sister! But the two older Luxton sons served with his cavalry during the war.
 
I am looking for information regarding Mary Ann Montgomery Forrest, any ideas as to where to look? Thanks
 
Welcome to CivilWarTalk.

Mary Ann Montgomery is often mentioned in the Forrest forum. I invite you to explore that forum, there's allot of great information in there.

Also, my co hosts @diane and @Nathanb1 may be able to provide some additional resources for you.

Here's one thread about Mary Ann,
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/nathan-bedford-forrest-and-mary-ann-montgomery.81787/#post-608862

And, I also found an interesting quote from @diane, in a Valentine's Day discussion.

Nathan Bedford Forrest and Mary Ann Montgomery is a long term love story! He was a difficult man to be married to, for sure, but she was a very strong personality herself. He had not known of her before he found her and her mother stuck in the creek, but she had undoubtedly heard of him. They met just after he had the big shoot-out with the Matlocks in the street in front of his uncle's business. He proved a number of things by fishing her out of the creek - he was decent, he was a gentleman (unlike the jokers standing by watching!), and he was strong. He put his shoulder under the wheel and hefted it up, loaded carriage and all! After seeing them safely on the road again, he came back to the two men watching - all muddy and dripping wet - and laid into them but good. They left and he then turned to Mary's mom and asked politely to see her daughter. Well, you bet you can! When he arrived for his date he saw the same two men sitting in the living room. They snickered, saying Mary wasn't going to pick him - she was a cultured lady and he was a hillbilly. That was evidently the end of the conversation, and when Mary did finally come down she found one man sitting on the couch waiting patiently for her. It was the one she figured on! Forrest promptly proposed to her. He was not the romantic type and didn't know what else to say, so he gave her his basic resume - I'm working, I've saved some money, I've got a little property and I'm a big galoot. I can provide for you and protect you. What do you say? She didn't say anything. So, he said, "Coming back tomorrow. I'll have the marriage license with me." Being as he was also the constable of De Soto County, that wasn't hard! He did return, with the papers done, and they were married directly. By all accounts it was a good marriage. Many who met Forrest and his wife during the war were surprised at how deferential he was to her. She always managed to be as near to her husband and son as possible. He had tried to leave her in Memphis but after being badly wounded at Shiloh, he gave in to her insistence that she be near. Whenever he was wounded he didn't fail to tell her, nor did he make light of it. The only thing they argued about was his gambling. Mary did not like it one bit and often told him so. After the war, Forrest made the mistake of vouching for a friend's loan. The friend defaulted, which meant Forrest suddenly owed around $5,000. He came up with all of it but $1000. This was due in the morning. Forrest and the wife sat at the dining table looking at their last $10 in all the world. "Won't you let me find a game of draw?" he asked. "Gambling is a sin," Mary replied. "No good comes of sin!" "Mary, this is a matter of honor." "Then I will be waiting for you, with a Bible on my lap!" Forrest went off with the $10 and found him a game. He turned the $10 into $1200. He then got up, put the winnings in his hat, and started to go. The other players stopped him, saying he should give them a chance to get their losses back. "No, gentlemen," said Forrest. "My wife is sitting at home praying for me and reading the Bible. This is my last game." As far as anyone knows, it really was his last game! He considered her his 'guardian angel' and truly believed he had survived the war due to her constant prayers.
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/great-couples-from-civil-war-for-valentines-day.95506/#post-807080
 
Welcome! I'd like to know more about Mary Ann Forrest, too. Little is known about her. There are some comments in diaries and letters of friends of hers from the Horn Lake area but it's hard to piece her together. Her husband just about erased her trying to protect her! She's barely mentioned in his almost-autobiography by Jordan and Pryor. It seems she was well respected, well educated, sophisticated and was descended from the Revolutionary general Montgomery. Her uncle on the Cowan side was her guardian after her father died - they had come to Horn Lake near Hernando just a couple years before she married Forrest. He considered her his 'guardian angel'. She was a devout Christian and never stopped praying for him - it was late in life that he finally converted and was baptized into the church. She was very strong and not afraid to stand up to her husband if she felt he was wrong. He usually saw it her way! He was a difficult man but she learned how to manage him - and he appreciated the need of it better than anyone. She was the only person who could control his formidable temper, and the only one with the nerve to try, and, as his health declined, he came to lean more and more on her - she was indeed a strong lady. After Forrest's death, Willie and his family were living at the house on Adams street while his parents were at Forrest's brother's place - Mary Ann moved back in. (Willie had been living in Tupelo, where his wife was from, but she had died so he moved back to Memphis.) Mary Ann did a lot of things for Confederate veterans around the area, especially disabled ones, and was involved in many projects dealing with them. She died in 1893. So far no pictures or photos of her have surfaced but she was said to have been beautiful.
 
Got to say - that isn't Mary Ann Forrest. That is Mariam Beck Forrest Luxton - mom! On the back of that brooch is William Forrest - dad. It's an easy mistake as it's been on the internet a lot identified as Mrs. Forrest. It is...just the wrong generation! It's Forrest's mother, not his wife.
Now that you mention it, he looks like his mama! minus the beard of course. Rats......
 
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