Mary’s birth information is uncertain.

In 1880 she was a 26-year-old servant in the household of T. S.Baldwin, a 36-year-old farmer in Egremont, MA.

In 1870 she was a 17-year-old domestic servant in the household of Roscius Race, a 63-year-old farmer in Egremont, MA.

In 1865 she was an 11-year-old girl in the household of Racius Race, a 58-year-old farmer in Egremont, MA.

Her birth date and whether she was born in Massachusetts or New York is unclear. According to the events cited above, she was born about 1854. However, her marriage to Edward Penfield in 1896 was said to occur when she was 35, meaning she was born about 1961. Four years later in the 1900 census her birth was said to be in 1870. But by the time she died, five years later, her birth date had slipped back to 1850.

According to her death certificate, her parents were Nelson and Lucinda M. Piper. By coincidence Lucinda had died in 1894 shortly before Edward’s son William lost his life in an automobile accident. Her husband at that time was shown not as Nelson but as Edward E. Piper; further information seems elusive.

Paul Penfield, Jr., editor. Created 1 May 2015