Individual Details

Dawes Roll #30971
Census #10420
5/16 blood degree, registered as Native Cherokee.
Her nicknames are Mug and Nan.

Yes, she lived to be 102 years old.

When I visited with Mary Ann, she told me she was married to
Russell Alexander in 1922, but they didn't get along so they didn't live together.

Labor Day Weekend 1999 she received an award for being the oldest original enrollee present at the Cherokee National Days Celebration, Tahlequah, OK

While I was doing research on my Native American ancestors, I had collected numerous amounts of papers and documents. In a file for Fannie Stephenson’s brother, John Stephenson, I found a death report for Rosa L. Stephenson, John's wife. Listed on the document was their children's names. I assumed by October 11, 1999, I would find them all to be deceased. I sent a letter to the funeral home that was mentioned on the report. October 20, 1999, I received my letter with handwritten notes listing the living children. I contacted both by letter. Maxine's daughter, Sue Ann Nicely, also contacted me because she was Mary Ann Stephenson's niece.

November 6, 1999, We drove to Spavinaw, Oklahoma to meet with Mary Ann, Sue Ann Nicely, Clyde Eugene and Ruth Richardson. We had stopped at a local gas/convenient station to ask for directions to the address we were given. A lady had driven up and started to pump gas into her car and she said, "I think you are looking for me." She turned out to be Sue Ann. We followed her to the little mobile home where Mary Ann, at age 98 years old, lived by herself. Mary Ann's baby sister, Maxine, wasn't able to make the trip for the visit. They told us the story of a gas explosion at the main house in town that burned completely down and caused her to lose her hearing. It was very difficult trying to talk to her and find out much information. The story was told that she had just arrived home from church one evening and as she opened the door, the house exploded. She's lucky to be alive. I gathered from that conversation that everything was lost in the fire, including precious photo's. Before we left town we drove by the location of what was left of the house.

Sometime after our visit, Mary Ann had fallen and it was several days before anyone found her on the floor with a broken hip. After she was released from the hospital she went to live with the Richardson family. We had visited them and walked all over the Big Cabin Cemetery in hopes to find the gravesite of Mary Ann Marshall Tiblow. We never discovered it.

Later, Sue Ann Nicely and her mother, Maxine, located Mary Ann Marshall Tiblow's grave site and sent photo's. I was so thankful Maxine knew where to find it. They placed flowers on her grave.

February 21, 2001: We drove to Vinita, Oklahoma to celebrate Mary Ann's 100th birthday at the nursing home she resided in. I had written several local papers so she would be recognized. The newspaper in Vinita, Oklahoma, printed my article and she was given a copy and it was said that she was so very proud and treasured that article.

October 6, 2003, I received an e-mail from Sue Ann that notified me of Mary Ann's passing in Vinita, Oklahoma.

I was always so grateful to have discovered this branch of my family tree. I was thankful for meeting new relatives, and I will never give up on finding out more information on my ancestors.

Birth	27 Feb 1901	Ketchum, Craig, Oklahoma, United States
Residence	1910	Township 8, Craig, Oklahoma, United States
Residence	1920	Township 8, Craig, Oklahoma, United States
Marriage	18 Jun 1923	Delaware, Oklahoma, United States - Russell Alexander
Residence	1930	Quapaw, Ottawa, Oklahoma, United States
Divorce	Bef 1940	Russell Alexander
Death	6 Oct 2003	Craig General Hospital, Vinita, Oklahoma, United States
Burial	10 Oct 2003	Strangspavinaw Cemetery, Spavinaw, Oklahoma, United States
FIND-A-GRAVE		https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41437070

Spouse

Russell Alexander (1900 - 1969)

Father	John Henry Stephenson (1873 - 1938)
Mother	Rosa Lee Smith (1882 - 1963)
Sibling	John Jennings "Jack" Stephenson (1900 - )
Sibling	Rosie Mildred "Eute" Stephenson (1904 - 1997)
Sibling	John S. Stephenson (1907 - )
Sibling	William Lewyn "Bill" Stephenson (1908 - 1980)
Sibling	Bill Stephenson (1910 - 1980)
Sibling	Paul Stephenson (1912 - )
Sibling	Paul Everett Stephenson (1915 - )
Sibling	Louise Maxine Stephenson (1920 - )
Sibling	Charles Edger "Charlie" Stephenson (1923 - 1991)