Individual Details
(May 8, 1849 - June 21, 1939)
"Mary Alice, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hardy Cotton, was born in White County (Illinois) near Carmi, on May 8, 1849, and passed away at her home in East Enfield early Wednesday morning, June 21, 1939, aged 90 years, 1 month and 13 days. When she was but a child, the father of the deceased was thrown from a horse and instantly killed, leaving his wife with a large family of small children. This family was cited as one of the steady pioneer families of the county. Having been born when it was but little more than a wilderness, she (Grandma) with her own hands and the assistance of her brothers, went to the woods and cleared and removed the timber, after which she, with her wooden mould-board plow and ox team, assisted in preparing the soil for cultivation. Thus we see she had lived in the pioneer days when the homes and privations were but little superior to those of the Indians. She had also lived in the days of modern conveniences. In 1865 occurred the happy event of her marriage to Elijah Hatcher, a soldier of the Civil War. After a few years spent on the farm, they, in 1880, moved to Enfield, where they thereafter resided. Soon after coming to Enfield, she and her husband united with the Methodist Church, and while for years, due to afflictions, she had been deprived of attendance on the means of Grace, yet she had never lost faith in God, or her interest in the Church. Mr. and Mrs. Hatcher were the parents of ten children. The husband passed away twenty-five years ago, as did one daughter, Mrs. Mollie Vaught, and one son, Frank. Left to mourn their loss are Thomas, Lee and Mrs. Daisy Joy of Enfield; Allen, of Eldorado; Carson, of Manteno; Cleveland and Theodore, of Carmi; Mrs. J. W. Foster, of East St. Louis; and one aged brother, Ebin Cotton, of Carmi, 31 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren, besides numerous friends and more distant relatives. Funeral services were held from the Enfield M. E. Church on Friday, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, in charge of the resident pastor, Rev. H. W. Smoot, assisted by Rev. Powell, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. Burial was in the Enfield Cemetery. The pallbearers were selected from the grandsons. The large attendance at the funeral and the numerous floral emblems attest the high esteem in which the deceased and family are held. The cities and towns represented by those attending the funeral were: Detroit, Michigan; Akron, Ohio; Evansville, Indiana; Peoria, Decatur, Chicago, Monteno, Eldorado, East St Louis, Fairfield, McLeansboro, Carmi, and Norris City, Illinois." (Obituary.)
Events
| Birth | May 8, 1849 | White County, Illinois | | | |
| Marriage | September 22, 1865 | White County, Illinois - Elijah Hatcher III | | | |
| Death | June 21, 1939 | White County, Illinois | | | |
| Burial | | Enfield Cemetery, White County, Illinois | | | |
Families