Mary Shelby Ward began living with William Ward around 1860, likely near Helena, Arkansas. The two formed a common-law marriage, and she eventually gave birth to six children. Four of her children survived to adulthood: Sallie, born around 1869; Elizabeth, born around 1872; Robert, born around July 1874, and another unknown child. After the war, the family lived in Phillips County. Her husband died on February 19, 1903, and two White men entered into a property dispute with Mary and her children. The men attempted to undermine her claim to her husband's property, since her marriage had been under common law. Her husband's pension file served as a crucial piece of evidence confirming the couple's marriage. It is unclear when or where Mary died.
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Pension Records for William Ward, RG15, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; United States Federal Census, 1870, 1880, 1900, accessed through Ancestry.com.
