Amanda Mariah Fitzgerald

Amanda Fitzgerald, Bought By Late Husband, Passes Away At Corydon

Corydon, Oct. 30. - Amanda Fitzgerald died at her home east of here at the extreme old age of ninety-five. She was one of the first settlers in the county. Her husband H. M. Fitzgerald died about five years ago. Funeral services were held at the Baptist church in Corydon.

The death of Mrs. Fitzgerald calls to the public’s attention one of the interesting episodes of early settlement. Mrs. Fitzgerald was a mulatto, her mother being a full blood African and it was always supposed that her father was a white plantation owner although she never knew who her father really was. Way back in the early forties H. M. Fitzgerald bought Mrs. Fitzgerald and her mother “Aunt Rosie” from Ahab Bowen married the former moved to Wayne county, Iowa. Prior to this time they all lived in Southern Missouri, where the women were slaves and he was a “poor white.”

They settled on one of the best tracks of land in this county and gradually became moderately wealthy. Aunt Rosie lived until about 1880 and was buried in the Corydon cemetery. She never took much part in the social life of the community but Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald were always highly respected citizens, honest, capable and industrious.

When the war broke out in 1860 Mr. Fitzgerald was one of the first to enlist from this country and served until the close of the war, receiving an honorable discharge. He was a brave and faithful soldier serving the entire four years as a private. (NOTE: he had attained the rank of Sargent.)

The death of Mrs. Fitzgerald is the last chapter of one of those romances characteristic of the early settlement days.

The Centerville Daily Citizen, Saturday, October 30, 1909.

Speculation was that Amanda had a son by the name Barton L Easley prior to Marrying Hartwell Fitzgerald. Grandmother Boston a girl of about 10 years old was at the Fitzgerald home after her grandfather Hartwells funeral. Grandmother asked how her grandmother and Amanda had met. Amanda said that the first of the year of 1847 Hartwell had come to Missouri from Tennessee looking for a farm to buy while there he became very sick with what they thought was Cholera. She nursed him back to health and they fell in love and were married in April 30, 1847 they then moved to Iowa bought a farm in Corydon.
See Memorial #41744765)

Some additional family lore is that Hartwell bought Amanda from a slave-owner named Ahab Bowen for $300 in 1845-47. A Baptist preacher in Missouri, Rev, Daniel Murphy (see Memorial #10846807), performed the marriage ceremony, but failed to record it because the marriage would have been illegal in the state. This would later come back to hurt Amanda when she filed for a war widow’s pension after Hartwell’s death. The government declined her application, because they could find no record of the marriage. Amanda eventually was granted Hartwell's pension.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 16 2022, 14:58:40 UTC