Buried in history but not forgotten: Mary Jane Green

Mary Jane Green: Former slave's unique connection to 1910 Wellington, WA avalanche

Mary Jane Green, one of the oldest residents of Washington, created an unexpected bridge to the most pivotal moments in the nation’s founding years.

EVERETT, Wash. - March 1 marks 115 years since the deadliest avalanche in United States history, which happened in Washington. The Wellington Avalanche devastated a small railroad town near Stevens Pass in east King County in 1910.

Timeline:

In the last days of February 1910, relentless blizzards pummeled the Cascade Mountains. Two trains, carrying passengers and mail workers, were trapped on the tracks near the town of Wellington. As the trains tried to wait and weather the storm, lightning and thunder rumbled the mountain, causing the avalanche to sweep the trains away. In total, 96 people were killed.

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"There are pictures of people bringing down wrapped bodies on sleds," said Lisa Labovitch, a history specialist for the Everett Public Library.

One of the people killed was a Black man named Lewis George Walker. His body was one of the many wrapped and brought down the mountain by sled. His remains were pictured in a 1910 Everett Herald article about the victims.

"He was, I think, the personal steward to the Superintendent [O’Neill] that was on the train. So, he was an important staff member to him. He personally assisted him. He was on his personal car. He was somebody who had a pretty high-status job," said Labovitch.

Walker’s status likely allowed him to be buried at the Evergreen Cemetery, among some of the most prestigious in the region. People like the brothers Wyatt and Bethel Rucker, pioneers of the City of Everett, whose mausoleum towers above the cemetery.

Walker’s granite headstone is engraved forever as a "man of God. Killed at Wellington, Washington." The tragedy of the avalanche and the loss of Walker’s life created an unexpected bridge to the most pivotal moments in the nation’s founding years.

That bridge was Mary Jane Green. She is buried next to Walker.

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"The reason she came to light was because her granddaughter’s husband had been killed in the avalanche," said Marilyn Quincy, with the Snohomish County Black Heritage Committee.

Mary Jane Green’s name is engraved on a crumbling, fragile piece of concrete. Though her grave marker is modest, her story is cemented in history.

Dig deeper:

Quincy learned of Mary Jane in the Northwest Room of the Everett Public Library.

"What I did was, I’d go over to the newspapers and I just started going through. And when I saw her picture, I went, oh! And then I read the article, and it was just fascinating!" said Quincy.

Mary Jane was 109 years old when the Everett Herald published an article about her on May 5, 1911, a time when the average life expectancy for a woman was just 53 years. Her age alone was worthy of making the headline, but it was her recollection of her long life and profile picture that pulled the reader in. Her appearance was described as never losing a tooth, and her hair was only slightly streaked with gray.

"She reminds you of a strong woman. She’s got strong features," said Quincy.

The article is the only known record of Mary Jane sharing her personal story. She was born in Tennessee in 1802. The article said she would smile as she talked about her devotion to the Christian faith. She also reflected on the deepest wounds of her past being sold as a slave three times.

The article read, "She recollects that her first master was Charles Burton, that owned her mother. Her family were divided on the auction block in those dark days of slavery. Where her father went, she is not able to tell."

"She talked about her slave owners and one of them, don’t think he was very good, because she said he was ‘born for Hell,’ and that’s where he was," said Quincy.

In her story, it was mentioned she had children while in old Virginia.

The U.S. Census from April 15, 1910, showed Mary Jane had three children, but she was unsure if they were still living. The census revealed she could not read or write. But before data collection, she somehow managed to find her granddaughter, Sarah Walker, who lived in Everett with her husband Lewis.

Mary Jane moved from Kansas City, Missouri to live with them in 1907.

"You think about the extraordinary distance that she traveled, too. There’s the time and the distance. And I think we don’t think of people as being as mobile as they were that far back. But people were really going through huge journeys," said Labovitch.

The article explained how Mary Jane walked seven blocks unassisted every Sunday from their home at 3105 Everett Avenue to Second Baptist Church, which was located on Rainier Avenue at the time. She made the walk up until three weeks before the article was published, after falling downstairs.

"And right up to the end, that was when they were talking to her, and she was in bed. She was talking about the Lord," said Quincy.

The opportunity to hear Mary Jane’s story was a happenstance. A reporter for the local newspaper was actually meeting with Sarah Waker at her home to talk about the community’s "kindness" and "assistance" after the loss of her husband, Lewis, in the avalanche. It was there, at Walker’s home, the reporter stepped into a room where a bedridden Mary Jane was found sitting, and willing to share what she remembered in her 109 years.

"And you wish that you had more of her words talking about these things. It’s a miracle that we have what we have though, because it really is written in her voice, and it talks about her experience in a way that seems to be pretty unbiased," said Labovitch.

Though there was only little told in the small, two-column story, Mary Jane’s long life expanded across several founding moments in American history.

In 1802, Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States, and the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Historians said Jefferson owned more than 600 slaves in his lifetime. Mary Jane was alive during the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, when the U.S. paid France for 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River. She predates the Lewis and Clark Expedition beginning in 1804, before the land that would later become Washington state was established. She was a senior citizen when the American Civil War ended in 1865, and when the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was ratified.

"She was in her 60s when slavery ended," said Quincy.

"This is American history. I mean, her life intersects with so many different things," said Labovitch.

Mary Jane died at 110 years old in May 1912. Even in her passing, she still made headlines and history as the oldest resident in Washington. She held that record until the year 2015.

"She cemented her own by giving that interview and having all her wonderful words and having that picture taken of her and I feel like it’s nice to honor that. She took her place," said Labovitch.

What's next:

Her place in 2025 is growing frail, just like the fragile cement marker above her grave. Modest as her legacy may be, historians share her story so her history, this American history, isn’t buried away.

"Because there are people out there right now trying to erase history. They’re saying, ‘oh, slavery wasn’t bad. Or it really didn’t happen,’" said Quincy. "I think it’s really, really important that these things are noted, memorized, and passed on."

For many years, the Snohomish County Black Heritage Committee has been researching Mary Jane Green and trying to find her relatives. They said the challenge is her only known granddaughter, Sarah Walker, possibly moved out of Everett after a house fire in 1916. Back then, Walker also may have remarried and changed her last name.

Committee members said they will keep trying to find relatives. If they do, they will ask for permission to give Mary Jane a proper headstone.

The Source: Information in this story is from the Everett Herald, the Snohomish County Black Heritage Committee, the Everett Public Library and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.