mary ruth williams jackson
1909-1993
Life Story
Early Life and Education
Mary Ruth Williams was born on December 18, 1909, in the rural community of Lawrence in Newton County, Mississippi. She was the eldest daughter of Guss Garfield Williams and Lula Willis Williams and grew up in a large farming household that eventually included at least ten children.
The 1910 Census records her as an infant listed as “May R.” By the time the 1920 Census was taken, ten-year-old “Mary R.” was already a literate student attending school while also helping as a laborer on the family farm.
Unlike many young women of her era who were forced to leave school early to assume domestic responsibilities, Mary Ruth remained in school well into her late teens. The 1930 Census shows her still attending school at the age of twenty, eventually completing the sixth grade — a notable accomplishment for a Black woman living in rural Mississippi during the difficult years surrounding the Great Depression.
Marriage and Building a Family
Around 1931, at the age of twenty-one, Mary Ruth married L. B. Jackson. The couple remained in Newton County, settling near her parents and extended family.
By 1940, Mary Ruth had become the mother of four children:
- L. B. Jackson, Jr.
- Frankie Lee Jackson
- Martha Lou Jackson
- Bobbie Jackson
Her life during these years was marked by constant work. Records from 1939 show that she worked 52 weeks during the year as an unpaid family worker on the farm, averaging about 30 hours of labor each week while simultaneously caring for her household and young children. For women like Mary Ruth, the boundary between home and work rarely existed — both were woven into the daily survival of the family.
The Matriarch of South 7th Street (1950–1993)
By 1950, the Jackson family had moved to South 7th Street in Newton, where Mary Ruth continued raising her growing family while her husband worked outside the home.
Although census records listed her occupation as housekeeper, the role encompassed far more than household chores. She managed a busy home and raised a large family that eventually included eight children:
- L. B. Jackson, Jr.
- Frankie Jackson
- Martha Jackson
- Bobby Jackson
- Mary Jackson
- James Jackson
- Betty Jackson
- Linda F. Jackson
Mary Ruth remained rooted in Newton County throughout her life. Even into her later years she lived near the same community where she had been born and raised, eventually residing on Herbert Mann Road, only a short distance from the farms of her childhood.
Legacy and Final Rest
Mary Ruth Williams Jackson passed away on September 1, 1993, at the age of eighty-three.
She was laid to rest in Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery in Lawrence, Mississippi, the same sacred ground where many members of the Williams family are buried — including her brother Oscar, who had been laid to rest there seventy-three years earlier.
Her life represents a story of steadiness and endurance. Through decades of social and economic change in the twentieth-century South, Mary Ruth remained a constant presence in her community — raising her children, supporting her family, and maintaining deep roots in Newton County.
Resting Place
Union Chapel United Methodist Church Graveyard
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1910 Federal Census
- 1920 Federal Census
- 1930 Federal Census
- 1940 Federal Census
- 1950 Federal Census
- U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
- U.S., Phone and Address Directories, 1993-2002
- U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
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