Mary Jane Puckett (1854-1927)

Mary Jane Puckett (1854-1927) Lived in Cuba from 1909 to 1924 (b. October 08, 1854, Randolph County, Indiana, USA - d. October 29, 1927, Lake Helen, Volusia County, Florida, USA)

Birth
Mary was the daughter of Elijah Puckett (1815-1896) and Katherine Keever (1821-1904).

Siblings

 * Adam Puckett (1844-?) who married Mary Eliza Roberts
 * Abigail Puckett (1846-1925) who married George W. Beebe
 * Rebecca Puckett (1848-1882) who married Thomas S. Beaumont
 * Nathaniel Puckett (1850-1912) who married Julia Baker
 * Julia Ann Puckett (1852-1930) who married William Worth Duel and later married William Mahon
 * John Thomas Puckett (1856-1933) who married Mary Elizabeth Stutsman
 * Sylvia Ann Puckett (1858-1942) who married Edward Petty

Marriage
On October 15, 1874 in Jasper Township, Carroll County, Iowa, Mary married Jarvis Andrew Lattin (1853-1941). Jarvas was the son of Henry K. Lattin (1806-1894) and Julia Wood (1813-1873).

Children
Together Mary and Jarvis had the following children: Mary Esther Lattin (1875-1895) who married Richard Arlington Brush (1874-1944); Catherine Lavinia Lattin (1878-1964) who married Richard Arlington Brush (1874-1944) after her sister died; Julia Ann Lattin (1880-1960) who married Alfred William Poole (1881-1959); William Henry Lattin (1882); Myrtle Adelia Lattin (1884-1970) who married Charles Haley Williams (1884-1960) after they met in Cuba; Deluth Andrew Lattin (1886-1887); Jennie Alice Lattin (1888-1958) who married Charles Henry Pilkington (1887-1956); Charles A. Lattin (1890-1891); Eva Ariel Lattin (1892-1939) who married Anton (Tony) Julius Winblad II (1886-1975) after they met in Cuba; Frederick E. Lattin (1894); Effie Jeanette Lattin (1895-1989) who married Josiah Barnes Pomeroy (1882-1956) in Cuba; Dewey Ernest Lattin I (1898-1985) who lived in Cuba from 1909 to 1915 and married Elizabeth Henry (1903-1987); Theodore Roosevelt Lattin (1901-1980) who lived in Cuba from 1909 to 1915 and married Bertha Christina Nelson (1905-1980) in 1929.

Memories of Mary Puckett
Julia Ann Lattin writes in her deathbed memoirs the following: "My father was born in Farmingdale on May 29th, 1853. As a young man of 20 years he worked for a short time on the Long Island Railroad selling foodstuffs on the train. He was the youngest of eleven children and had a roaming disposition and left home to see the world. He got as far as Lake City, Iowa and a short time later met his future wife to be, a Mary Jane Puckett, who was a young school teacher at the time. After about six months they were married and lived in Iowa for about one year when my oldest sister was born. But my dad still had that longing for the Old West where things were rugged, so he left again and settled in Nebraska near the Niobrori River, which was 20 miles from from the nearest town called Atkinson. This was a very lonely place. Dad had bought quite a number of farm implements on time, but things were bad, so he could not pay for them, and they were taken from him. My mother had a cow and a feather bed given to her from her parents, so they could not take them for payment, and dad decided to try his luck in mining gold in the Black Hills of Dakota. That left my mother alone with the children right across the river from the Indians, but they were friendly and traded many things which were allowed them from the government. I remember especially some blankets from them. They were rather dark blue with a black border. My mother used to leave the baby in bed of a morning when she had come to cross a stream on a foot log to milk her cow. One day starting back with her milk, she saw the child starting to creep across the foot log to meet her, and just in the middle of the stream the child fell overboard in the water. Mother sat her milk pail down and ran and jumped in after her, catching hold of her night dress. It was a puzzle to know how she got herself and the child on the foot log again, as the water was deep in places. Finally she managed to get her skirt off in the water and fastened the child with that until she climbed up herself. We only had a cook stove for heat, and when I was a little more than a year old, I was sitting in a high chair near the stove to keep warm and my mother was combing her hair with her head bent over when she heard a terrible scream. I had fallen on the stove. My sister (Catherine Lavinia Lattin), 1 1/2 years older had pushed the chair. My left eye had hit one of the galvanized balls on the stove leaving the skin on it, causing me to lose sight in that eye. The eye was almost closed. The doctor operated on it three times, but it did not improve the sight. I was seven years old the last operation, and they laid me right on the floor ... In that year (1909) my parents moved to the Isle of Pines, just south of Cuba, which was populated at that time by 90% Americans. They had expected that the United States would take it over, but several years later it was turned over to Cuba. My parents (Jarvis Andrew Lattin and Mary Jane Puckett) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary (October 15, 1924) there, and my sister Eva, and I made them a surprise visit. They were so happy to see us. The boat made only two trips a week between Cuba and the island. We had our luggage inspected in Havana and spent one night there. It took about two hours to cross Cuba by train, and the boat was waiting for us. It was just an overnight trip to the Isle of Pines, and it was so calm there was hardly a ripple on the water. But we did experience a very bad hurricane while there. every one boards up their windows when they see the storm approaching. After Cuba took over the island, many of the Americans left and went back to the States as my parents did. They settled in a little town in Florida, and a few years later my mother passed away, and was brought back north to our home town for burial. Father spent most of his remaining years in Florida, but things were not the same. He also passed away at 88 years of age and was laid beside my mother."

Travels
On Tuesday, March 23, 1909; Tuesday, August 30, 1910; and Monday, June 24, 1912, Jarvis returned to New York City from Havana.