Last widow of US Civil War veteran dies at age 101
Few knew about the marriage, which was kept secret to avoid a scandal.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFCub Scout Colten Short, 10, of Arlington, salutes a grave after fixing a flag in front of a headstone ahead of the Memorial Day weekend at West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee, US May 19, 2020.(photo credit: MAX GERSH/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL/USA TODAY NETWORK VIA REUTERS)
Helen Viola Jackson, the last known widow of a Civil War soldier, has passed away at the age of 101, People Magazine reported.A statement by the Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival confirmed her death, which took place on December 16 at the Missouri nursing home where she resided.Born in 1919, Jackson had married her husband, 93-year-old James Bolin, in 1936 when she was just 17, while she was caring for him. The marriage, according to the statement, was a means for the 14th Missouri Cavalry veteran to "provide for her future" as thanks, since he "did not believe in accepting charity."The wedding resulted in Jackson being eligible to receive Bolin's Union Army pension, which would give her income during the Great Depression. But despite Bolin's death in 1939, Jackson never received the pension, reportedly being threatened by one of Bolin's daughters to have her reputation ruined.This desire to spare hers and Bolin's reputations is why Jackson had been very tight-lipped about her marriage. Few at the time were aware of her being married aside from the witnesses, due to Jackson's desire to spare Bolin from "the scorn of wagging tongues," according to People.Jackson never remarried or had children, and instead spent her life working for community engagement, according to the magazine.
