Amanda Jane Hinton/O’Brien/La Mear 

By Margaret L. Hinton - Great grand niece of Amanda 

My interest in Amanda Hinton/O’Brien/La Mear began when I discovered she was the 
sister of my great grandfather, George William Hinton. George and their younger brother, 
John (Thomas John Hinton) moved to California in 1860, the year after their sister, 
Amanda married John O’Brien. Amanda and John O'Brien remained in Missouri where 
John O’Brien was a well known stone mason in Saline and Pettis Counties. 

On 26 December 2006, I was given a wonderful Christmas Present - three hundred 

(300) pages of Civil War Pension Records No. 538,567 for the application of Amanda 
Hinton/O’Brien/ LaMear on the service of her husband, John O‘Brien who served in the 
Union Army. These Archive records were sent to me through the kindness of Donna, a 
LaMear descendant. Donna, myself, and other descendants of the Hinton, O‘Brien and 
LaMear families are very grateful to have these records as we have all been researching 
our family history for some years and they filled in the ‘I wonder‘ blanks and added more 
information. 
========================= 

Amanda Jane Hinton, my great grand aunt, was born 24 April 1844 in Salt Pond, 
Saline County, Missouri. She was the middle child and only daughter born to Thomas 
Yarnall and Margaret (Spotts) Hinton. Her brothers were George William Hinton, my 
great grandfather, born 10 February 1839 and their younger brother, Thomas John Hinton, 
born about 1847. Their father, Thomas Yarnall Hinton was born in Kentucky and 
migrated to Saline County, Missouri about 1836, he married Margaret Spotts in 1839 and 
he died 24 March 1851 and was either buried in Antioch Cemetery where many Spotts 
family members were buried or possibly on their farm. He most likely never had a grave 
marker placed over his grave - none has been located on any of the cemetery indexes or 
lists. Jacob Spotts is shown in the Missouri history records as having arrived in Saline 
County, Missouri by 1820 and the two Hinton brothers, John Branner Hinton and Thomas 
Yarnell Hinton by mid-to-late 1830s. 

We are unsure when Margaret (Spotts) Hinton died, however we do have probate 
records for her father, Jacob Spotts in which her children are shown as his heirs. He died 
30 August 1850. A land plat map shows her name on land next door to the Spotts family 
with the date 1856. Details of the childhood of these children are scant and come to us 
through family lore. It is speculation that after their parents died the Hinton children 
probably lived in the household of their maternal grandmother, Elizabeth (Coiner/Koiner) 
Spotts who often had other extended family living with her. 

George and Johnny Hinton left Chillicothe, Missouri early in 1860, arriving in Lake 
County, California later that year. They must have felt comfortable about leaving their 
sixteen year old sister, Amanda behind in Missouri as she had married the previous year 
to John O’Brien on 7 August 1859 in Heaths Creek Township at the home of William 


Harrison who must have been a family friend. They knew that John O’Brien was a strong 
and hearty man who could and would support their sister. He was a stone cutter who 
worked for many of the early Pettis and Saline County, Missouri settlers building 
culverts, chimneys and other jobs requiring the cutting and fitting of stone. Their sister 
was married and in capable hands. John and Amanda O’Brien decided they wanted to 
make their home in Missouri. George and Johnny Hinton decided it was time to follow 
their dream of going to California. 

Amanda Jane Hinton and John O’Brien were first married in 1859 by William 
McClanahan, J.P,; "Married by the undersigned, Justice of the Peace for Heaths Creek 
Township in Pettis County Missouri on Sunday the seventh day of August at the residence 
of William C. Harrison, Mr. John O’Brien to Miss Amanda J., daughter of Thomas & 
Margaret Henton, signed William McClanahan, J.P. Filed & Recorded, Aug. 24, 1859." 

Certified Copy, State of Missouri County of Pettis:- SS I, J. H. Pilkington, Recorder 
of Deeds within and for said County and State hereby certify that the within and 
foregoing is a true, complete and correct copy of an instrument of writing as the same 
appears of record in my office in Marriage Record “B” on Page 134. Witness my hand 
and official seal at my office this 27th day of January 1894. //signed J. H. Pilkington, 
Recorder. 

A copy of the page this recorded marriage was sent to me in 2009. Amanda states in 
her depositions that five years prior to his enlistment in the Civil War, John O’Brien lived 
near Longwood and near Hustonia in Pettis County where he was working as a 
stonemason. 

John Obrien was born in Northern Ireland about 1838. He immigrated to Saline and 
Pettis County Missouri with at least one brother, Patrick Obrien who was policeman in 
Chicago in the late 1890s according to the Pension records. Probably other friends and 
family members emigrated to Missouri with the O’Brien family. Saline County has an 
area near Shackelford called the Irish Settlement. This seems to be a logical place where 
the Irish immigrants ‘settled’ after they arrived in Missouri during the 1840s. 

John Obrien, a Catholic, evidently felt the need to be married again in the Catholic 
Church. At some later date, Father Dalton, ‘a Catholic Priest who came from St. Louis 
for that purpose’ re-married them though we have no date or has a record been located 
for this later marriage. William Dalton was a Catholic priest born about 1847, possibly in 
St. Louis, Missouri. He was in St. Louis in 1870 and Kansas City in 1880. He appears to 
have been a ‘traveling priest.’ With few churches then and most scattered throughout the 
area, it was usual at the time to have a ‘traveling priest’ perform ceremonies for their 
members. A search of the possible Catholic churches has not located this record. 

John O’Brien enlisted in the Civil War and served as private in the Union army with 
Company D, 7th Missouri Cavalry. His official dates of enlistment were January 1, 1862 
to 1 April 1865. Shortly after his enlistment, he contracted several diseases and he carried 
these illnesses with him for the rest of his life. These ‘ailments’ included but were not 
limited to: chronic diarrhea (possibly amebic dysentery), malaria and during the fall of 
1862 he began ongoing treatment for pneumonia which recurred several times during his 
service requiring hospitalization. 


Many diseases spread rapidly among both sides of those who served in the Civil War. 
Missouri farm boys did not have the immunity to diseases brought north. Cholera was 
prevalent, even rampant. John’s pneumonia weakened him and developed into 
Consumption which was diagnosed while he was in the service. John was known among 
his friends as a man who worked hard, and he also enjoyed whiskey. The Pension pages 
state that he often would ‘go on binges.’ The Pension pages state he suffered from the 
’curse of the Irish.’ His later 'binges' may have camouflaged his other physical 
debilitating illnesses and lessened the pain he suffered from his diseases. Statements 
made under oath by friends and acquaintances of John during his time in the service of 
the Union Army state that John became ill shortly after his enlistment. One of the 
representative statements was made by James M. Thornton. Sworn to and subscribed 
before me this 13th day of June 1899 and I certify that the contents were fully made 
known to deponent before signing. Signed// J. S. Bosworth, Special Examiner. 

“He (John O’Brien) was a strong, stout, able bodied man at enlistment. In the early 
spring of 1862, O’Brien was taken sick with pneumonia and was sent back to the 
hospital, I think. He was off duty for two months at least. He was again sick at Crane 
Creek, South of Springfield, Mo., and went to hospital at Springfield. The first time he 
was sick was at Georgetown, Mo. This was in Oct. 1862, Don’t know how long he was 
away on the second sickness, nor do I know what ailed him at this time. I was taken sick 
myself about this time with typhoid fever. 

"He had some kind of lung trouble again in the winter of 1863-64, while near 
Sedalia, Mo. He had a bad cough and was off of duty and was in in the reg’t’l hospital 
but I can’t say how long he was away from the Company. He was very weak and pale, 
and looked to be seriously ill. Don’t know who treated him.” 

Another statement was from JAMES M. TURNEY, who said “I am 69 years of age, 
my post-office address is Warrensburg, Mo., no occupation. I was Captain of C., D. 7 
Mo. S. M. Cav. I was in the company from Feb. 1862 to the month of October 1864. I 
draw a pension of $20 per month. John O’Brien was a member of the company. I first 
got acquainted with him in about the year 1860. I, at that time lived in Georgetown, Mo. 
John O’Brien was building some culverts on the farm of Richard Gentry who was one of 
the biggest farmers in the state at that time. O’Brien was a stone mason, a good 
workman, and made lots of money. But his money did him no good - it all went for 
whiskey. I saw him on an average of once a week. He would come to town and get 
drunk at least once a week. 

Q. Was he a strong, able-bodied man before the war? 
A. Oh yes. He used to brag that he could do more work than any man in the country. 
And I have heard others say the same thing. He is said to be the best stone-mason in the 
country at that time. Yes, sir, I should think he was sound at enlistment. He was a good 
soldier but terrible wild. Had to keep a curb bit on him all the time. 
I did not know him or rather I did not know anything about him after the war closed. 
I lived in Sedalia until the 4th day of July 1869, when I moved west and did not come back 
until four years ago. During the time I lived in Sedalia, he lived in Saline County. 


I remember O’Brien as well as I remember any man in the company for the reason 
that I had so much trouble with him when he would go on his sprees. 

I don’t know anything about the cause of his death only what I have heard. I heard 
that he was arrested in Brownsville (now Sweet Springs, Mo.) on account of drunkenness 
and put in the calaboose and that they forgot that he was in there and that he laid in there 
a day or two. It was very cold weather and he caught a cold or pheumonia from which he 
died. This is what I was told by some of the boys around there who ought to know. Sam 
Smith, De Witt Pritchard, --- Akin, John Mays, and George Masters who all live in or 
near Sweet Springs, Mo., and tell you all about it. 

Yes sir, James M. Thornton is a good man, There ain’t a better man in the country 
than he is. He was 1st Sgt of the Company. (Statement of James M. Thornton read to 
deponent - Examiner) Well, if O’Brien had the sickness as comrade Thornton say, I have 
no recollection of it. He might have had all those spells and I not recollect it. Thornton 
was in as good or better position to know the condition of the men that I, as he was 1st Sgt 
of the Company. I might have known about it at the time, but if I did I have forgotten it 
now. 

Then …Samuel C. Smith, Deponent. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 18th day 
of Jan, 1900: …To the best that I recollect now, his constitution appeared to be 
weakened. On, yes, he continued to be a dissipated man up to his death. I guess that is 
what caused his death. He came to town here and got on a ‘big whiz’ as they call it, and 
they arrested him and locked him up in the calaboose. It was a cold night and they had no 
fire and they said he took cold. I don’t recollect just how long it was, but I don’t suppose 
it was over a week or ten days after that till he died. His widow brought suit against the 
town for damages, but it fell through some way and she never got anything. I think 
Hamp. Reavis and was Mayor of the town at the time and I think a man by the name of 
Reed was City Marshall at the time. Reed is now dead. (Note: Reavis was a related 
family member to Amanda‘s Spotts grandparents - Reavis and Reed were also early 
residents of Saline County). 

Yes, I knew Mrs. O’Brien. I knew her long before she was married and all the time 
she was living with O’Brien. He maiden name was Jane Hinton. I know she had never 
been previously married and I don’t think O’Brien had ever been married before his 
marriage to her. No sir, they were never divorced or separated that I know of. I don’t 
know whether she remained his widow until she married Lamear or not. She moved 
away from here shortly after O’Brien’s death and I lost sight of her. I don’t recollect how 
many children they had. It seems to me like one or two of the children died, but I ain’t 
sure about that. 

No, Sir, I don’t know the exact date of O’Brien’s death, and I couldn’t tell you now to 
save my life what year or what month it was. 

Oh, yes, yes, O’Brien was drunk a good deal during his service. Well, you know just 
about how a regular drunkard does - gets drunk on every occasion and makes a good 
many of them. 

You can just put it down there that as far as I know claimant’s character is all right. 
Well yes, I have heard talk about her but as far as I know it is all right. Oh, that talk about 
her was before she married O’Brien. When O’Brien died she went off and I don’t 
recollect seeing her since. 


These are typical of the multitude of Certified Statements and Affidavits made under 
oath of those men who knew John at the time of his service in the Union Army. John 
O'Brien was Discharged in 1865; he continued to suffer from repeated attacks of all these 
diseases for the next ten years until he died 14 November 1875 while the O’Brien family 
was living a few miles south of Napton, Saline County, Missouri. No doubt it was the 
constant and loving care provided to John by Amanda and her family that extended his 
life. 

Amanda stated under oath that she first applied for widow’s pension benefits on 
John’s service in 1878 or 1879 as she had young children to raise and was in need of 
funds for their support; their food, clothing and shelter. With a very ill husband to care 
for and her several children, Amanda was required to work in the homes of her neighbors 
in order to feed, clothe and provide shelter for her family. She also had several farms that 
needed to be cared for and John's illnesses required she take over much of that work. 
Following through on governmental paperwork was not her first priority. She attests that 
these papers were never completed and she does not remember the number. 

Amanda reapplied for a Pension when she was living in Clear Creek County, 
Colorado at age 49 under Widow’s Claim No.538,567. Then, she applied again on 23 
December 1989 in Lake City, Hinsdale County, Colorado when she was age 54. These 
pages show that she had to constantly prove to the U.S. Government that John served in 
the Union Army and that he did indeed contract these illnesses/diseases during his time 
served. She had to supply the government - each time she made application - with the 
names and current addresses of his fellow service men, the officers under which he 
served, the names and (current) addresses of doctors who treated him while in the service, 
which medicines they used and the outcome of the ‘incidents,’ and in which hospitals he 
was treated with the outcome. She also was required to submit names and current 
addresses of those who could attest to her personal character. She was often questioned 
about her memory of dates and events that occurred over twenty years prior. It is doubtful 
that most people today could or would have all that information at their finger-tips after 
that many years had passed. Amanda complied with all that she was asked of her. She 
remained a lady in her repeated answers to the government’s inquiries even while her 
patience with the government officials was understandably being strained and fraying. 

The children of Amanda and John O’Brien who were still alive in 1898 when she 
reapplied for these benefits who were under the age of 16 at the time of John’s death: 

• 
Mary Ida Obrien born January 22, 1864. Ida, as she was called, was then the wife of 
John Carrothers and living in Lake City, Colorado. 
• 
Margaret Catherine Obrien born March 6, 1866. Maggie was then the wife of Steven 
Francis - living at 227½ South Main Street, Pueblo, Colorado; 
• 
Thomas Jackson Obrien born August 4, 1868. He was then an Enlisted man in 
Company C, 7th California Voluntary Infantry waiting in San Francisco, California to 
be sent to the Philippines to serve in the Spanish American War-Philippine 
Insurrection; and 
• 
John Hinton Obrien born February 28, 1873. He was a miner then living near Lake 
City, Hinsdale County, Colo. 

Children born to John and Amanda O’Brien who died prior to this application: 

· Ann Eliza O‘Brien, born 19 October 1861, died May 1, 1877 in Missouri 
· George W. O‘Brien, born 28 December 1870, died Jan. 15, 1878 in Missouri 
· Leonard R. O‘Brien, born 16 September, 1875, died December 15, 1875 in Missouri 
A GENERAL AFFIDAVIT signed by Rev. J. T. D. Murphy states: 
State of Missouri, County of Pettis, ss: 
In the matter of Widow’s Penion Claim No. 538,567 of Amanda, widow of John O’Brien 


- D-7th MO Cav. 
On this Fifth day of August A.D. 1895, personally appeared before me James M. 
Byler a notary Public in and for the aforesaid County, duly authorized to administer oaths 
to Rev. J. T. D. Murphy, aged 46 years, a resident of Sedalia, in the County of Pettis and 
State of Missouri whose Post-Office address is Sedalia, MO at S. E. cor. 4th and M(?)uss. 
Streets. 
Is well known to be reputable and entitled to credit, and who, being duly sworn, declared 
in relation to aforesaid case as follows: I have known Mr. John O’Brien for many years 
before his death in Saline Co. MO. and attended the said O’Brien just before his death. 
They lived together as man and wife and never have divorced. This statement I make 
written by my own hand. I hereby also state that as a Minister, I married the widow of 
Mr. John O’Brien to Mr. Peter La Mear in Marshall, Saline Co., MO. Mr. Peter La Mear 
is dead some years ago. 
In testimony to the above I hereto set my hand (handwriting appears to be that of Fr. 
Murphy) //signed Rev. J. T. D. Murphy, Sedalia, Missouri 
Apparently communication continued between Amanda and Father Murphy after she 
moved her family to Colorado. The Pension records show Amanda claimed that a 
certified copy of her marriage was on file in her original pension application claim. The 
Pension Application Records state so poignantly what Amanda was required to supply to 
the Pension Office. She had to supply to them the names of John’s fellow soldiers, 
officers, doctors who treated him for his several illnesses as well as their current 
addresses, even after over twenty years since his service. She had to prove her character 
was above reproach, and this she did over and over and over again until she was finally 
allowed the grand sum of $8.00 per month pension about 1898. All of this amounted to 
obvious abuse on the part of the government seemingly with the object that they were 
hoping she would either decide to stop ’bothering them’ or that she would die in the 
meantime. 

Reading these 300 pages (this file is incomplete as there are obvious missing pages) 
of the Pension records causes me much anguish and my blood pressure to rise higher and 
higher. Amanda had obviously been ill-treated by those she turned to for help which at 
that time was the U.S. Government and she needed to have an advocate for her even at 
this late date. She mentioned often in these pages that she was unable to provide either 
of her husbands (or her dead children) with a grave stone or marker and because they had 
no grave marker, she was unable to provide the government with the exact location of 
their graves. I learned that the government provides veterans of both the Union and 


Confederacy with grave stone markers so I knew that this was something positive I could 
do, belated though it is, to rectify the wrong perpetrated against her by official members 
of our government. 

The final letter sent to the U.S. Government by Amanda summed up her frustration at 
their refusal to award her a pension due her on her husband, John O'Brien. She FINALLY 
was awarded the grand sum of $8.00 per month AFTER writing this letter. Any and all 
amounts of money she received from the government had to have been spent in fees and 
lawyers costs. 
Transcript of letter AS WRITTEN. 
Lake City, Colorado, May 30, 1898 (she was now aged 54) 
Mr. Commissioner: the testimony you call for I am unable to furnish as there is only one 
Doctor living today that treated my husband the soldier and that is Dr. Fisher whose 
testimony I have allready furnished that is to my knolledge. 
Pardon me Mr. Commissioner if what I am going to say seems harsh. My oldest son, 
Thomas J. O’Brien I have given to the service of my country but not willingly. I have 
brought up that son without any help or aid from the Government. While it is supporting 
seemingly strong men, John H. O’Brien, my remaining son is not strong and never has 
been Robust but it falls to his lot to help me along as every one knows what a privates pay 
is. I need not expect any help from my oldest son while in the army and God only knows 
if I shall ever see him again for many wil never return and many wil (sic) come home 
broken down in health. did it ever occur to you Mr. Commissioner that the government 
(sic) should have each soldier examined when discharged by a thorough competent 
physician and a sertificit (sic) given the soldier stating his physical condition at time of 
discharg (sic) it would seem to me to aid the government in determining the worthy and 
unworthy Pensioners. 
Mr. Commissioner I have worked hard to bring up my four children to woman and man 
Hood. I haven't got many years before me at most. I leave it to the dictates of your 
conscience whether I am entitled to my Widdow Hood Pension, but Please don't ask for 
any more evidence for I can furnish nothing more. Respectfully, Amanda J. LaMear. 

After reading this letter I began the process of ordering markers for both John O’Brien 
and Peter F. LaMear. Having worked in the past with John Morton, Colusa County 
Historical Researcher for the County of Colusa in California for the procurement of Civil 
War Grave Markers on other family members, I enlisted the John’s help once again to 
guide me through the governmental process of ordering a grave marker for both John 
O’Brien (Union Army) and Peter Frank LaMear (Confederate Army). John's help was 
invaluable. 

Another GENERAL AFFIDAVIT signed by Rev. J. T. D. Murphy states: 
State of Missouri, County of Pettis, ss: 
In the matter of Widow’s Pension Claim No. 538,567 of Amanda, widow of John O’Brien 

- D-7th MO Cav. On this Fifth day of August A.D. 1895, personally appeared before me 
James M. Byler a notary Public in and for the aforesaid County, duly authorized to 
administer oaths to Rev. J. T. D. Murphy, aged 46 years, a resident of Sedalia, in the 
County of Pettis and State of Missouri whose Post-Office address is Sedalia, MO at S. E. 
cor. 4th and M(??) uss. Streets. 

Is well known to be reputable and entitled to credit, and who, being duly sworn, declared 
in relation to aforesaid case as follows: I have known Mr. John O’Brien for many years 
before his death in Saline Co. MO. and attended the said O’Brien just before his death. 
They lived together as man and wife and never have divorced. This statement I make 
written by my own hand. I hereby also state that as a Minister, I married the widow of 
Mr. John O’Brien to Mr. Peter La Mear in Marshall, Saline Co., MO. Mr. Peter La Mear 
is dead some years ago. 
In testimony to the above I hereto set my hand (handwriting appears to be that of Fr. 
Murphy) 
//signed Rev. J. T. D. Murphy, Sedalia, Missouri 

The 'keeper of the map' in Saline County evidently does not accept the Catholic 
Priest's word for the death in Saline County of John O'Brien. Amanda stated under oath 
that John O’Brien was buried in the Irish Settlement Catholic Cemetery in Shackelford, 
Saline County, California and it is is logical that her children were buried there also as 
well as Peter La Mear's first wife and children. Peter LaMear was buried in the Alvarado 
Cemetery (Amanda spelled it as Elverado - close enough) in Clear Creek County, 
Colorado. I began the process for a Civil War Grave marker for Peter La Mear also. 

I knew from past research that in order to have the death/burial records of John 
O’Brien, I would have to contact the nearest Catholic Church to the cemetery in 
Shackelford which was St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Marshall, Missouri. This was long 
before vital records were required to be kept by the various counties, however, I did have 
copies of letters written by the Parish priest who knew John O‘Brien. The Pension 
records in 1898 stated that the records were kept at St. Peters church in Marshall. 
From past research experience I knew that the Catholic Church kept very accurate 
records. Several years ago this church provided our family with birth/christening and 
marriage records of the O’Brien and LaMear families; at that time we learned that the 
records were stored ‘in the basement’ of the Church. 

In a phone call to the church, I spoke with the Secretary who referred me to the person 
who was in charge of the care for the cemeteries at Shackelford. Several phone calls later 
I spoke with this person who told me that he had the map of the cemeteries in 
Shackelford; Irish Settlement, Immaculate Conception and Mount St. Marys. He stated 
that John O’Brien’s name was not on the map. This surprised me as I was aware there 
should also be be John O‘Brien and their children. They must be there I told him. No, I 
was told, in fact, there were no O’Brien names on the map. I asked about the LaMear 
name since I also had newspaper evidence of the time that there was Peter La Mear’s wife 
and children were buried there. No, I was assured, they weren’t there either. I was told 
by the 'keeper of the map' that should I wish to continue with this request to place a grave 
marker in these cemeteries that I could purchase a new plot for $XXX. Since I already 
knew there were at least seven of our family members buried in these cemeteries in 
Shackelford, I did not understand nor see the need to re-purchase another plot for the 
purpose of ‘placing a grave marker.’ My next question to him about where they ‘might 
have gone?’ This double meaning question referred both to the grave markers and the 
bodies which were buried in those cemeteries. This went unanswered as did my next 
question which was asked out of frustration: “What happened? Did they walk away?” 


All this I found to be very odd, strange and very confusing as the signed and certified 
letters written between 1898-1890 by Priests of the Shackelford Church and St. Peters 
Church in Marshall stated that John O’Brien died in 1875 and he was buried in the 
cemetery in Shackelford. The certified and signed letter by Amanda stated that he had no 
grave marker. The family’s situation at the time can best be described as ‘dire financial 
straits.’ I was assured by the ‘KEEPER OF THE MAP’ that ‘if there wasn’t any grave 
marker, they weren’t there.’ Now, this statement really made me wonder about how the 
cemetery records were handled, not only for my family members but for so many others 
who were buried there without grave markers and would not be shown on this map. 
Records for these people should be held in the custody of the church, and in fact, should 
be in someone‘s possession. When pressed, this person assured me that he had ‘all the 
records for the cemetery.’ Very strange I thought, if true. 

I began phoning other people in Saline County who might help me locate these ‘lost’ 
records. Among those I contacted were: The Chamber of Commerce, the local Funeral 
Parlor, the Recorders Office, the Assessors Office and I even began writing a 'Letter to the 
Editor' of the local newspaper asking for help in this quest. This letter is being held in 
abeyance should I need to send it at some future date. Also a letter to the members of the 
County Board of Supervisors was seriously contemplated because there were obvious 
problems with the Cemetery Map. 

I wrote a letter to the priest at St. Peter’s church in Marshall, and an excerpt is 
included, paraphrased to exclude actual names: 

“In numerous phone conversations and emails with XXX (my note: ’the keeper of the 
map‘ - you will notice I have now demoted him to small case letters), he has not been 
able to locate the location of John O’Brien’s burial plot. XXX tells me that without a 
marker he cannot locate grave sites. Obviously, as Father Murphy signed a letter and 
stated under oath that he attended John O’Brien at the time of his death and for several 
months prior to his death, Father Murphy was the logical person to perform his burial 
service and most likely would have recorded his death in a ledger in the church. Can you 
help us, please, to find the location of his burial site? 

Since XXX was unable to locate the grave site of John O’Brien, I asked him about other 
family members who are also buried in this same cemetery. He cannot find their names 
either. The following names are children of Amanda Hinton and John O’Brien who died 
ring the time she lived in Saline County and who would, logically be buried in these 
cemeteries also: 
Anne Eliza Obrien was born 19 October 1861 and died 1 May 1877. 
George W. Obrien was born 28 December 1870 and died January 1878 
Leonard R. Obrien was born 16 September 1875 and died 14 December 1875 

Father Murphy (St. Peters Church in Marshall, MO) married Amanda Hinton-Obrien 
to her second husband, Peter F. Lamear in St. Peters Church on 22 April 1879. Father 
Murphy had also married Peter La Mear to Mary Agnes Holland, his first wife. 


The first child of Peter and Mary Agnes Lamear was Norris Napoleon Lamear who 
was born 12 September 1868 and christened on 6 OCT 1868 at Immaculate Conception, 
Shackleford, Saline County, Missouri. He died as an infant and it is most likely he was 
buried in one of the Shackelford Cemeteries also. I was told that the Immaculate 
Conception records are at St. Peters Church in Marshall, Missouri. 

Peter and Mary Agnes Lamear had two other children who were most likely baptized 
in the Immaculate Conception church or St. Peters Church (I do not know the dates these 
churches were built) - these two children survived. 

John Samuel Beverly Lamear was born 21 April 1872 and 

William David Lamear was born 12 September 1876 
It is most likely that Father Murphy baptized them also before they moved to Colorado 
with their family. 

Mary Agnes (Holland) Lamear died on 3 November 1878 and she was buried 7 
November 1878. The following notice was printed in the Saline County Progress: 

The Saline County Progress, Marshall, Missouri, Thursday, November 7, 1878 
DIED, LAMEAR - At her residence, near Marshall, at 2 o'clock a.m., Saturday, 
Nov. 3d, 1878, Mary A. Lamear, wife of Peter F. Lamear, aged 28 years and 7 
days. The remains were interred at the Catholic Cemetery, seven miles west of 
Marshall on Monday, the 4th inst. 

Peter and Amanda (Hinton) La Mear’s first child, George Milford Lamear was born 15 
July 1880 and baptized 24 October 1880 by Priest Jno. T. D. Murphy at St. Peter‘s 
Church in Marshall, Missouri. This child died prior to the La Mear family moving to 
Colorado in 1883 so he is also most likely in one of the three Catholic Cemeteries in 
Shackleford. 

My original interest was to find the location of the grave site of John O’Brien, 
however, upon learning of the discrepancies and vast inadequacies of the records of ‘the 
keeper of the map’ who cannot find any graves without a marker even though records are 
known to have been kept at the St. Peter‘s Church, I requested the location of the other 
members of my family who were parishioners of the Catholic churches under the care of 
Father Murphy at the time. This request was sent personally to the priest at St. Peters. 

This letter was intercepted by the Secretary of the Church during the Priest’s absence 

as she responded on 19 March 2007: 
Dear Ms. Hinton, I am very sorry to inform you that the records of the church in the 
mid 1800's only listed the events concerning LIFE--only baptisms and marriages are 
recorded. We have absolutely NO records on deaths or where folks are buried up until 
the 1900's....I can't help you at all on finding the graves of your family. I would have 
thought XXX would have been the fellow to help and if he can't it is a dead end as far 
as I know....very sorry. Peace, XXX, secretary of St. Peter Catholic Church, Marshall 

I emailed her with this response: 
Thank you so much XXX for the prompt answer. 


Your response brings up another question from the family - since you don't know 
where the people (my family members) were buried at that 'early' time - how do you 
know where to sell plots to people who want their family members buried now? Are 
plots 'resold' and others family members buried 'over' those who were buried before? 

No response to this email was received. With these road blocks being placed in front 
of me and knowing that the church records HAD to be somewhere and in someone‘s care, 
I decided to go up a step in the church hierarchy so I called the Monsignor for this area of 
Missouri. He promised to ‘get back to me within a week’ however, he did not respond to 
me. When I called him back, his secretary told me that the Monsignor said the Priest at 
St. Peters would get back to me. 

Then on 22 March 2007 I received this email from the Secretary of St. Peters - the 
Secretary NOT the Priest - (sent as written to me including her errors in spelling and 
grammar and only names removed): 

“Margie, here at St. Peter we only have the sacramental registars from the churches 
around who are now closed. When Shackelford closed they set up an association to 
care for the cemetary. We don't have anything to do with it. The association, XXX is 
the rep. for them, takes care of the cemetery and keeps funds donated to the cemetery 
for its upkeep. 
Here at St. Peters we had plots donated to us back in the early 1930's when one of the 
town's cemeteries was built and I researched it and have a map of which plots are sold, 
which are full and which are available for sale - these correspond to the ones the folks 
have who now own and run the cemetary. 
I guess one of the things with a cemetery which is pushing 200 years old is that 
sometimes fires, floods, etc. ruin records (if records where kept back then) which 
cannot be replaced....I know that the people from Shackelford, when their church had 
to be closed, fought a lawsuit to keep control of the funds so they could provide good 
care for the cemetery because so many of them have loved ones buried there and they 
wanted to insure they could take care of the place where they buried and they wanted 
to be accountable for the funds which had been donated specificlly for that purpose of 
cemetery upkeep. 
I understand your admirable effort to locate your ancestors and wantiing to mark their 
place of burial. I always take consolation that God knows our hearts; knows our loved 
ones; that we will eventually all rest in His love regardless of where they have died, 
where they are buried. peace, XXX” 

Now, at my ripe old age of seventy-five (my age at the time I wrote this letter), I have 
learned to recognize when I am being patronized and treated as a child - having my head 
patted for being a good girl - so in so many other words - now just go away. Sorry to tell 
all these good people, I am not going away and I will continue in my pursuit of getting a 
grave marker for my relatives. 

Without going into lengthy detail of the next steps I took, I found the exact legal 
location of the cemetery and decided to call the county offices to learn who the current 
legal owner of the cemetery is listed in their records. After making many phone calls, I 
was given the name and phone number of a lady who was born and raised in Shackelford 


and who is a long time Catholic and she assures me she knows the cemeteries very well. 
When I called and spoke with this lady, she listened to my tale of woe and said YES 
INDEED, she knows for a fact that there are church records on the death/burial for these 
cemeteries and they have probably been placed in storage, most likely in the basement. 

She called me back to say that she has a friend (I have his name and phone number 
now) and we had a long chat. Evidently her friend is also on the Association Board of the 
cemetery and after a meeting of the board, they are now willing to allow us space in the 
‘old section of the Irish Cemetery’ for the placement of John O’Brien’s grave marker. 

At long last with this information I could fill out the governmental forms, VA forms 
40-1330 and so begin the process for the grave marker for John O’Brien. Our family was 
hopeful that, knowing the process of having the marker once made and sent would take 
several months, we would not expect the marker to be placed, as we hoped, by Memorial 
Day 2007, but it might be placed before Veterans Day 2007. (This did not happen). 

The list of family members who are involved in this project continues to grow: 
Hinton descendants, Spotts descendants, O’Brien and La Mear descendants are all 
waiting to learn when we will be able to gather at the cemetery and celebrate this event. 
This gathering will be when we, at long last, learn that the marker is in place. Too many 
obstacles have already been placed in our way for us to anticipate this date. We will wait 
until we know that we have completed our quest and goal. 

This entire process could and would have been simplified without all the anguish and 
unpleasantness that occurred and could have been avoided had those at St. Peters Church 
been willing to just go to the basement (with any possible spiders), retrieve the ledger and 
with that information prove my John Obrien (first and foremost) as well as our other 
family members were indeed buried in the Irish Settlement Catholic Cemetery. Had this 
been done in a timely manner, and the 'keeper of the map' arranged for a spot for John’s 
Civil War Marker to be placed in the area of these burials, this entire fiasco would have 
been avoided. 

It is beyond me why ‘proof of burial’ of my family members had to be provided by us, 
the family, rather than from the church‘s ledgers, and the letters I have in the Pension 
Records are those that were signed and certified by the resident priests regarding John's 
death records from the Shackelford Church, records that were certified in 1899. These 
letters were submitted to the U.S. government at that time and are included in the Civil 
War Pension records of Amanda Hinton/O’Brien/LaMear. So I can state with authority 
that “NO, no matter what the secretary says, the records were NOT burned in the Civil 
War or otherwise destroyed.” 

I located this: Cemetery Records of Saline County, Missouri Volume III; Mount St. 
Mary Cemetery is about two miles northwest of Shackelford. A census of the Irish 
Settlement in the early days of Saline county can almost be read on the tombstones of this 
cemetery. Names which the visitor sees are Prior, Judge, Finnegan, Frain, King, 
Fitzsimmons, McKeever, Holmes, Lynch, Horgan, Barr, Kennedy, Welch, Cook, Kellett, 
Stockman, Pittman, Hamill, Roe, Mitchell, Loftus, Langan, Castle, Meschede, Flynn, and 


others. Many a monument tells the story of a courtship in Erin of an Irish gallant taking 
the colleen of his choice under the protection of his brave arm and the two starting for 
that virgin country of mystery and opportunity that lay far to the westward across the 
Atlantic from the Emerald Isle. 
St. Mary's Cemetery: The first cemetery of Marshall Mo., was located west of Marshall 
on what was known as the Old Blue Book Highway, now Highway 20. Highway 65 was 
cut through this cemetery and the stones were piled in corners and most of them have 
since disappeared and what was the old Marshall Cemetery is now being farmed. Virginia 
Montague Ruff copied the following records from the courthouse of people who were 
living in this area and may possibly have been buried in this cemetery. 
Cemetery Records of Saline County, Missouri Volume III; In time fences began to be run 
across the prairie and because of these and the lack of public roads it became increasingly 
difficult for the parishoners (sic) to reach the church. Then the Chicago and Alton railroad 
was built and Shackelford grew in population. So it was then that Bishop Hogan sold all 
but the cemetery ground. The rock of the church was taken to Shackelford and used in the 
foundation of the new church and a parsonage erected on the three acres obtained there. 
Title to the land appears in the name of individuals because it is the custom of the 
Catholic church for ownership of real estate to be in the name of the bishop of the 
diocese. 
St. Mary's Cemetery: The first cemetery of Marshall Mo., was located west of Marshall 
on what was known as the Old Blue Book Highway, now Highway 20. Highway 65 was 
cut through this cemetery and the stones were piled in corners and most of them have 
since disappeared and what was the old Marshall Cemetery is now being farmed. Virginia 
Montague Ruff copied the following records from the courthouse of people who were 
living in this area and may possibly have been buried in this cemetery. 

The Civil War grave marker for John O’Brien was ordered and has now been received 
by the appropriate person/authority in Saline County, Missouri. A message was received 
on 25 July 2007 from the 'keeper of the map' stating that: …the Mt St Mary's Cemetery 
Board met and decided that if you still wanted a headstone placed for John Obrion, that 
they will let you place one in the cemetery. The lot number is A-182. This is located in the 
older part of the cemetery. Since we couldn't come up with any records showing exactly 
where your family was buried, we looked and decided on this location. Let me know what 
needs to be done next. I will have to mark (the) lot for someone to place (the) marker." 

Posthumous services will be held in Missouri when we know the marker for Amanda’s 
first husband, John O’Brien is placed in the Shackelford cemetery on Lot A-182. While it 
is my wish that I/we could afford to have grave markers for her other family members 
placed in the Shackelford Cemetery to honor them as well, unfortunately, that is not 
possible. We are awaiting notification that the marker has been ‘placed’ in the Cemetery. 
This marker will, of necessity, have to be representative for all my and Amanda’s known 
family members buried in the Shackelford - Mount St. Mary’s Cemetery in Saline County, 
Missouri: 

· John O’Brien, died 14 November 1875, Napton, Saline County, Missouri 
· Anne Eliza O’Brien, died 1 May 1877 in Saline County, Missouri 
· George W. O’Brien, died January 1878, Saline County, Missouri 
Leonard R. O’Brien, died 14 December 1875, Saline County, Missouri 

• 
Norris Napoleon Lamear, died shortly after he was christened in 1868, Saline County, 
Missouri 
• 
Mary Agnes (Holland) Lamear, died 3 November 1878 and buried 7 November 1878 
in ‘Catholic Cemetery seven miles west of Marshall.’ Saline County, Missouri 
• 
George Milford Lamear, born 15 July 1880 and died prior to 1883 in Saline County, 
Missouri. 
Known family members are buried in the Alvarado Cemetery in Clear Creek County, 
Colorado. This cemetery has been physically ‘moved’ to its new location, down the road 
from Empire, Colorado to Georgetown, Colorado. A Civil War grave marker has also 
been ordered for Amanda’s second husband who is buried in Colorado to be placed near 
the obelisk with the name of Agnes Carrothers that is engraved on the obelisk with that of 
Sara Moore. (Photo of this obelisk is in my posession). 

• 
Peter Frank Lamear died 26 December 1883 at Red Elephant Mountain, Lawson, 
Clear Creek County, Colorado 
• 
Agnes Carrothers. Agnes was born 16 November 1888 in Clear Creek County, 
Colorado. She lived for just over two years and died of diphtheria on 1 Jan 1890 in 
Clear Creek County, Colorado. 
Other O’Brien and LaMear family members are buried in Roselawn Cemetery, Pueblo, 
Colorado and Calvary Cemetery, Glendale, California. Those family members do have 
grave stone markers. 

This family history quest did not happen by coincidence nor happenstance. There had 
to have been a guiding hand behind my researching the life of Amanda and her families. 
My ancestors and their family have gone on before us yet in order for this quest to begin 
they had to want to be recognized and honored for their life accomplishments. 

Providing a grave stone for both of Amanda’s husbands - John O’Brien in Shackelford 
Cemetery, Missouri and Peter Frank LaMear in Clear Creek County, Colorado is a part of 
what I feel is my ’family calling and duty.' This quest has been a travel through time for 
me and is presented as a gift to my family 

It is appropriately fitting that I am at the point of having these gravestones placed in 
the cemeteries where these men were buried even though the exact spot of their burial 
may never be known.