Mary was believed to be born in Tennessee around 1832 as a slave. After the war she traveled to Cascade, MT to assist her friend, an Ursuline nun, with the chores and freighting for the St. Peter’s Mission. She became well-loved by the children in town, who enjoyed a holiday from school every year on her birthday. Due to her drinking, cigar-smoking, swearing and brawling, she was “fired” from St. Peters. After failed attempts at running a restaurant and lodging, she was offered the position of US postal service star route mail carrier. Thus she became known as the infamous “Stagecoach Mary.” Mary dressed in rugged men’s clothing, packed a pistol and rifle, and purportedly carried the mail through blizzards and wolf encounters. She retired after eight years at around seventy years old. She then was a laundress, enjoying her flower gardens, and occasionally babysitting children. Mary died in nearby Great Falls in 1914.