Mary Ann Warters, born June 23rd, 1843, at Long Acres, Beaufort Co., North Carolina, was a poor cousin who came, with her mother, Sarah "Sallie Joe" Waters, to live with the Lassiter family, in hopes of having a better chance than was possible in her own home. Her father, William Warters, died after 1860. Mary Ann apparently had 3 brothers and a sister: Henry, Jesse, Asa and Harriet, who married David Johnson. Mary Ann and her cousin, Stephen Lassiter, fell in love and wanted to marry, but his father forbade it. They pledged their love to each other with their hands upon a Bible held by her mother, Sallie Joe Waters, and deemed themselves married. They planned to marry "some day" when Stephen's father accepted their union, but Mary, a sickly girl, fell ill and died of typhoid before they could legally marry. Mary Ann bore three children: Thomas, b.Mar 27, 1863, Lucius, b.Mar 11, 1866, and Mollie, b.May 22, 1868. (She may have also been weakened by her pregnancies and childbirth.) Mary Ann died Aug 10, 1868, just three months after Mollie was born. Also, it was three years since the end of the War Between the States and medication and care were difficult to obtain in the South. Of their three children, only one, Thomas Lassiter, the eldest, survived to adulthood. Sadly, after watching his mother die, young Thomas also lost his younger brother on Oct 22, 1869, and his little sister on Oct 28, 1870. His father married Loucretia Pitts, who gave birth to a son who was named after his father, Stephen Lassiter, in March, 1872. Thomas also lost his father to death on Sep 16, 1872. His father was buried at Fairview Cemetery, LaGrange, Lenoir Co., NC. Thomas adopted his mother's last name, Warters, as his own, due to what he felt was ill treatment by stepmother, (and possibly by his father) following his mother's death. Following the death of his father in 1872, Thomas was taken to be raised by his aunt and uncle, Lucy Jane (Lassiter) Joyner and Moses Joyner, who willed their tobacco farm to Thomas upon their deaths. Neither Stephen Lassiter (1832-1872) nor Thomas Lassiter Warters (1863-1938) is buried in this cemetery. Only Mary, her mother and the two younger children are buried here. It was also referred to as the "Spring Hill House" Cemetery by the family.

Thank you to Mr. Glenn Fields for all of the pictures and information he so freely shared with me. I owe him big time!
Surveyed by Glennwood Fields, July, 2008

Mary Ann Warters is one of my great, great grandmothers on my father's side. All I know about her is what is written above. If anyone knows anything more about her, her mother, or her family, I would be very grateful if you'd let me know via the "edit" key. Thank you.
Kathie L. Webb Blair, March 17th, 2013
Effective March 2017: Her father is listed as William Waters in 1850 and 1860 Census records for Beaufort, N.C. Her mother was apparently born in 1812, not 1802, per census records. She had 4 siblings, mentioned above.
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