Mary Frances (Bales) McNutt was born in 1872 on a farm in north central Missouri, near Mill Grove in Mercer County. Her father, William "Riley" Bales (1826–1877), a veteran of the Civil War, sadly died when she was 5 years old. After his death, her mother, Mary Jane (née Towell) Clampitt Bales (1836–1920) - who was still pregnant with her sister Lulu "Pearl" - gave away Mary to her half-brother, John Wesley "Wes" Bales [Find A Grave Memorial# 22500047] and his wife, Margaret Elizabeth (Thogmartin) Bales to be raised with her two youngest half-brothers who also were given up. Wes and Margaret Bales later became her legal court appointed guardians. (Her widowed mother remarried to Robert McCloud with whom she has another daughter.)

(Source: Riley W. Bales (born: William Riley Bales), veteran, file no. 424883; "Declaration for Pension or for Increase of Pension of Children under Sixteen Years of Age," Mercer County, Missouri, 5 June 1890; in Federal Military Pension Applications: Claim for Minors Pension, Complete File, Civil War Pension File; (Washington, DC: NARA-National Archives), County court record by claimant John Wesley "Wes" Bales of Goshen, Mercer County, Missouri, guardian for minors Charles A. Bales and Mary F. Bales (his brother and sister) for pension claim of Riley W. Bales, deceased veteran. The declaration also lists Riley E. "Elmer" Bales (brother) as issue of R. W. Bales.)

Mary Frances Bales married on February 12, 1888 in Crescent Hill (Adrian), Bates County, Missouri, to John C. McNutt. (Source: Ancestry.com, "Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002," Original source of data & images of certificates: Missouri Marriage Records. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives.)

Eight children: Jesse, Riley, Albert, Zola, Alva, Gordon, Grant, and Steven. Her first four children were born in Missouri, and her last four children were born in Oklahoma.

Her death, at age 38, was probably due to complications related to childbirth.