Article by Alan Crawford, April 2025
With this next weekend being the Annual Caring for Your Cemetery Day at the Rossville Cemetery, I thought I would revisit one of the ladies resting there, Mary Eliza Cloud. I’ve previously written about her and her family. I learned half a century ago she is on my family tree. What I find special is she was a Mohawk Indian maiden according to family tradition.
Her early years continue to be learned about, but the family lore is Mary Eliza, and another Indian girl, possibly a sister, Maria, were orphaned, maybe in an Indian raid, or battle. They were taken in by Joseph St. John and his wife, Elizabeth. Mary Eliza married Daniel St. John and Maria married Josiah St. John, sons of Joseph and Elizabeth St. John.
When I discovered the grave marker for Mary Eliza Cloud five years ago at Rossville, after fifty years of searching, we could put some dates together. She was born in 1808, and left us on September 5th, 1868.
In 1974, I was privileged to see a photo of Mary Eliza, but over the years this has been lost or misplaced. One story I was told at that time, and confirmed by a cousin, was that at family gatherings, Mary Eliza often would sit on the floor with her legs crossed, Indian style. She always wore her hair long and braided. Through collaboration with the St. John Big Y DNA Project, I am now able to share some additional details.
Daniel St. John sadly passed away in 1850, leaving Mary Eliza a young widow with two sons, William P. St. John and James Henry St. John. William P. St. John passed away at the young age of 22 on May 4th, 1864. He is buried next to his mother in Rossville.
After Daniel St. John’s death, Mary Eliza remarried. This time to Isaac Ferguson. Isaac served as a Private in Company E of the 124th New York Volunteers, the Orange Blossoms. As with others of those days, he fell victim to consumption, now more commonly known as tuberculosis, while in the Union Army. On December 11th, 1862, in Falmouth, VA., he died in camp. There was a widow’s pension issued to Mary Eliza in May of 1864 for the sum of $8.00, a month! His name is memorialized on the statue in Goshen, celebrating the Orange Blossoms, the 124th NY Volunteers in the American Civil War!
We’ve set up a page on the Rossville Cemetery Association’s website with more complete details, including the 22 page widow’s pension application. Special thanks goes out to the St. John Big Y DNA Project and their helpfulness in sharing this with everyone. They have more details if you’re researching and they welcome inquiries.
If you’re able to volunteer this coming Saturday, April 26th, at Rossville Cemetery’s Annual cleanup, please see me and I’ll show you where Mary Eliza Cloud and her son William rest in the shade. We will also be able to show you where other veterans are buried, and perhaps a family member. Please help us make this day an outstanding success for our cemetery and community, and if we can help you with your family tree research, stop by!
Further Reading:
2021-07-30 Newspaper Article No. 111 – Native American Origins – Newburgh History Blog
Rossville Church & Cemetery Association 