The Journey and Legacy of Mattie J. Christian

Mattie Christian was born as Martha Jane Givens on July 17, 1842 in Madisonville, Hopkins Co, Kentucky, the ninth child of her father, James Kerr Givens, and mother, Elizabeth Richards Christian. In May of 1838, Mattie married John Thomas Young, who served with the 17th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry for the Union Army in the Civil War. She was almost 16 years of age. Between 1859 and 1869, Mattie bore four children, William Lilburn, James Edwin, Burris Daniel, and Helen Mary. Her son, James Edwin, died at age four in 1864. Then, Mattie’s husband John died in 1869. Family lore suggests that he died of untreated wounds from the war.

In December of 1871, Mattie and her three surviving children boarded a west-bound train on the northern line of the Union Pacific Railroad. Somewhere near Cheyenne, Wyoming, the train became stranded in a blizzard. Fortunately, Mattie and her three children were supplied with ample food to endure the delay. Their train caught up with another immigrant train filled with starving passengers. Burris’ daughter, Lilla, recounted a scene from her father’s remembrances:

“My father recalls that his mother told the older brother Will to throw out a loaf of corn bread which had grown moldy. A man from the emigrant train offered him $5.00 for it, saying that his family had had nothing to eat for over a week.” ¹

The family arrived in California before the end of the year, making their home with her sister, Mrs. M. E. Bryant, a California pioneer of 1852 who settled about four miles northeast of Lockeford on the north side of the river.²

Almost a year later in November of 1872, Mattie married James L. Christian, a farmer north of Staples Ferry on the Mokelumne River, who owned about a thousand acres of land. With James, Mattie bore two more children, Lilla Jane Christian in 1874 and James Tilden Christian in 1878. Six years later in 1884, Mattie’s husband James died, leaving his estate to her, under California law. Mattie passed away almost three years to the day after her husband on June 3, 1885. After her passing, many of the children of Mattie Young Christian continued to make their home in California.

William Young married Carrie Sheridan, the first child of Isabella Epperly Sheridan and Francis Sheridan, William and Carrie made their home near Lockeford, where William farmed the land. They were active members of the IOOF, Knights of Pythias, Modern Woddsman of America, and the Rebekahs. William and Carrie had three surviving children, followed by six grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren, some of who live in California to this day. William and Carrie are interred side-by-side in Harmony Grove Cemetery.

Burris Daniel Young moved to Spokane, Washington, and married Wealtha Jane Dittamore. Burris and Wealtha had five children, followed by many grandchildren, some of whom stayed in Washington State while others moved to Texas and California. Their great grandchildren number as many as 16. Even though they lived their lives in Washington, Burris and Wealtha are interred side-by-side in Harmony Grove Cemetery.

Mattie’s third child and first daughter, Helen Mary Young, married James Kennard in 1895. They had five children, one of whom sadly died in infancy. Their four surviving children all made their homes in California.

Mattie’s first-born child to James Christian, Lilla Jane Christian, married George Robert Jack, a farmer of San Joaquin County. They had two children, followed by three grandchildren and multiple great grandchildren, one who lives on the original homestead. Lilla and George Jack are interred in Harmony Grove Cemetery.

Mattie’s last child, a son, was James Tilden Christian. Dr. Christian served as the Sacramento County health officer for sixteen years and physician in Galt, Sacramento County, for thirty years, and a doctor for the Southern Pacific Company. Multiple sources in the family report that James traveled to San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake to contribute medical assistance and photograph the disaster. In December of that year, James married Ingeborg Edith Leesberg. Together they had three children.

Mattie Jane Givens Young Christian, the brave young widow who traveled west with her three children, became a prominent pioneer woman of California’s early years. Her long name with three surnames is indicative of the enduring legacy she left on the generations of progeny who followed her. After her death, her extended family continued to gather together – siblings, step-siblings, nieces, nephews, and many cousins. They traded cabinet card photographs with each other, wrote to and about each other, and knew each other by their given names.

Now, almost two centuries after her birth, Mattie’s descendants are spread across many states in America and, likely, across the world. She and her husband James are memorialized in Harmony Grove Cemetery with an impressive eight-foot-high marble obelisk. It is maintained by one of her many great, great grandchildren to this day. We give tribute to Mattie here, so more of her many descendants learn her story and know that she is here in Harmony Grove Cemetery. ❖

Cover image: Detail from American Railroad Scene: Snowbound, a hand-colored lithograph published by Currier & Ives, digitized and archived by The Library of Congress. As such, it’s an accurate approximation of what Mattie and her children experienced in 1871.

References

1. ‌Young, Walter J. 1937. The Young Family of Bristol. Charles A Carmichael. https://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/G007680.pdf.
2. Tinkham, G. H. (1923). History of San Joaquin County, California : With biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present (pp. 766, 767). Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic Record Co.