Helen Jackson passed away on December 15th, 2020 at the age of 101. She was the last known widow of a civil war veteran.
She was married to James Bolin, born in1843, who served as a private in the 14th Missouri cavalry, part of the Union army. The 14th regiment served from 1864 to 1865.
In 1936, society was still recovering from the Great Depression (1930 - 1933). At 93, James Bolin was unable to take care of himself. 17 year old Helen Jackson, one of his neighbor's children, agreed to be his caretaker. Not wanting to accept charity from someone with so little, Bolin offered to marry her. In an interview, Helen said, “He said that he would leave me his Union pension. It was during the depression and times were hard. He said that it might be my only way of leaving the farm.”
She accepted his proposal and they had a private wedding. Only a few of their acquaintances knew of the arrangement. Upon his death in 1939, Helen decided against applying for the pension. In her words, “How do you explain that you have married someone with such a difference in age? I had great respect for Mr. Bolin and I did not want him to be hurt by the scorn of wagging tongues. All a woman had in 1939 was her reputation. I didn’t want them all to think that I was a young woman who had married an old man to take advantage of him.”
Helen Jackson kept the secret until recent years, when she disclosed the marriage while planning her funeral. Until 2018, historians believed that the last civil war widow had died in 2008. In her last two years of life, she conducted many interviews and was even able to attend a play made about her life, The Secret Veil.
When I read the headline "The Last Civil War Widow Dies at 101", I was blown away. I didn't believe it. Helen Jackson was a strong woman. She lived through the Great Depression, helped her neighbors, preserved the reputation of an honorable man, and became a historical figure at the age of 99.
Resources:
Comments