[Mary Maria]:   Mary married Henderson Legrand on 24 June 1860 near Lancaster, 
Schuyler Co., Missouri.  Based on the records on Henderson Legrand, she presumably 
would have accompanied him to the Wyandotte Co., Kansas area sometime in late 1873 
or so and went with him to homestead in Richland Township in Rooks County in 1877.  
As noted above Henderson and Mary were the first settlers in western Rooks County.  
An article in the 3 September 1887 issue of the [Webster Eagle], reported the 
following:["H. Legrand of Richland township will start next Tuesday for Illinois, 
where he will remain awhile then go to Kentucky.  He has leased his ranch for two 
years, and contemplates being absent about the same period.  Mr. Legrand will go 
thru with a team, taking along some broncos.  Mrs. Legrand will go by rail.  H. 
Legrand was the first man to take a claim in Alcona township, and consequently is 
the oldest settler in western Rooks County. He has accumulated wealth enough to 
allow him a two years vacation and his friends wish himself and family a safe and 
pleasant journey and good health while sojourning among their friends and relatives.]"  
A later article, on 22 June 1888, in the [formerly Webster] [Stockton Eagle] under 
the column, Richland Rumors, noted that ["H. Legrand who left here last Fall for 
Illinois after a pioneer residence of ten years resumed control of his farm and 
herd."]
     She and Henderson are thought to have one child, named William or Willie.  
Henderson died in July 1897.  Mary M. Legrand filled out a "Declaration for Original 
Pension for Widow" on 8 September 1897, giving her age as 52 and noting that she was 
the widow of Henderson Legrand who "enlisted at Hannibal, Missouri on 2nd  January 
1864 in Co. B 21st Vol Infty in the war of the Rebellion."  This application was 
accompanied by several affidavits, one by Joseph McNulty of Stockton certifying 
Henderson's death and burial at Alcona Cemetery, and another from a W.R. Chandler of 
Webster attesting to the same thing.  There was also an affidavit from Mary's sister, 
Susan (Sammons Legrand) Pettijohn, living at Mascot, Harlan County, Nebraska, stating 
that she had been present at the marriage of Henderson Legrand and Mary M. Sammons at 
her father's house near Lancaster, Missouri.
     There is only limited information on Mary from this time on.  She seems to have 
been living in Nebraska, probably with or near her sister for a time based on an 
affidavit a short time later.  In 1900, she was back in Kansas apparently as she was 
listed in that year's census as living with her brother, Joseph.  Not too long 
afterward she must have gone back to Missouri as she married a [Reverend] Charles W. 
Burnett at Lancaster, Schuyler Co.  Missouri on 25th February 1904.  He died on 11th 
January 1919 and she applied for reinstatement of her pension as a widow of Henderson 
Legrand.
She was apparently successful as in a later letters she was seeking  an increase.  
The letter is interesting enough to be quoted as follows:
      [ "Lancaster Missouri       1927  "Aprile th 10
Dare Mr Winfield Scott
the commissioner of Pension
I will rite you a few lines in regard to my increace of Pension under the act of July 
the 3th as I have not receved eney nor herd eney thing I wood rite you and hope you 
will let me know if I am title to the increace if you pleas I was the wife of my 
former Husban while he was in the Sivel ware and he die with desese contracted in the 
ware of hart trubel and cronic direa he was a good Soldier and belong to the Grand 
armey & a member of Mason Log in good Standin I am a pensioner of thirty dolars per 
month and my pension certificate No 459-291 I hope to here from you in thener futher 
yours respectful from Mary M Legrand now Mary M. Burnett.
I hav ritin toyou sometime agoe and had not hern eney ting I though I wood rite a 
gane & hope that you will parden me for riting a gane]"

     She lived to a ripe old age.  The Bureau of Pensions was notified by a law firm 
in Lancaster that she died April 25th, 1939.  One interesting point in this context 
is that the firm stated that they had been retained as attorneys for her estate by 
Reuben LeGrand, administrator with will annexed of her estate.  Obviously there were 
still LeGrand's in the Schuyler County area and she retained her ties to them.

Henderson Legrand was born in Allen County, Kentucky.  His family moved to Schulyer 
County, Missouri. The date is unknown but they were there when Edmund Sammons and 
family moved to the area.  He married Mary Sammons, a daughter of Edmund and Anna 
Mariah Sammons in 1860.

     He enrolled in Company B, 21st Regiment, Missouri Infantry Volunteers on 2 
January 1862 at Memphis, Missouri and was mustered in on 1 February.  His brother, 
Joel had joined the same company in 1861.  Henderson was discharged in November 1862 
at St. Louis, Missouri and returned to Schuyler County.  He reenlisted in December 
1864 and was later again discharged as a Corporal on 19 April 1866 at Fort Morgan, 
Alabama.  He returned to Schuyler County, Missouri where he apparently lived near 
his mother-in-law's place which had been inherited by Gilbert and Devrix Sammons 
but with their mother's lifetime use.  He was noted in a later affidavit by Joseph 
Sammons, his brother-in-law as having worked for him for a time.  He and his brother 
signed affidavit's for his mother-in-law, Ann Mariah Sammons, in her claim for a 
pension based on her dependency on her late son, Gilbert Sammons, who had also served 
in the 21st Regiment. In 1872, a controversy arose over this pension with neighbors, 
Mariah's brother-in-law, George Sammons, and others over whether her claim was 
fraudulent, with allegations inter alia that the Legrand brothers had benefited from 
the pension.  In a report back to Washington, a special agent claimed fraud and 
proposed charging Mariah and her two sons-in-law if the proceeds of the pension were 
not returned.

     This may have been the reason the Legrand brothers moved in late 1872 or early 
1873 to the Wyandotte County, Kansas area but there is no proof of that.  As 
apparent from a later affidavit written for Joseph Combs who had come to the area 
earlier, Henderson stated that he had become acquainted with Combs in 1873.  
Henderson subsequently relocated to Rooks County, Kansas and was an early arrival 
according to a statement in a 3 September 1887 article in the Webster Eagle.  "H. 
Legrand was the first man to take a claim in Alcona township, and consequently is 
the oldest settler in western Rooks county."

     He applied on 12 March 1875 for an invalid pension for his service in the 
Civil War and this was subsequently approved after some problems.  A special 
examiner was sent out to investigate the claim.  At issue was Henderson's failure 
to mention that he had reenlisted after his first discharge and had apparently 
served without difficulty.  A number of affidavits were taken from relatives and 
friends, such as his brothers-in-law, Joseph and Devrix Sammons, and others such 
as Joseph Combs, testifying that he was unable to do a full days work without 
difficulty.

     Henderson was apparently relatively successful.  He was a Justice of the 
Peace in 1882 and presided over the marriage of Susan (Sammons) Legrand, the widow 
of his brother, Joel, to Reuben Pettijohn.  Testimony to his success is contained 
in the aforementioned 3 September 1887 Webster Eagle article: "H. Legrand, of 
Richland Township, will start next Tuesday for Illinois where he will remain 
awhile and then go to Kentucky.  He has leased his ranch for two years and 
contemplates being absent about the same period.  Mr. Legrand will go thro with a 
team, taking along some broncos.  Mrs. Legrand will go by rail.  H. Legrand was 
the first man to take a claim in Alcona township, and consequently is the oldest 
settler in western Rooks county.  He has accumulated wealth enough to allow him 
a two years vacation and his friends wish himself and family a safe and pleasant 
journey and good health while sojourning among their friends and relatives."  An 
article the following year reported that he had returned to the area and had 
resumed operation of his ranch.

     Despite this evidence of success there seems to have been some basis for his 
claim of ill health as a small item in the 25 August 1994 Rooks County Record in 
the regular feature entitled "99 Years Ago" stated: "We learn that H. Legrand of 
Webster, has been very low again with heart trouble.  He was picked up on the 
street the other day in a state of unconsciousness."  Henderson died in 1897 and 
was buried in Alcona Cemetery.
Compiled by Charlotte Curlee Ramsey from notes submitted by William G. Stewart.  

Charlotte Curlee Ramsey
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cramsey/index.html