sentences.text: Maudie Hopkins (December 7, 1914 August 17, 2008) was an American woman believed to be the last publicly-known surviving widow of a Civil War veteran.
sentences.text: Maudie
sentences.text: Hopkins
sentences.text: (
sentences.text: December
sentences.text: 7
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: 1914
sentences.text: August
sentences.text: 17
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: 2008
sentences.text: )
sentences.text: was
sentences.text: an
sentences.text: American
sentences.text: woman
sentences.text: believed
sentences.text: to
sentences.text: be
sentences.text: the
sentences.text: last
sentences.text: publicly-known
sentences.text: surviving
sentences.text: widow
sentences.text: of
sentences.text: a
sentences.text: Civil
sentences.text: War
sentences.text: veteran
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: Other widows are still living, but they have not identified themselves because they do not wish to have publicity.
sentences.text: Other
sentences.text: widows
sentences.text: are
sentences.text: still
sentences.text: living
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: but
sentences.text: they
sentences.text: have
sentences.text: not
sentences.text: identified
sentences.text: themselves
sentences.text: because
sentences.text: they
sentences.text: do
sentences.text: not
sentences.text: wish
sentences.text: to
sentences.text: have
sentences.text: publicity
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: Born Maudie Acklin in Baxter County, Arkansas, at age 19, she married William M. Cantrell, aged 86, on February 2, 1934, in hopes of escaping poverty.
sentences.text: Born
sentences.text: Maudie
sentences.text: Acklin
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: Baxter
sentences.text: County
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: Arkansas
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: at
sentences.text: age
sentences.text: 19
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: she
sentences.text: married
sentences.text: William
sentences.text: M.
sentences.text: Cantrell
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: aged
sentences.text: 86
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: on
sentences.text: February
sentences.text: 2
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: 1934
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: hopes
sentences.text: of
sentences.text: escaping
sentences.text: poverty
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: Cantrell enlisted in the Confederate Army at age 16 in Pikeville, Kentucky, and served in General Samuel G. French's Battalion of the Virginia Infantry.
sentences.text: Cantrell
sentences.text: enlisted
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: the
sentences.text: Confederate
sentences.text: Army
sentences.text: at
sentences.text: age
sentences.text: 16
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: Pikeville
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: Kentucky
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: and
sentences.text: served
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: General
sentences.text: Samuel
sentences.text: G.
sentences.text: French
sentences.text: 's
sentences.text: Battalion
sentences.text: of
sentences.text: the
sentences.text: Virginia
sentences.text: Infantry
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: He was captured in 1863, and was part of a prisoner exchange.
sentences.text: He
sentences.text: was
sentences.text: captured
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: 1863
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: and
sentences.text: was
sentences.text: part
sentences.text: of
sentences.text: a
sentences.text: prisoner
sentences.text: exchange
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: He had had a previous wife, who died in 1929.
sentences.text: He
sentences.text: had
sentences.text: had
sentences.text: a
sentences.text: previous
sentences.text: wife
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: who
sentences.text: died
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: 1929
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: Cantrell supported her with a pension of US$25 every two or three months, and she inherited his home in 1937.
sentences.text: Cantrell
sentences.text: supported
sentences.text: her
sentences.text: with
sentences.text: a
sentences.text: pension
sentences.text: of
sentences.text: US$
sentences.text: 25
sentences.text: every
sentences.text: two
sentences.text: or
sentences.text: three
sentences.text: months
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: and
sentences.text: she
sentences.text: inherited
sentences.text: his
sentences.text: home
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: 1937
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: She received no further pension benefits after his death.
sentences.text: She
sentences.text: received
sentences.text: no
sentences.text: further
sentences.text: pension
sentences.text: benefits
sentences.text: after
sentences.text: his
sentences.text: death
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: She remarried later in 1937, and twice thereafter, and had three children.
sentences.text: She
sentences.text: remarried
sentences.text: later
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: 1937
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: and
sentences.text: twice
sentences.text: thereafter
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: and
sentences.text: had
sentences.text: three
sentences.text: children
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: It was not especially uncommon for young women in Arkansas to marry Confederate pensioners; in 1937 the state passed a law stating that women who married Civil War veterans would not be eligible for a widow's pension.
sentences.text: It
sentences.text: was
sentences.text: not
sentences.text: especially
sentences.text: uncommon
sentences.text: for
sentences.text: young
sentences.text: women
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: Arkansas
sentences.text: to
sentences.text: marry
sentences.text: Confederate
sentences.text: pensioners
sentences.text: ;
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: 1937
sentences.text: the
sentences.text: state
sentences.text: passed
sentences.text: a
sentences.text: law
sentences.text: stating
sentences.text: that
sentences.text: women
sentences.text: who
sentences.text: married
sentences.text: Civil
sentences.text: War
sentences.text: veterans
sentences.text: would
sentences.text: not
sentences.text: be
sentences.text: eligible
sentences.text: for
sentences.text: a
sentences.text: widow
sentences.text: 's
sentences.text: pension
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: The law was later changed in 1939 to state that widows born after 1870 were not eligible for pensions.
sentences.text: The
sentences.text: law
sentences.text: was
sentences.text: later
sentences.text: changed
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: 1939
sentences.text: to
sentences.text: state
sentences.text: that
sentences.text: widows
sentences.text: born
sentences.text: after
sentences.text: 1870
sentences.text: were
sentences.text: not
sentences.text: eligible
sentences.text: for
sentences.text: pensions
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: Hopkins generally kept her first marriage a secret, fearing that the resulting gossip (of marrying a much older man) would damage her reputation.
sentences.text: Hopkins
sentences.text: generally
sentences.text: kept
sentences.text: her
sentences.text: first
sentences.text: marriage
sentences.text: a
sentences.text: secret
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: fearing
sentences.text: that
sentences.text: the
sentences.text: resulting
sentences.text: gossip
sentences.text: (
sentences.text: of
sentences.text: marrying
sentences.text: a
sentences.text: much
sentences.text: older
sentences.text: man
sentences.text: )
sentences.text: would
sentences.text: damage
sentences.text: her
sentences.text: reputation
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: After research with records from Arkansas and United States Census Bureau data, she was certified by various historical organizations, most notably the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
sentences.text: After
sentences.text: research
sentences.text: with
sentences.text: records
sentences.text: from
sentences.text: Arkansas
sentences.text: and
sentences.text: United
sentences.text: States
sentences.text: Census
sentences.text: Bureau
sentences.text: data
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: she
sentences.text: was
sentences.text: certified
sentences.text: by
sentences.text: various
sentences.text: historical
sentences.text: organizations
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: most
sentences.text: notably
sentences.text: the
sentences.text: United
sentences.text: Daughters
sentences.text: of
sentences.text: the
sentences.text: Confederacy
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: However, a spokewoman for the UDC, Martha Boltz, has said that there may be two other widows, one in Tennessee and another in North Carolina, but if they exist they wish to remain in anonymity.
sentences.text: However
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: a
sentences.text: spokewoman
sentences.text: for
sentences.text: the
sentences.text: UDC
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: Martha
sentences.text: Boltz
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: has
sentences.text: said
sentences.text: that
sentences.text: there
sentences.text: may
sentences.text: be
sentences.text: two
sentences.text: other
sentences.text: widows
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: one
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: Tennessee
sentences.text: and
sentences.text: another
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: North
sentences.text: Carolina
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: but
sentences.text: if
sentences.text: they
sentences.text: exist
sentences.text: they
sentences.text: wish
sentences.text: to
sentences.text: remain
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: anonymity
sentences.text: .
sentences.text: She died on August 17, 2008 in a nursing home in Lexa at the age of 93.
sentences.text: She
sentences.text: died
sentences.text: on
sentences.text: August
sentences.text: 17
sentences.text: ,
sentences.text: 2008
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: a
sentences.text: nursing
sentences.text: home
sentences.text: in
sentences.text: Lexa
sentences.text: at
sentences.text: the
sentences.text: age
sentences.text: of
sentences.text: 93
sentences.text: .
text: Maudie Hopkins (December 7, 1914 August 17, 2008) was an American woman believed to be the last publicly-known surviving widow of a Civil War veteran. Other widows are still living, but they have not identified themselves because they do not wish to have publicity. Born Maudie Acklin in Baxter County, Arkansas, at age 19, she married William M. Cantrell, aged 86, on February 2, 1934, in hopes of escaping poverty. Cantrell enlisted in the Confederate Army at age 16 in Pikeville, Kentucky, and served in General Samuel G. French's Battalion of the Virginia Infantry. He was captured in 1863, and was part of a prisoner exchange. He had had a previous wife, who died in 1929. Cantrell supported her with a pension of US$25 every two or three months, and she inherited his home in 1937. She received no further pension benefits after his death. She remarried later in 1937, and twice thereafter, and had three children. It was not especially uncommon for young women in Arkansas to marry Confederate pensioners; in 1937 the state passed a law stating that women who married Civil War veterans would not be eligible for a widow's pension. The law was later changed in 1939 to state that widows born after 1870 were not eligible for pensions. Hopkins generally kept her first marriage a secret, fearing that the resulting gossip (of marrying a much older man) would damage her reputation. After research with records from Arkansas and United States Census Bureau data, she was certified by various historical organizations, most notably the United Daughters of the Confederacy. However, a spokewoman for the UDC, Martha Boltz, has said that there may be two other widows, one in Tennessee and another in North Carolina, but if they exist they wish to remain in anonymity. She died on August 17, 2008 in a nursing home in Lexa at the age of 93.