An impressive ceremony was held on Sunday, April 21,
2002, at Horse Mountain Church of Christ and Horse Mountain Cemetery
near Shelbyville, Tennessee, to dedicate a historical marker at the
gravesite of American Patriot, Mary Shirley McGuire. The service was
co-hosted by Shelby Chapter and Mary Shirley McGuire Chapter of Plano,
Texas .
President General Linda Watkins addressed the crowded church of McGuire
descendants, DAR members from Tennessee and Texas, and local residents.
She described Mary Shirley McGuire as the "embodiment of unfailing
courage. Her dedication and sacrifice for the cause of freedom firmly
established her as one of America's patriots."
A lovely reception was held at the church annex
following the unveiling and marker dedication at the grave site.
Mary Shirley McGuire
Wife - Mother - Patriot
Mary Shirley, who was born on 17 February 1762, married William
McGuire on 23 February 1778 in Virginia. During the Revolutionary
War, William and Mary McGuire, with son Michael, were taken prisoner
on 26 June 1780 and moved from Virginia to Montreal, Quebec, in
Canada, where they were interned for over two years by the British.
A British record from Quebec, dated 16 September 1782, shows Mary
with husband and sons Michael and Thomas on the list "Return of
Women and Children Prisoners with their Husbands to be sent to their
Homes," and Revolutionary War records show that in October 1782,
William was sent from the Province of Quebec for exchange by way of
Lake Champlain. In the early 1800s, William bought property and they
settled in Bedford County, Tennessee, where Mary Shirley McGuire and
husband William are buried in the Horse Mountain Cemetery on Horse
Mountain Road between Shelbyville and Wartrace, Tennessee.
