Mary Jane Beaty AKA Mary Jean Blair AKA Mary Jean Mclaughlin.
Answers to questions and corrections
- Her name: She was born Mary Jane Beaty. Her mother and older sister died on the same day when she was 10. Her father sent her to live with Sam and Goldie Blair at Lake Odessa. We have never found out why Blairs. They took in kids and used them as labor and treated them badly. She didn't like her middle name and so just started calling herself Mary Jean Blair. She was never in the foster care system.
- WHO IS HAZEL SHAW? No one. She was a person just picked by a unethical investigator. The family hired him and he claimed Mary changed her name to Hazel Shaw and moved to Klatskanie OR. There is a poor woman there by that name but she has nothing to do with Mary. I don't know if the investigator knew Mary's mother was named Hazel or it was coincidence.
Another investogator told the family she was right in town the whole time! Apparently that investigator had never been a town that is 5 blocks long and 5 blocks wide. She couldn't have stayed hiden for a week, let alone decades.
- Why take the name Blair of all the families she lived with? She only lived with Blairs and Mclaughlins. Blairs all through school, then when Mary got pregnant Goldie Blair threw her out and Mary moved in with the parents of Carlon Mclaughlin. After her family selling her into servitude she probably didn't want to be a Beaty anymore.
- What about the Beatys helping her out? Mary's birth family weren't exactly a close and loving family. None of the older siblings offered to take her in apparently. No one made much attempt to visit her in Lake Odessa over the years. One sister, Kathleen Linstrom, has told a lot of stories about how she tried to see the kids and was turned away and Mary came and told her she was leaving Carl etc. Kathleen never had children and when Marys girls sought her out I think she didn't want to admit that no one ever looked into what happened to Mary or checked on her over the years. In short I think Kathleen told lies so the Mary's daughters would like her.
- DNA Her son and daughter have both had DNA taken by the police and put in a data base. There was a body found in Florida not long after she disappeard that they wanted to checkout. They never contacted us with any info.
- Why didn't her son, Donald, report her for so long? Donald didn't report her missing at all. I did. I wanted to get on a unclaimed body database and it required a missing persons case number. At the time I didn't consider her missing , just staying away. No one knew she was actually missing until the police came to us with questions. Her children were raised by Carlon Mclaughlin who was a vicious, abusive man. All they ever heard was that she was a worthless *advertiser censored* who abandoned them and no one ever questioned it. Mary's youngest child, Suzanne, was given to Carls brother, Nelson. When Suzanne was terminally ill that is when the family hired investigators to try and locate Mary. It was years after that when I reported her missing.
- Why didn't her siblings change their names? They were adults when Mary was sent away.
- Age. The April 6, 1940 Census record says she is 2 at that time. Any records she left were destroyed by Carl.
Interesting facts.
I've known Donald since we were kids. I remember strange things his father said.
He once said, “She's never coming back, mother and I made sure of it”. I don't know what he meant but Carl and his brother got into a lot of trouble and their mother always paid to get them out. Their parents were respected business owners in a small town and no one questioned their story of where Mary went.
Carl claimed she was American Indian, she wasn't.
Carl told many conflicting stories about where she went.
When the police went to Mississippi and knocked on Carls door he said “ are you here to arrest me?”.
Donald still lives in Michigan. His 2 sisters and brother live in Mississippi where Carl moved in the 70's. Everyone was estranged from Carl by the time he died.
Nancy Mclaughlin (Wife of Donald)
I will answer questions if I can.
Nancy,
I’ve been trying to think of questions to ask that would assist us in finding answers in Mary’s disappearance. I’m at a bit of a loss, as I have so many. I took your comment and elaborated on that. If you don’t feel comfortable answering any of them, please don’t. I can’t thank you enough for being here and doing what you’re doing for Mary!
___________________________
Her name: She was born Mary Jane Beaty. Her mother and older sister died on the same day when she was 10. Her father sent her to live with Sam and Goldie Blair at Lake Odessa. We have never found out why Blairs. They took in kids and used them as labor and treated them badly. She didn't like her middle name and so just started calling herself Mary Jean Blair. She was never in the foster care system.
Thank you for clearing up her birth name. Do you think her father intentionally sent her there, knowing the conditions Mary would be living in or was he just overwhelmed when his wife died and unaware of what may have been going on?
WHO IS HAZEL SHAW? No one. She was a person just picked by a unethical investigator. The family hired him and he claimed Mary changed her name to Hazel Shaw and moved to Klatskanie OR. There is a poor woman there by that name but she has nothing to do with Mary. I don't know if the investigator knew Mary's mother was named Hazel or it was coincidence. Another investogator told the family she was right in town the whole time! Apparently that investigator had never been a town that is 5 blocks long and 5 blocks wide. She couldn't have stayed hiden for a week, let alone decades.
Do you feel there’s any truth to either of the investigators claims? Any reason the one would have chosen someone living in that particular area. Or suffice it to say the whole story was just that; a made up story? Who hired the investigators and around when? If most of what they “turned up” during their investigations (especially the one saying she was living in Oregon) was inaccurate, do you think it was done maliciously to throw people off or just bad detective work?
Why take the name Blair of all the families she lived with? She only lived with Blairs and Mclaughlins. Blairs all through school, then when Mary got pregnant Goldie Blair threw her out and Mary moved in with the parents of Carlon Mclaughlin. After her family selling her into servitude she probably didn't want to be a Beaty anymore.
I’ve done some Ancestry research on Mary, for the sake of learning about her and where she could have gone to so I think I know, but for clarification; about how old was she when she went to live with the McLaughlins? This explains her choice to take on that name in particular and I think answers my previous question of whether or not her father knew about what she may have endured while living with this other family? Do you know when and where she and Carlon met? You said she moved in with his family after getting pregnant, had they known each other from school and started seeing one another and ultimately started a family? I’m trying to get an idea of how her relationship with him started.
What about the Beatys helping her out? Mary's birth family weren't exactly a close and loving family. None of the older siblings offered to take her in apparently. No one made much attempt to visit her in Lake Odessa over the years. One sister, Kathleen Linstrom, has told a lot of stories about how she tried to see the kids and was turned away and Mary came and told her she was leaving Carl etc. Kathleen never had children and when Marys girls sought her out I think she didn't want to admit that no one ever looked into what happened to Mary or checked on her over the years. In short I think Kathleen told lies so the Mary's daughters would like her.
Thank you for sharing you thoughts on this.
DNA Her son and daughter have both had DNA taken by the police and put in a data base. There was a body found in Florida not long after she disappeard that they wanted to checkout. They never contacted us with any info.
I’m very glad to hear that her children’s DNA has been taken and that data is available. Was Mary being compared to this body found in Florida recently? Depending on a couple of things, they may not have the results of that comparison yet. It usually takes a little bit of time. It wouldn’t hurt to contact the investigator and simply inquire about where they are as far progress with that goes. I know waiting can be very difficult!
Why didn't her son, Donald, report her for so long? Donald didn't report her missing at all. I did. I wanted to get on a unclaimed body database and it required a missing persons case number. At the time I didn't consider her missing , just staying away. No one knew she was actually missing until the police came to us with questions. Her children were raised by Carlon Mclaughlin who was a vicious, abusive man. All they ever heard was that she was a worthless *advertiser censored* who abandoned them and no one ever questioned it. Mary's youngest child, Suzanne, was given to Carls brother, Nelson. When Suzanne was terminally ill that is when the family hired investigators to try and locate Mary. It was years after that when I reported her missing.
I’m incredibly sorry for all the suffering that occurred within this family. It doesn’t sound to me like life was easy for any of Mary’s siblings or children. You did the right thing by reporting her missing, in my opinion. It mustn’t have been an easy decision, considering what you’ve told us. Thank you for that!
Why didn't her siblings change their names? They were adults when Mary was sent away.
Thank you, that makes complete sense.
Age. The April 6, 1940 Census record says she is 2 at that time. Any records she left were destroyed by Carl.
Again, thank you. This information helps.
Interesting facts.
I've known Donald since we were kids. I remember strange things his father said.
He once said, “She's never coming back, mother and I made sure of it”. I don't know what he meant but Carl and his brother got into a lot of trouble and their mother always paid to get them out. Their parents were respected business owners in a small town and no one questioned their story of where Mary went.
Interesting indeed. I take it to mean he’s referring to his [Carl’s] mother?
Carl claimed she was American Indian, she wasn't.
Sounds like he was trying to throw people off maybe. Just my opinion.
Carl told many conflicting stories about where she went.
Do you or the family have one story you believe more than the others, or do you have other theories about what happened to Mary and where she may be? That you’d be willing to share.
When the police went to Mississippi and knocked on Carls door he said “ are you here to arrest me?”.
Hmmm. Very interesting.
Donald still lives in Michigan. His 2 sisters and brother live in Mississippi where Carl moved in the 70's. Everyone was estranged from Carl by the time he died.
Nancy Mclaughlin (Wife of Donald)
I will answer questions if I can.
