Missouri woman believed to be last Civil War widow dies
O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri woman who was believed to be the last remaining widow of a Civil War soldier has died.
Helen Viola Jackson married James Bolin in 1936, when she was a 17-year-old schoolgirl.
He was 93 and in declining health.
Bolin was also a Civil War veteran who fought for the Union in the border state of Missouri.
Jackson died Dec. 16 at a nursing home in Marshfield, Missouri.
She was 101.
Several Civil War heritage organizations have recognized Jackson’s quiet role in history.
A longtime friend says she hid it for all but the final three years of her life.
