Mary Owen

''"I know Mary Owen and I will be great friends, even though I am a girl and she is a woman." ''

Charlotte Edwards

Mary/Sister Owen
Mary Owen is a young, kind-hearted Welsh woman, about 23 years old, traveling with her husband, Thomas Owen to America to join his sister's family in Cedar City. She is pregnant throughout the story, until she dies of blood loss giving birth to their daughter, Rose. Mary Owen is buried along the Mormon Trail and her baby's care is given to Charlotte, until Rose is 3 months old, and then is given to her father.

Background
Mary Owen had a complicated relationship with her mother. Mary's mother believed very strongly in her religion which was christianity. She then shunned Mary out of her life, when Mary joined the Mormons. Mary later married Thomas Owen and became pregnant with his child. She then agreed to travel with him on the Mormon Trail to America. When Mary bled to death, she was buried with her mother's white handkerchief, which was the only thing she had left of her.

Personality
Mary was portrayed as being sweet and innocent but very thoughtful and slightly confused. She likes to smile and laughs a lot. She is very affectionate, when hugging or kissing people as greeting. Mary often thinks ahead or back to the past, and deeply wonders about things. Her face usually looks glad when she thinks about good memories. Though, Mary believes in manners and privacy, she can also laugh when someone is rude without meaning to be. Mary is pretty easy-going and doesn't mind people questioning her about her life. Mary had been feeling contractions, and she knew she was going to have her baby soon. Although, she was worried about the pain of giving birth, she also worried about what she was going to do after her baby arrives. Her death was unexpected and probably slow and painful. It is unknown what her dying wishes were, but she always got very happy when she thought of her husband, and very sad when she thought of her mother.

Physical Appearance
Mary is very young, approximately 22 or 23 years old. She wears a pretty, old, dark red dress, with brown eyes and heavy black hair, with small pretty hands. She is very pretty, and Charlotte remarks that she looks like a princess. Charlotte liked her so much, because she reminded her of her own mother because of the thick, black hair, small pretty hands, and the pregnant belly because her own mother had been pregnant many times.

Relationships

 * Mother: Mary loved her mother very much, though her mother was stubborn and refused to accept her as a Mormon. Mary attempted to repair her relationship with her, but since her mother refused to be a part of her life anymore, Mary left Wales to go with her husband, Thomas. Her mother doesn't know that Mary had a baby and died. Mary kept a snowy, white, handkerchief that had belonged to her mother, in memory of her. She was also buried with it.
 * Thomas Owen: Thomas Owen is Mary Owen's husband. Mary had met him in Wales, and over time they had fallen in love. Because he was a Mormon, Mary was baptized as a Mormon too, before she married him. Mary loved her husband very much, and often thought about him even when he wasn't around. The two were playful and very happy together, as they always held each other and made each other laugh. Thomas used to work in the colliery in Wales, and Mary was often very anxious and nervous about him going there and coming back, because the mines were dangerous and lots of explosive addidents happened. After his day of working in the mines, Mary always washed the coal dust out of his hair. When she dies, Thomas becomes very depressed and he can't bear himself to even look at their baby, who looks just like her. So he refuses to take care of her. Thomas later says how Mary would've been very disapointed and ashamed of him for doing this.
 * Charlotte Edwards: Mary and Charlotte were very good friends. Even though, Charlotte was only 12 years old, Mary treated her as if they were on the same level. They first met on the ship going to North America, where they begin small conversation on the quiet deck one night where they playfully shout goodbyes across the ocean to Wales. They talk again on land at the beginning of their on-foot travel in America. On their first night, camping, they soak their aching feet in the lake together. Mary allows Charlotte to feel her baby kick, and they confess things about themselves to each other. Charlotte really likes Mary because she reminds her of her own mother who died, because she looks so much like her. When Mary dies, Charlotte mourns at her funeral with everyone else, and takes care of her newborn daughter, Rose Owen, when Thomas is unable to.
 * Rosa Jenkins: Mary and Rosa didn't really ever meet each other. But when Mary dies, though Rosa wasn't able to take care of her baby full time, she was the baby's source of food, because she was breastfeeding her own baby at the time, so she breastfed Rose.