Mary Shirley Turned Thirteen in 1775–In Western Virginia

Shirley descendants recorded Mary’s date of birth as 17 February 1762. As I contemplated writing a fictional novel about her life, it occurred to me she turned thirteen in 1775.

This eureka moment led to the question, how would a young teen girl cope with the upheaval of more Shawnee raids and the rising tensions among the Greenbrier Valley settlements, while the Eastern colonists debated the case for independence from King George III. Loyalist helped British officials at Fort Detroit keep the Indians on the King’s side by supplying and encouraging the deadly frontier raids. If teen Mary had dreams of a happy future, they were dashed. I remember being thirteen, and I raised three close-in-age daughters.

The slightest disruption of a teen girl’s goals can be traumatic for everyone in the family. Showcasing Mary at this time of her life made sense. My Dangerous Loyalties series allows the DAR Patriot, Mary Shirley McGuire to vent as a fictional heroine.