When Mary Jane Burnes was born in 1853, her father, William W. Burns, was 58 and her mother, Martha Gilliland White, was 45. She married Reuben Lewis from 1870 to 1872, in Humphreys, Tennessee, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 4 daughters. She lived in Scottsville, Bibb, Alabama, United States for about 10 years and Election Precinct 2 Scottsville, Bibb, Alabama, United States in 1930. She died in 1933, at the age of 80.