Claire Dutton was the sister of James Dutton.
Claire and her daughter, Mary Abel, joined her brother, James, and the rest of his family in Fort Worth, Texas, after her husband, Henry, passed away. She was a stern and cold woman who considered herself a proper lady and refused to beg on the streets back in Tennessee after being made a widow. Claire is very much ruthless when it comes to discipline, especially when she shows Margaret how to properly discipline her daughter, Elsa. She gave birth to 7 children, including Mary Abel, all of whom died before the series. Her husbands death did not break her, however, as the caravan journey was on the horizon, she viciously berated a gang led by Clide Barker to the point where they shot up several immigrants along with her daughter. Grief-stricken by Mary Abel's murder, her will was broken and she refused to carry on as she decided to end her life at her daughter's grave.