William Murphy (1830-1909): 52 Ancestors #74

William Murphy, my second great-grandfather (#24 in my Ahnentafel), was born 15 May 1830,¹ probably in or near Georgetown, Kings County, Prince Edward Island. If that date of birth is reasonably accurate, he was probably the second child of Michael and Magdelen (Morison) Murphy.

About 1853 William married Flora Ann McDonald, possibly in or near Vernon River.² They had ten children:

1. Dominic (1854-1914), married Rose Ann McIntyre in Bloomfield, PEI (my great-grandparents)
2. Lot (ca 1856-1917), married Nora Kelleher in Newburyport, MA
3. Flora Ann (1856-1923), married John Sanphy in PEI
4. Mary (1858-1933), married John Cummings in Newburyport
5. James (1860-?), possibly died young
6. Martha (1863-1949), married Edward Perkins in Newburyport
7. Daniel (1865-aft 1920), emigrated to Newburyport
8. Catherine "Kate" (1868-1922), married Patrick Hart in Newburyport
9. Elizabeth "Lizzie" (1871-1918), married George Blackwell in Lawrence, MA
10. William (1873-bef 1881)

1881 Canada census, Georgetown, Kings County, PEI, William Murphy household

Lot 51 in 1880 Atlas; red outlines the area of the detail below

The earliest I can definitely identify William in the census is 1881, when he and his family were enumerated in Georgetown.³ Oddly, the Lot 51 map in Meacham's 1880 Atlas shows a 100-acre lot on Baldwin Road (about 10 miles from Georgetown) labelled "Wm Murphy",⁴ yet they don't appear in Lot 51 in the census until 1891⁵ – located right among the neighbors expected from the 1880 lot map.

Another map (undated), showing the route of planned railway construction through Lot 51, also shows William Murphy as the landholder. The dates on similar railway maps of other Kings County lots indicate that it is probably from the early 1870s.⁶

William's daughter Flora had, about 1875, married John Sanphy who farmed a few properties down Baldwin Road from William's lot, so I can speculate that he may have acquired the land by the time the atlas was compiled, intending to move near to the Sanphys, but the farm may have been occupied by a tenant at the time of the census.

William Murphy is also listed in Baldwin's Road in the Fredericks 1889-90 Directory.⁷ I haven't been able to find a William Murphy who is likely to be "my" William anywhere in earlier available directories ranging from 1864 through 1880.

Detail of Lot 51 map showing Wm Murphy property (red outline added) in Baldwin Road, 1880

1891 Canada census, Lot 51, Kings County, PEI, William Murphy and "Domnic" Murphy households

Sometime around 1905-06, William and Flora emigrated to the United States, settling in Newburyport, Massachusetts,⁸ where four of William's siblings and at least five of his children had already gone over the years.

On 10 February 1909, William Murphy died of apoplexy and old age in Newburyport.⁹ His age of 71 on his death certificate is undoubtedly much too young; given that he appears consistently in three censuses as born 1830-31, he must have been 78 or 79.¹⁰ The informant was Daniel Murphy, probably his son, who was less likely to know his father's exact age than Flora would have been. He was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Newburyport.¹¹

William Murphy death cettificate, 10 Feb 1909, Newburyport, Mass.

My descent from William Murphy:

• William Murphy and Flora McDonald
• Dominic Murphy and Rose Anne McIntyre
• William George Murphy and Glenna Marie Rabideau
• Kathleen Marie Murphy and Roger Kirk (my parents)

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SOURCES

1. 1901 Canada Census, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, Township 51, p. 5, dwelling 37, family 38, William Murphy household; database and digital images, Library and Archives Canada, (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca : accessed 20 Feb 2012).
2. The year is an estimate based on the Dec 1854 birth of their first child, Dominic. While baptismal records for Dominic and Lot have not been located, their third through seventh children were baptized at St. Joachim's Church in Vernon River, making it a likely location for their marriage as well.
3. 1881 Canada Census, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, Georgetown Common & Royalty, pp. 3-4, dwelling 11, family 11, William Murphy household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2012).
4. "Plan of Lots 51, 52 & 66, Kings Co., P.E.I.," Illustrated Historical Atlas Of The Province Of Prince Edward Island (Philadelphia: J.H. Meacham & Co., 1880), pp. 107-108; digital image, David Rumsey Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com : accessed 28 Apr 2014), item 4475060. 
5. 1891 Canada Census, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, Township 51, p. 10, families 34-35, William Murphy and "Domnic" Murphy households ; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2012).  
6. Prince Edward Island Railway, map of the land appropriated by the Railway Commissioners in Lots 38 and 51, undated; digital image, University of Prince Edward Island Robertson Library, Island Imagined (http://www.islandimagined.ca : accessed 16 Feb 2019). 
7. Frederick's Prince Edward Island Directory, and Book of Useful Information, for 1889-90 (Charlottetown, P.E. Island: Frederick's Publishing Co., 1889), p. 524, entry for Murphy William, far[mer].
8. No immigration records have been found, but city directories show a William Murphy arriving in Newburyport around this time. In addition to his children noted in the list above as moving to/marrying in Newburyport, William's brother Daniel and sisters Mary, Catherine, and Elizabeth were also living in Newburyport (or nearby Amesbury) at the time he and Flora emigrated.
9. "Massachusetts, Death Records, 1841-1915," database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Mar 2014), William Murphy death certificate #319, registered no. 25, Newburyport, Massachusetts, 10 Feb 1909.  
10. 1881 Canada Census (note 3), age 50, and 1891 Canada Census (note 5), age 60, both imply birth in 1830-31. 1901 Canada Census (note 1) gives full date of birth as 15 May 1830.
11.  William Murphy death certificate (note 9).

Nahum Alonzo Rand Sr.: 52 Ancestors #73

Nahum Alonzo Rand, my great-great-grandfather and #22 on my Ahnentafel, was born 29 Nov 1813 in Rye, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. He was the second of three children of Joshua and Elizabeth (Rand) Rand.¹ (Joshua and Elizabeth were first cousins, giving Nahum only six great-grandparents instead of the usual eight, as illustrated in My Collapsing Pedigree.)

Unlike his father and younger brother (the elder brother died young), Nahum didn't stay in Rye. I don't know just when he moved to Roxbury, Massachusetts – he's not a head of household either in Rye or Roxbury in 1840 – but that was his residence on 16 January 1842, when marriage intentions were published between "Mr. Nahum Rand and Miss Dolly Bristor both of Roxbury." They were married on 11 February 1842 at the Free Will Baptist Church of Christ.²

Marriage intentions (top) and marriage record for Nahum Rand and Dolly Bristor, 1842, Roxbury, Mass.

The Rands lived in Roxbury, where their first four children were born, until about 1849, when they moved to Andover, Oxford County, Maine. This was a homecoming for Dolly, who was born in nearby Byron, and whose parents and married sister Jerusha now lived in Rumford. In Andover they had four more children.

Children of Dolly Brister and Nahum Rand:

1. Nahum Alonzo Rand Jr. (1842-1920), married Lois Minerva Cutting
2. Sarah Elizabeth Rand (1845-aft 1908), married Edward Rhodes
3. Ezra D. Rand (1846-1847)
4. Ezra Davis Rand (1848-1922), married (1) Mary A. Crutchley Homan, (2) Augusta A. (Pulsifer) Buker, (3) Margaret Amber
5. Asenath Matilda Rand (1851-1871), unmarried
6. Kate Maria Rand (1855-1940), married Silas Marchant Hillman Hodsdon (my great-grandparents)
7. Samuel P. Rand (1857-1940), unmarried
8. Annie Grace Rand (1860-1925), married Frank Roberts

Nahum Rand death certificate, 1884, Philadelphia, Pa.

Nahum Rand died of "cardiac dropsy" on 4 Jan 1884 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It appears that he must have been visiting his eldest son, Nahum Jr., at the time; the residence of the deceased is given as "No. 56 Wister St" – probably a slight error on the part of the undertaker as the Philadelphia city directory in 1882 and 1884 gives Nahum Rand's address as 58 Wister.³ Two oddities in the undertaker's certificate are the occupation ("Gentleman") and place of birth ("England") of the deceased. Nahum Rand Sr. was listed as a farmer in the 1850 and 1860 censuses, and as a stone mason in 1870 and 1880.⁴ Perhaps "gentleman" was meant to convey that he was retired? As for his birthplace, I can conjecture that the Philadelphia undertaker misunderstood a statement that the man had been born in "New England."






Nahum was buried in the Northwood Cemetery in Philadelphia,⁵ probably in a family lot – his son is also buried there.⁶ I don't know if he has a marker there (there isn't one on Find A Grave), but he does have a cenotaph in the Rand lot in Woodlawn Cemetery in Andover, Maine, on a stone shared with his son Samuel. Below the years of his birth and death is the inscription "Buried in Philadelphia."⁷

Nahum A. Rand cenotaph/Samuel P. Rand gravestone, Woodlawn Cemetery, Andover, Maine

My descent from Nahum Alonzo Rand:

• Nahum Alonzo Rand and Dolly Brister
• Silas Marchant Hillman Hodsdon and Kate Maria Rand
• Chester F. Kirk and Mary Milliken Hodsdon
• Roger Kirk + Kathleen Marie Murphy (my parents)

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SOURCES

1. Langdon Brown Parsons, History of the town of Rye, New Hampshire: from its discovery and settlement to December 31, 1903 (Concord, N.H.: Rumford Printing Company, 1905), p. 504.
2. "Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988," database and digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 Jul 2016) > Roxbury > Roxbury Marriages Publishments, 1785-1864 > images 231-232 of 277; marriage intentions (image 231) and marriage (image 232) for Nahum Rand and Dolly Bristor, 1842.
3. "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915," database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 23 Mar 2014) > 004010284 > image 700 of 1324; Nahum Rand death certificate, 4 Jan 1884. 
4. 1850 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, p. 397 (penned), p. 199 (stamped), dwelling 94, family 101, Nahum Rand household; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 12 Mar 2012). Also 1860 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, p. 67, dwelling 492, family 491, “Naam” Rand household. Also, 1870 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, p. 11, dwelling 66, family 69, Naham Rand household. Also, 1880 U.S. Census, Oxford County, Maine, Andover, ED 116, p. 4D, dwelling 36, family 40, Naham Rand household. 1860-1880 censuses, digital images, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 12 Mar 2012).
5. Nahum Rand death certificate (note 3).
6. Find A Grave, database (https://www.findagrave.com  : accessed 23 Feb 2014), memorial 116452444 for Corp Nahum Rand (1842-1920), by "Eugene Glenn Stackhouse" (2 Sep 2013); citing Northwood Cemetery, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. 
7. Woodlawn Cemetery (Andover, Oxford County, Maine), Nahum A. Rand cenotaph, read and photographed by the author, 15 Aug 2012.

Glenna Marie (Rabideau) Murphy: 52 Ancestors #68

Glenna (Rabideau) Murphy, date unknown

When I started this blog five years ago, my very first "52 Ancestors" subject was my maternal grandfather, William George Murphy. After 67 of these "52 Ancestors" posts, including both of my paternal grandparents, I still haven't written about William's wife, Glenna Marie Rabideau (though I did post her Ahnentafel and five-generation pedigree chart). Herewith an account of my fourth and final grandparent. (In the interest of brevity, I have used only her maiden name and my grandfather's surname in the post title, reflecting my lineage; she was married four times so her full name would be Glenna Marie (Rabideau) (Thibeault) (Murphy) (Costanza) Anderson.)

Birth certificate for Glenna Marie Rabideau, 22 May 1899

Glenna was born 22 May 1899 in the tiny town of Milan, Coos County, New Hampshire, the second of three daughters of Peter Louis Rabideau and Eva M. Woodward.¹ I know almost nothing about her childhood. She was attending school in 1910² and, according to the 1940 census, completed one year of high school.³

1910 U.S. census, Milan, Coos Co., N.H., Peter L. Rabideau household

At the age of 18, Glenna married John W. Thibeault (a laborer, born in Nova Scotia) on 22 Oct 1917 in Berlin, New Hampshire.⁴ In February 1919, their son Wilfred was born. The marriage did not last long; Glenna divorced John for "extreme cruelty" (probably the only available grounds for divorce at the time).⁵ Young Wilfred went to live with Glenna's parents.

     

Church marriage certificate for John Thibeault
and Glenna Mary [sic] Rabideau

     

Marriage of William G. Murphy and
Glenna Rabideau Thibeault

After the divorce, Glenna married William George Murphy, my grandfather.⁶ William was a house painter, born on Prince Edward Island, who immigrated to the US about 1914, and was naturalized in 1918 after serving briefly in the Army during World War I. Glenna and William's first child, Kathleen, was born in Berlin in 1921; and after they moved to Lewiston, Maine, their second daughter, Theresa, was born there in 1923.

Child of John Wilfred Thibeault and Glenna Rabideau:

1. Wilfred Ernest (1919-2002), married Elizabeth "Babe" Perry/Poirier

Children of William George Murphy and Glenna Rabideau:

2. Kathleen Marie (1921-1993), married Roger Kirk (my parents)
3. Theresa Mae (1923-2002), married (1) William Olson (annulled); (2) Cayetano "Kaye" Nera (divorced)

William G. and Glenna (Rabideau) Murphy with daughters Theresa (left) and Kathleen, ca 1923; probably Milan, N.H.

Photos of the family in a rural setting⁷ seem to indicate that they visited Glenna's family back in Milan at least occasionally. Other than that I know very little of their early family life except that they moved frequently from one Lewiston apartment or tenement to another; I know of at least five different addresses between 1923 and 1930.⁸

Lewiston (Maine) Evening Journal, 16 Nov 1925

Along the way, they apparently moved briefly to Texas around December 1925, but soon returned to Lewiston, probably in May 1926. The reason for this move is unknown, but may be related to a November 1925 incident in which Glenna was overcome by gas from an unlit water heater gas jet. While the article in the Monday evening newspaper reported that she "had not been in good health for a week previous" and had "fainted,"⁹ the morning paper that same day had suggested that she was "despondent over family troubles" and had attempted suicide.¹⁰ Perhaps this incident triggered Bill to decide a change of scenery was called for.

Photos dated March 1926 in Port Isabel, Texas, show not only Glenna and Bill and the two girls, but also Glenna's son Wilfred Thibeault, her mother Eva Rabideau, and her half-brother Ernest Taylor (Eva's son) with his wife and children.¹¹ Two months later, a Bethel local news item in the Lewiston paper revealed that "Mr. and Mrs. P.L. Rabideau [Glenna's parents], who have been in Texas since last fall have returned and are with their daughter, Mrs. Howard Tyler."¹² From the timing it would appear that the Rabideaus may have accompanied the Murphy family to Texas after the November gas incident and remained there until, probably, Bill and Glenna decided to return to Lewiston – either because her health had improved, or perhaps just because Glenna hated living in Texas.¹³

Front: Wilfred Thibeault, Phyllis, Earl, and Wendell Taylor, Theresa and Kathleen Murphy; rear: Aunt Erma and Uncle Ernest Taylor, Eva (Woodward) Rabideau, Glenna Murphy – Texas, ca. Mar 1926

After their return to Maine, Bill turned to painting automobiles instead of houses, working for local automobile dealers Lewiston Motors and Wade & Dunton, for the remainder of his career.¹⁴ By 1930 they had stopped moving every year or so, finally settling permanently in a tenement at 124 Middle Street.¹⁵ Probably Glenna didn't work outside the home when her children were young. It's hard to know for sure because the family was apparently overlooked in the 1930 census. But by 1940 her children were in their late teens and she was working in a local shoe factory,¹⁶ and according to a letter she wrote to the editor of the local newspaper that year, had been doing so since at least 1938, when she was working nine-hour days for 10 cents an hour.¹⁷ Thanks to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, by the time she wrote that letter, that had become eight-hour days at an incredible 35 cents an hour!¹⁸

1940 U.S. census, Lewiston, Androscoggin Co., Maine, William G. Murphy household

On 16 October 1946, Bill died in the VA hospital in Togus, Maine,¹⁹ leaving Glenna a widow. With one daughter married and the other in Boston in the Womens Army Corps, she must have felt cast adrift. Barely four months later, the newspaper listed marriage intentions between Glenna and Erick H. Lundin of Woburn, Mass., at 36 about a dozen years her junior (her purported age of 45 notwithstanding – she was nearly 48).²⁰ I have found no evidence that a marriage ever took place, and indeed, two months later intentions were filed between Glenna and Paul Costanza of Everett, Mass. (he was even younger than Lundin, only 32, and now Glenna was "only" 44);²¹ that marriage did in fact take place, on April 18,²² and the Costanzas presumably moved to Everett, because the marriage was registered there as well.²³ I've found no further record of Paul Costanza but assume they were soon divorced, because the next sign of Glenna is an entry in the Massachusetts marriage index for Glenna M (Rabideau) Costanza marrying in Boston in 1949, to one William Anderson.²⁴

Assuming that the William Anderson with wife Glenna (or Glenn, a form that she often used), listed in the 1950-55 Boston directories living in Roxbury, is "my" Glenna's husband (Glenna isn't all that common a name), he was first a chauffeur, then a truck driver, and thereafter no occupation listed.²⁵ But in 1956 he abruptly disappeared from the directory: he had deserted Glenna.²⁶

Glenna's health began to deteriorate. In 1960 she had a stroke and entered a nursing home in Dorchester,²⁷ where she would spend the remainder of her life. It was a great sorrow to my mother that finances and her own family obligations (she had three children, and in a couple of years would have another) prevented her from giving her mother a home or bringing her to live nearby.²⁸ I only recall meeting my grandmother once, probably early in 1963, when my parents drove to Dorchester with me and one of my brothers to visit "Grammie" at the nursing home. I remember a frail woman, unsteady on her feet, who seemed happy to see her daughter and to meet two of her grandchildren.

On the morning of Saturday, April 27, 1968,²⁹ nursing home staff called my mother to tell her that Glenna had had a heart attack. She was by then resting comfortably, but they felt my mother should come to Dorchester immediately. My parents hurriedly departed for the two and a half hour drive to Dorchester, leaving me to babysit my younger brothers. But when they arrived at the nursing home, they found that my grandmother had just died. It seems that, upon being told that her daughter had been informed of the heart attack and was on her way to see her, Glenna decided to get up and make her bed in preparation for the visit – triggering another, this time fatal, heart attack. This, my mother said, was all too typical for her mother, who wouldn't have dreamed of welcoming visitors with the bed unmade.³⁰

Two years previously, Glenna had arranged to leave her body to Harvard Medical School for medical research and education purposes.³¹ (She had asked her doctor – probably the nursing home physician – to look into the procedure for her; when he procrastinated, she simply wrote to Harvard herself and got the necessary papers for my mother to sign.³² Whether, or how, the doctor reacted to his patient's probably unexpected initiative is not recorded.) Her wishes were carried out, and on 21 Jun 1969 her remains were interred by the Medical School in Pine Hill Cemetery in Tewksbury, Mass.³³

 (This post was inspired by Amy Johnson Crow's 2018 "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge.)

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SOURCES

1. New Hampshire, Milan, birth certification for Glenna Marie Rabideau, 22 May 1899 (issued 21 Jul 1961); Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, privately held by the author.
2. 1910 U.S. census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Milan, ED 67, sheet 3A, dwelling 33, family 34, Peter L. Rabideau household; digital images, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 9 Dec 2010).
3. 1940 U.S. census, Androscoggin County, Maine, Lewiston, ED 1-35, sheet 3B, household 73, William G. Murphy household; digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 Apr 2012).
4. St. Kieran Church (Berlin, New Hampshire), certificate of marriage for Glenna Mary [sic] Rabideau and John Thibeault, 22 Oct 1917 (issued 14 May 1968); Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, privately held by the author.
5. “New Hampshire, Marriage and Divorce Records, 1659–1947,” database and digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 Jun 2013), John W. Thibault-Glenna M. Thibault divorce, 1922.
6. "New Hampshire, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1636-1947," digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 25 Oct 2015) Coos > Berlin > Marriages 1918-1926 vol 3 > image 293 of 542; William G. Murphy-Glenna Rabideau Thibeault marriage, 21 Oct 1922, p. 261.
7. Photo of William G. and Glenna (Rabideau) Murphy with daughters Theresa and Kathleen, ca 1923, probably Milan, N.H; Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, privately held by the author.
8. Directory of Androscoggin County, Maine, Including the Cities of Auburn and Lewiston [and surrounding towns], 1924-1928; p. 578 (1924), 13 Greene, p. 476 (1926), 270 Main, p. 422 (1928), 17 Webster; database and images, "Maine City Directories," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Apr 2012). Also, Manning's Lewiston and Auburn (Maine) Directory, 1930: p. 240, 124 Middle; database and images, "U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Apr 2012). Also, "Attempts Death by Gas," Lewiston (Maine) Daily Sun, 16 Nov 1925, p. 16, col. 4, states "her home 29 Newman Street."
9. "Lewiston Woman Overcome by Gas," Lewiston (Maine) Evening Journal, 16 Nov 1925, p. 14, col. 2.
10. "Attempts Death by Gas," Lewiston (Maine) Daily Sun, 16 Nov 1925, p. 16, col. 4.
11. Photo of Ernest Taylor family, Eva Rabideau, and Glenna Murphy with her children Wilfred (Thibeault), Kathleen, and Theresa; Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, privately held by the author. The Taylors probably were just there for a visit. Ernest was a chiropractor practicing in South Carolina around this time; I've seen no evidence that he ever lived or practiced in Texas.
12. "Bethel," Lewiston (Maine) Daily Sun, 19 May 1926, p. 3, col. 4, paragraph 6.
13. Kathleen (Murphy) Kirk (Mechanic Falls, Maine), conversations with the author, date unknown; Kathleen recalled that they lived for a short time in Texas, and that her mother hated it there.
14. Directory of Androscoggin County, Maine, 1926, p. 426, works at 20 Park St (address of Lewiston Motors Inc.). Also, William G. Murphy, life insurance application to Mutual Trust Life Insurance Co., 1935, giving occupation as auto painter and employer as Wade & Dunton; Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, privately held by the author.
15. William G. Murphy, life insurance application, 1935, stating residence at 124 Middle Street for 6 years.
16. 1940 U.S. census, Androscoggin County, Maine, Lewiston, ED 1-35, sheet 3B, household 73, William G. Murphy household.
17. Glenna Murphy, in "Letters to the Editor," Lewiston (Maine) Daily Sun, 1 Nov 1940, p. 4, col. 7.
18. That was actually above the minimum wage for the time of 30 cents per hour (equivalent to $5.06 in 2015 dollars) according to the interactive chart at "Minimum wage since 1938," CNN Business (https://money.cnn.com/interactive/economy/minimum-wage-since-1938/ : accessed 12 Jan 2019).
19. "William G. Murphy," obituary and death notice, Lewiston (Maine) Daily Sun, 17 Oct 1946, p. 20, col. 3.
20. "Marriage Intentions," Lewiston (Maine) Evening Journal, 4 Feb 1947, p. 2, col. 8. Census and directory records indicate that Lundin was a painter. Perhaps he had been an acquaintance of Bill.
21. "Marriage Intentions," Lewiston (Maine) Evening Journal, 17 Apr 1947, p. 2, col. 4. Costanza worked in a box factory in 1940; there are no Everett directories available after 1940, so I don't know what he was doing in 1947, and have no clue how Glenna could have met him.
22. "Maine Marriages, 1892-1996," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Apr 2016); entries for Paul R Costanza-Glenna M Rabideau/Murphy, 18 Apr 1947, Maine.
23. "Massachusetts, Marriage Index, 1901-1955 and 1966-1970," database and digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 Apr 2016); entries for Paul R Costanza and Glenna M (Rabideau) Murphy, 1947, Everett; citing vol. 51, p. 215.
24. "Massachusetts, Marriage Index, 1901-1955 and 1966-1970" (accessed 1 Dec 2013); entries for William Anderson and Glenna M (Rabideau) Costanza, 1949, Boston; citing vol. 14, p. 55.
25. Polk's Boston (Suffolk County, Mass.) City Directory, 1951-1957; entries for Anderson Wm or Wm S  (Glen[na]), p. 71 (1951), p. 270 (1952), p. 256 (1953), p. 238 (1954), p. 231 (1955); database and images, "U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 Apr 2012).
26. Boston City Directory, 1956-1957; pp. 219-221 (1956), no entries for Anderson Wm or Wm S with wife Glen[na] or for Anderson Glen[na] Mrs.; p. 187 (1957), entry for Anderson Glen r 129 Lenox. This 1957 address is the same as that on Glenna's Social Security card.
27. City of Boston Welfare Department, Roxbury, Mass., letter to Kathleen Kirk, Mechanic Falls, Maine, 16 May 1960, Kirk-Murphy Family Collection; privately held by the author.
28. Kathleen (Murphy) Kirk (Mechanic Falls, Maine), conversations with the author, date unknown.
29. Social Security Administration, "U.S. Social Security Death Index," database, MyHeritage (https://www.myheritage.com : accessed 27 Feb 2016), entry for Glenna Anderson, Apr 1968. Also, Kathleen M. Kirk, letter to John E. Shea Fumeral Home, ca Feb 1969, stating exact date and place of death as Apr 27 [1968] at Hilltop Manor Nursing Home; personal draft copy of letter, Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, privately held by the author.
30. Kathleen (Murphy) Kirk (Mechanic Falls, Maine), conversations with the author, 1968.
31. Harvard Medical School, letters to Kathleen Kirk, 28 Mar 1966 and 21 Jan 1969, re donation of body and disposition of remains of Mrs. Glen M. Anderson; Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, privately held by the author.
32. Glenna Anderson, letter to Kathleen Kirk, 21 Mar 1966; Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, privately held by the author.
33. Farmer & Dee Funeral Service, letter to Kathleen Kirk, 9 Jun 1969; Kirk-Murphy Family Collection, privately held by the author. Pine Hill, which is used by several Boston-area medical schools for such interments, is closed to the public. Unfortunately I do not have a photo of her marker; I have entered a photo request at Find A Grave, but it's likely that such access is not allowed.

The Croteau Connection: 52 Ancestors #64

Researching my great grand-aunt Marie Rabideau/Rabida, I was puzzled by the location of her marriage to Toussaint Croteau: the small Vermont town of Jamaica. There didn't seem to have been any Croteaus or Rabidas in or around Jamaica; it's in the southern end of Vermont, far from where Toussaint might have crossed the Canadian border and far from Marie's origins in Coos County, New Hampshire; and I couldn't discern any possible connection to the place for either the bride or the groom, despite their declarations that both resided there.

Still, their oldest daughter, Eva, was listed in each census as having been born in Vermont, and her marriage record gave a specific birth place of Jamaica, Vermont. Eventually I located a birth record in Jamaica for a Carrie "Creteau" whose parents and date of birth matched Eva's.¹ So they did in fact live in Jamaica for at least nine months!

At the same time, I wondered if there was any connection between this Toussaint Croteau, and the Beatrice Croteau who had become the second wife of Louis Rabida, Marie's father, around 1881. It could be coincidental – Croteau is a fairly common French-Canadian surname – but it didn't seem likely that a 16-year-old Marie would have run off to an obscure Vermont town to marry a Croteau with no relationship whatsoever to the Coos County Croteaus (how would she even have met him?).

So I decided it was time to investigate the Croteau connection: Where did Beatrice and Toussaint come from? Were they related? And what was Toussaint doing in Jamaica?

Beatrice Croteau

Death of Mrs. Beatrix Robida, 1914

The 1914 death record for "Mrs. Beatrix Robida," wife of Louis Robida, has her father's name as Louis, no mother's name, and gives her date of birth as 15 Aug 1846, in "Black River, P.Q."² That's more specific than usual for a Canadian immigrant at the time – I'm usually lucky to get just "Quebec" instead of the almost useless "Canada." Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any locality called Black River in Quebec today, only a river by that name. The 1900 and 1910 censuses, plus records of children's births, deaths, and marriages, establish her name as Beatrice, Bessie, or Mary B. Croteau; the 1900 census gives an Aug 1846 birth date, while in 1910 her given age of 62 yields a calculated birth year of 1847-48. She claimed to have immigrated in either 1877 or 1870.³

In Ancestry's "Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968" database, the only "Marie Beatrice" in the right time frame was a baptism for Marie Beatrix Croteau, daughter of Toussaint Croteau and Marie Belanger of Saint-Gilles, born 31 Aug 1847 (baptized at St-Nicolas).⁴ The date was off, the "Black River" location was unexplained, and the father wasn't named Louis, but death records are notoriously unreliable for birth information, and the correct month, off by one year, is certainly plausible for a birth date. (And we have only to look at Marie Rabida's husband to see that Louis is a plausible nickname for a Toussaint!) Or she might have been baptized as Marie, with the "Beatrice" added later.⁵ So my identification of her as "my" Beatrice was only tentative.

Baptism of Marie Beatrix Croteau, 1 Sep 1847, Saint-Nicolas Parish

Toussaint "Louis" Croteau

The record of the 1894 marriage of Toussaint "Creteau" to Marie Rabida in Jamaica, Vermont, gives his age as 28 (calc birth 1866), born Canada; his father's name was also Toussaint, and his mother's was Marie Obeline "Creteau".⁶ This information came from his "groom's card" in Vermont's state-wide vital records card file, and I wondered if there was any additional information in the original town records. I was pleased to discover that FamilySearch has digitized the Jamaica town vital records, and even more pleased to find that the certificate of marriage for Toussaint and Marie had one additional piece of information: instead of just "Canada," Toussaint's place of birth was stated to be... Black River, Canada.⁷ Though I still didn't know where Black River was, I began to view a possible connection as increasingly likely.

Certificate of marriage, Toussaint Creteau and Mary Rabida, 29 Sep 1894, Jamaica, Vermont

Census records give a birth date of Mar 1864 or calculated birth years of 1865-66. The immigration date of 1898 is clearly inaccurate, as he married in Vermont in 1894.⁸ The censuses and his children's birth and death records all variously call him either Louis or Toussaint, while his death record gives his name as Toussaint.

A search for Toussaint Louis Croteau, born about 1865, in Ancestry's Drouin Collection database again yielded only one likely candidate: Toussaint Alfred Croteau, son of Toussaint Croteau and Marie Dionne, born 14 Mar 1865 in Saint-Gilles.⁹ There were a number of Croteaus baptized "Louis" circa 1865 but none of the fathers were named Toussaint (or Louis, for that matter). Again, the birth month is correct and the year off by one (by comparison to the 1900 census). The mother's name is no help, other than noting it was neither Croteau (from Toussaint's marriage record) nor Belanger (Marie Beatrix's mother's maiden name).

Baptism of Toussaint Alfred Croteau, 15 Mar 1865, Saint-Gilles Parish

 It was time for some more in-depth research into the Marie Beatrix Croteau and Toussaint Alfred Croteau I had identified, to see if I could verify that they were my Beatrice and Toussaint "Louis" and whether they were related.

Reconstructing the Croteau Family

For this, I turned to Genealogy Quebec and the Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH, Research Programme in Historical Demography) at the Université de Montréal. PRDH has constructed a massive online database of Quebec baptisms, marriages, and burials, linked into "family reconstructions." Although it is not free, and currently runs only through 1849, it is invaluable for French-Canadian research and well-worth the cost.¹⁰ Genealogy Quebec complements PRDH by providing integrated access to the images of the original church registers and the civil copies. Its LAFRANCE database is similar to the PRDH database, but extends to 1860 for baptisms and burials and to 1917 for marriages, offsetting the lack of a "family group" view like PRDH has.¹¹

So, I began by searching the PRDH for the parents of Marie Beatrix noted in her baptismal record. Toussaint Croteau and Marie Belanger were married 1n 1845 in St-Nicolas, and had three children born before 1850: Jean Baptiste, Marie Beatrice, and Michel.¹² I then searched for the couple in the LAFRANCE with interesting results. Not only did it turn up four more children baptised between 1851 and 1858, and marriages of three of their children from 1878 to 1882, but also the burial of Marie Belanger in 1861¹³ – and Toussaint's remarriage in 1862 to Marie Obeline Dionne.¹⁴ In other words, the Marie Dionne who was Toussaint Alfred's mother was almost certainly the same as the Marie Obeline Creteau who Toussaint "Louis" gave as his mother on his marriage record.

A search for Toussaint Croteau and Marie Obeline Dionne provided the 1888 marriage of their son Napoleon, and a third marriage for Toussaint, to Philomene Cote, in 1879. Marie Obeline Dionne had died in 1876.⁵ (I might note that on the same day Toussaint married Philomene Cote, his son Michel married Mathilde Cote, who happened to be Philomene's sister. The Cote sisters must have been sickly, because Michel was a widow remarrying in 1883, and Toussaint likewise in 1885, to his fourth wife, Philomene Breton.)

Returning to Ancestry, I searched their Drouin database for Croteau baptisms between 1860 and 1880 in St-Gilles (where Toussaint Alfred was born) and St-Agapit (where some of Toussaint's children married), eventually assembling what I believe is a complete picture of the elder Toussaint's families by his first two wives. (So far I haven't found any evidence that either Philomene had any children by Toussaint.)

Children of Toussaint Croteau (1821-aft 1901) and Marie Belanger (abt 1825-1861):

1. Jean-Baptiste "John" (1845-1920) m. Delima Desange Noel
2. Marie Beatrice (1847-1914), m. Louis Rabida
3. Michel (1849-1919) m. (1) Mathilde Cote, (2) Marie Adeline Guerin
4. Louis Benjamin (1851-1913), m. Virginie Carrier
5. Marie (1854-1855)
6. Joseph (1856-1900), m. Delvina Bergeron
7. Marie Delvina (1858-1930), m. Milton F. Spencer

Children of Toussaint Croteau and Marie Obeline Dionne (d. 1876):

1. Francois Xavier "Levi" (1863-1938), m. Josephine Nadeau
2. Joseph Napoleon [twin] (1865-), m. Alida Bergeron
3. Toussaint Alfred "Louis" [twin] (1865-1940), m. Marie Rabida
4. Jean-Baptiste (1867-1867)
5. Joseph Alfred (1869-1970), m. Augustine Nadeau
6. Charles Gaudiose (1871-1871)
7. Louis Gaudiose (1872-1874)
8. Marie Delvina (1876-1876)

The Croteau Connection

It was now clear that "my" Toussaint Louis was Toussaint Alfred. Two of his full brothers, Francois Xavier "Levi" and Alfred, moved to Berlin, N.H., married there, and died there. His twin, Napoleon, lived at least briefly in Berlin – one of his children was born there – though he apparently returned to Quebec shortly thereafter.

But was "my" Beatrice actually Toussaint Louis's half-sister Marie Beatrix? She was nearly 20 years his senior, and very likely never lived in the same household. I hoped to find some indication that Toussaint retained ties to his older half-siblings – making the connection to Beatrice more plausible – or alternatively, some indication that Beatrice retained ties to her own (presumed) full siblings. To that end, I looked for signs of the older Croteau siblings around Milan, N.H., where Louis and Beatrice Rabida lived; in Jamaica, Vt., where Toussaint and Marie Rabida had married and had their first child; and in Massachusetts, where Toussaint and Marie eventually settled.

I actually found all three.

Coos County, N.H.: I found one John B. Croteau living in Coos County, from 1870 until his death in 1920, from being gored by a bull. In 1870 he was in Northumberland, but from 1880 on he lived in Milan, and in 1900 he was enumerated only four households away from Lewis and Mary B[essie] Rabideau. His death record identifies his parents as "T. Croteau" and "Mary Belanger"; the given birth date in 1846 is a bit off, but this is clearly Jean-Baptiste Croteau, the first son of Toussaint and Marie (Belanger) Croteau, born in 1845. And his place of birth? Black River, P.Q.¹⁶

Massachusetts: Another possible connection appeared in a somewhat unexpected location. Toussaint's half-brother Michel moved his family from Quebec to Fitchburg, Mass., in 1901, where they had several more children. Michel's wife Adeline died there in 1915, and Michel in 1919. Several of their children, who would have been Toussaint and Marie's nephews, remained permanently in Fitchburg. Hardly definitive evidence of a connection, but it's worth noting that both Toussaint and Michel named a son Wilfred, and it could explain why Marie appears to have ended up in Fitchburg in 1930.

Jamaica, Vermont: Finally, the link to Jamaica was still nagging at me. Initially I had found no evidence of a Croteau presence in Jamaica beyond Toussaint himself. But I recalled that I had some problem finding the groom's card for his marriage – for some reason the search algorithm seems to be erratic about finding the "Creteau" variant if you search for "Croteau", and this spelling wasn't a one-off error in Jamaica's records, because the same spelling was on their daughter's birth record. So I tried searching for "Creteau", and lo and behold, found another Creteau marriage registered in Jamaica, less than three months prior to Toussaint and Marie's marriage!

Marie D. Creteau, marrying Milton F. Spencer on 3 Jul 1894, was 35 (born about 1859), from Canada, and her parents were given as John and Mary Creteau – so apparently, and disappointingly, not one of Toussaint Senior's children.¹⁷ Still, I refused to believe that two "Creteaus" marrying three months apart in this obscure location were completely unrelated, so I started tracking Marie (Creteau) Spencer through the years. The Spencers were still living in Jamaica in 1900, but by 1910 had moved to St. Albans, Vt. Milton died in 1915, and Marie in 1930. Her death record was much more forthcoming than her marriage record had been: her place of birth was St. Gilles, Quebec, and her parents were reported to be Thomas Croteau and Marie Belanger.¹⁸ Still not quite Toussaint (though for all I know that might be an Americanization), but the mother certainly fits my hypothesis. Put that together with the fact that Marie (Belanger) Croteau's last child, born 1858 at Saint-Gilles, was named Marie Delvina, and I was convinced that Marie D. (Croteau) Spencer was indeed Toussaint's half-sister.  I still don't know how or why they found their ways to Jamaica in the first place, but at least I know that Toussaint did have a connection in that place.

The Final Confirmation

Of course, this still didn't quite prove that Beatrice (Croteau) Rabida was actually the Marie Beatrix who was Marie Delvina's sister and Toussaint's half-sister. But as I was writing this and looking up census records for Marie D. Spencer, I also found her probate records. And these, quite unexpectedly, gave me just the proof I'd been looking for, in the form of two bequests in her will, written in 1926.¹⁹

I, Marie D. Spencer... give, devise and dispose of all my estate... in the following manner:
I give to my nephew, Francis Rabida, of East Hardwick, in the County of Caledonia and State of Vermont, One Thousand Dollars ...
I give to my nephew, Thomas Rabida, brother of said Francis, of said East Hardwick, the like sum of One Thousand Dollars...

Francis and Thomas Rabida were the two oldest, and only surviving, sons of Louis Rabida and Beatrice Croteau. The 1920 census places the brothers in Walden, Caledonia County (Thomas, whose wife had recently died, was enumerated in Frank's household), only eight miles from East Hardwick. Clearly, Marie Delvina had remained close to her sister, Marie Beatrix, to make such substantial bequests (over $13,700 each in today's dollars) to Beatrice's sons.

Excerpt from 1926 will of Marie D. [Croteau] Spencer, bequests to nephews

Black River

And what about the mysterious Black River, where the death records of Beatrice, Toussaint, and Jean-Baptiste "John" had claimed they all were born? As I pointed out above, there is no locality in Quebec named Black River today. But, as it turns out, there was in the late 19th century. In the 1873 edition of Lovell's Gazetteer of British North America, I found the following entry:

Black River Station, or St. Agapit de Beaurivage, a post village in Lotbiniere co., Que., on the G T R, 21 miles from Quebec... Pop. 300.²⁰

Saint-Agapit is less than six miles from Saint-Gilles, where most of the elder Toussaint's children were born and baptized, including the younger Toussaint "Louis". And following the younger Toussaint's birth, the rest of the children, starting in 1867, were baptized at Saint-Agapit. Most likely they never moved, though; Saint-Agapit parish was only formed in 1867, from parts of Saint-Apollinaire and Saint-Gilles-de-Beaurivage.²¹ Very likely Black River Station existed in Saint-Gilles before Saint-Agapit was formed (I haven't found an earlier gazetteer to check). So when the Croteaus said they were born in Black River, they almost certainly meant a village in Saint-Gilles Parish that later became Saint-Agapit, known as Black River [Station]. The Black River itself is a tributary of the Beaurivage River which runs through these parishes.²²

The Relationships

My great grand-aunt Marie (Rabida) Croteau was both step-daughter and half-sister-in-law to Marie Beatrice (Croteau) Rabida. That makes Thomas and Frank Rabida (Beatrice's sons) both uncles and half-first cousins to Eva, Wilfred, and Leonce (Marie and Toussaint's children). I'll bet that could make for some complicated DNA matches!

(This post was inspired by Amy Johnson Crow's 2018 "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge.)

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SOURCES

1. "Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954," database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 3 Oct 2018); birth of Carrie Creteau, 30 Jun 1895, Jamaica.
2. "New Hampshire, Death and Disinterment Records, 1754-1947," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 May 2012); death of Mrs. Beatrix Robida, 1 Jul 1914, Berlin.
3. 1900 U.S. census, population schedule, New Hampshire, Coos County, Milan, enumeration district (ED) 268, sheet 5A-5B, p. 242 (stamped), dwelling 96, family 97, Lewis Rabideau household. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule, New Hampshire, Coos County, Milan, enumeration district (ED) 67, sheet 2A, p. 158 (stamped), dwelling 26, family 28, Louis Rabideau household. Both viewed as digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jan 2014).
4. Saint-Nicolas Parish (Saint-Nicolas, Quebec, Canada), Parish Registers, 1847, folio 22r-v, B.104, baptism of Marie Beatrix Croteau, 1 Sep 1847; database and images, "Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967", Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Jun 2012); Saint > St-Nicolas > 1847 > images 22-23 of 36.
5. Or she may have been baptized with some other second forename – the birth record of one of her children gave her name as Rose (though that seems to have been an error that was corrected in a later copy).
6. "Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908," database and digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Nov 2017); groom's card for "TousSaint Creteau"-Mary Rabida marriage, 29 Sep 1894, Jamaica, Vt. While Cr[o]teau was probably his mother's married name (Marie's mother was listed as Mary Rabida on the bride's card), I couldn't rule out the possibility that it might be her maiden name.
7. "Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005," database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1987653 : accessed 2 Oct 2018); Windham > Jamaica > Births with index, marriages with index, deaths with index 1857-1945 > image 917 of 1380; Toussaint "Creteau"-Mary Rabida marriage, 29 Sep 1894.
8. 1900 U.S. census, population schedule, Maine, Cumberland County, Brunswick, enumeration district (ED) 37, sheet 18B, dwelling 198, family 327, Louis Crotteau household. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Essex County, Lawrence, enumeration district (ED) 1942, sheet 2B, dwelling 28, family 47, Louis "Crouteau" household. 1920 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Essex County, Lawrence, enumeration district (ED) 115, sheet 13A-B, p. 235 (stamped), dwelling 150, family 246, Toussaint Croteau household. All three viewed as digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Jul 2017).
9. Saint-Gilles-de-Beaurivage Parish (Saint-Gilles, Quebec, Canada), Parish Registers, 1865, folio 5v, B.12, baptism of Toussaint Alfred Croteau, 15 Mar 1865; database and images, "Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967", Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Sep 2018); Saint > St-Gilles > St-Gilles-de-Beaurivage > 1865 > image 6 of 20.
10. PRDH-IDG (https://www.prdh-igd.com/en/home). PRDH access is "hit-based" – searches, by individual or couple, are free; viewing each individual profile, family summary, or BMD "act" details costs one "hit". The subscriber can buy hits by the 100 or 1000.
11. Genealogy Quebec (https://www.genealogiequebec.com/en/). Genealogy Quebec offers monthly or annual subscriptions to their suite of research tools, including The LAFRANCE database and the Drouin Collection of register images.
12. "PRDH Genealogical Dictionary of Families, 1621-1849," database, PRDH-IDG (https://www.prdh-igd.com/en/home : accessed 16 Sep 2018); family #233336, Toussaint Croteau and Marie Belanger. 
13. Saint-Gilles-de-Beaurivage Parish (Saint-Gilles, Quebec, Canada), Parish Registers, 1861, folio 6v, S.8, burial of Marie Bélanger, 14 Aug 1861; digital images, "Drouin Collection", Genealogy Quebec (https://https://www.genealogiequebec.com/Membership/en/fonds-drouin/REGISTRES : accessed 28 Sep 2018); Québec > St > St-Gilles > St-Gilles (St-Gilles-de-Beaurivage) > 1860 > 1861 > d1p_16620805.jpg.
14. Saint-Colomb-de-Sillery Parish (Sillery, Quebec, Canada), Parish Registers, 1862, folio 13v, M.8, marriage of Toussaint Croteau and Marie Obeline Dionne, 14 Jul 1862; database and images, "Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967", Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Sep 2018); S > Sillery > St-Colomb > 1862 > image 15 of 37.
15. Saint-Agapit Parish (Saint-Agapit, Quebec, Canada), Parish Registers, 1876, folio 2v, S.4, burial of Marie Obéline Dionne, 3 Apr 1876; digital images, "Drouin Collection", Genealogy Quebec (https://https://www.genealogiequebec.com/Membership/en/fonds-drouin/REGISTRES : accessed 30 Sep 2018); Québec > St > St-Agapit > 1870 > 1876 > d1p_1632a1300.jpg.
16. "New Hampshire Death Records, 1654-1947," database and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 2 Oct 2018), death of John B. Croteau, 20 Apr 1920, Berlin.
17. "Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908," database and digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Oct 2018); bride's card for Milton F. Spencer-Marie D. Creteau marriage, 3 Jul 1894, Jamaica, Vt.
18. "Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908," death of Mrs. Marie D. Spencer, 1 Jul 1930, St. Albans, Vt.
19. "Vermont, Wills and Probate Records, 1749-1999," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Oct 2018), path: Franklin > Estate Files, Spaulding, Carrie-Spiller, Leroy C, 1900-1960 > images 959-60 of 1067; will of Marie D. Spencer, 1926.
20. P. A. Crossby, editor, Lovell's Gazetteer of British North America (Montreal: John Lovell, 1873), p. 37, entry for Black River Station; digital images, Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org : downloaded 2 Oct 2018).
21. "Saint-Agapit," Originis (https://www.originis.ca/paroisse_saint_agapit.html : accessed 12 Oct 2018).
22. "Rivière Noire (rivière Beaurivage)," Wikipédia (https://fr.wikipedia.org : accessed 12 Oct 2018).

Marie (Rabideau) Croteau: 52 Ancestors #63

One of my earliest "52 Ancestors" posts, more than four and a half years ago, was a sketch of Célina (Cloutier) Rabideau, my second great-grandmother, about whom I knew – and still know – very little. Besides my great-grandfather, she had three daughters, Adeline, Xalia, and Marie, according to the 1880 census.¹ At the time I wrote that sketch, I had found further records only for Adeline, aside from a single mention in my great-grandfather's 1946 obituary² of a surviving sister, "Mrs. Mary Croteau of East Gardner, Mass." (Adeline had died in 1934.)

The following year, Ancestry published the Social Security Applications and Claims Index database, and suddenly I had one more record for Marie, daughter of Louis Robidas and Celina Cloutier: not only did it provide a birth date and place for her (28 Apr 1879, Berlin Falls, N.H.), it confirmed that she was Mary Croteau in the 1940s.³ So last year, I finally began to follow up on the "Mary Croteau" lead, and see if I could track down great grand-aunt Marie.

There were Croteaus aplenty in Coos County, New Hampshire, by 1900 – indeed, Marie's father Louis Rabideau had married a Marie Beatrice Croteau around 1881, shortly after Célina's death – so the logical first step was to see if she had married one of them. But no marriage of a Marie Rabideau/Robida to a Croteau could be found in the previous decade, and I had to assume she married prior to 1900 because she wasn't found under her maiden name in the census.

With no clue as to where she had married, or her husband's first name, I approached the search from the other end, in Massachusetts. Perhaps she had had children there, and the Massachusetts VRs are detailed, and well-indexed, through 1915. Searching for Croteau children with a mother named Marie Rabideau (or a variant) proved fruitful: a number of births, and almost as many deaths, in Lawrence, Mass., and (earlier) in Maine. The father's name varied, usually Louis but sometimes Toussaint, and Marie (or Mary) was described variously as being born in New Hampshire, Maine, and Canada, but once correlated with the 1900-1920 census records,⁴ it was clear this was all the same family.

Now that I had a first name (or two) for her husband, a marriage search centered on New Hampshire with surrounding states produced an 1894 marriage for Toussaint "Creteau" and Mary "Rabida" (father Louis, mother Mary Rabida) that appeared to fit in with the other available data. The one puzzle was the location of the marriage – the small town of Jamaica, Vermont.⁵ Though both bride and groom claimed to reside there, their connection to the location was a mystery that I left for another day (and another 52 Ancestors post).

Marriage of Toussaint "Creteau" and Mary Rabida, 1894, Jamaica, Vermont

Putting it all together yields the following picture of my great grand-aunt Marie's life.

Marie Rabideau/Robida was born sometime between 1873-1879 in Coos County, New Hampshire.⁶ The birth information of 28 Apr 1879 at Berlin Falls, New Hampshire, from her Social Security application, is plausible enough except for the year: the family was living in Berlin in 1880, but Marie was listed as 2 years old, with a 1-year-old sister, so 1878 is more likely. Lacking a birth record, that census is the most contemporary record we have.

Of course, thanks to the lost 1890 census, the only thing I really know about Marie between 1880 and 1900 is that on 29 Sep 1894, in Jamaica, Vermont, she married Toussaint Croteau, a farmer from Canada.⁷ Exactly 9 months later, on 30 Jun 1895, Marie gave birth to their first child, named Carrie (but by 1900 called Eva).⁸ They must have moved to Milan, New Hampshire, where Marie's father and stepmother now lived, around 1896 or 97 – their second daughter, Lovia, was born there – and by 1898 had moved on to Brunswick, Maine, where they had two sons, Wilfred in 1898 and Leonce in 1900.

Eva, Wilfred, and Leonce were the only children who would live to adulthood; early in 1902 Lovia died from tuberculosis. Marie would bear five more sons over the next five years, but none would survive past early childhood. The first, born in Brunswick in 1902, was unnamed on his birth record; no death record was found, but he was missing in the 1910 census. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts. Alfred, born there in 1903, died before his first birthday from inflammation of the brain and cholera infantum; his brother Joseph was born prematurely the same day, and died the following day. Eugene, born in 1905, succumbed two and a half years later to membranous croup (probably diphtheria). Within the month, their final child, George, was born – again, prematurely – and died about a month later. Marie was not yet 30.

First Eva, then Wilfred, married six months apart in 1916. In 1920, Eva and her family were still living with Toussaint, Marie, and Leonce in Lawrence, while Wilfred had settled his family in nearby Andover. Leonce married in 1921 and had his own home in Lawrence. At that point, Toussaint and Marie disappear from the Lawrence city directory (Eva and Alexis continued to live at the same address) and I lose their trail for many years, with only fleeting glimpses before their eventul deaths and burials.

A possible candidate for Mary in the 1930 census is the 51-year-old Mary Croteau in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, a resident cook at the City Infirmary.⁹ She is listed as married, was born in New Hampshire, and was 15 when first married; though this seems a bit young, it actually matches up with the age in that Social Security application and on her gravestone.

1930 U.S. Census, Worcester County, Mass., Fitchburg, Mary Croteau, servant in City Infirmary

I have yet to discover a trace of Toussaint in 1930. In fact, the only sign of him before his death in 1940¹⁰ is a 1939 Andover city directory listing which shows him as "ret[ired]" and living with his son Wilfred.¹¹ This would explain why he died in Andover, and his death must have been before the census date, as he was not in Wilfred's household by then.

1939 Andover, Mass. directory, entries for "Touissaint" and Wilfred Croteau

 Significantly, there is no parenthetical listing for Mary following his name, though Wilfred's wife Antonia is so listed. The only conclusion I can draw is that they had separated. From the timing of their disappearance from Lawrence, it seems this may have occurred once their last surviving child married and left the nest.

Mary survived her husband by 20 years, though for the remainder of her life she is almost as elusive as he was. I believe she may be the 60-year-old Mary Croteau in the 1940 census, a houseworker in a private home in Winchendon, Mass., born in New Hampshire and in 1935 living in Fitchburg.¹² Not only is this consistent with the Fitchburg Mary from 1930, but Winchendon is adjacent to Gardner, where her brother's obituary places her in 1946; there is also a single directory listing for a Mary Croteau in Gardner in 1943, an assistant cook residing at Gardner State Hospital.¹³ This is so similar to the situation of the Mary Croteau at Fitchburg City infirmary in 1930 that I feel fairly confident that these are all the same person, and that she is "my" Mary.

1940 U.S. Census, Worcester County, Mass., Winchendon, Mary Croteau, servant in Pelletier household

Finally, in the 1951 and 1953 Andover city directories, we get one last glimpse of Mary, now living with her son Wilfred at 43 Beacon Street.¹⁴ She wasn't there in 1949, and 1953 is the last Andover directory in the database, so it's impossible to know how long she stayed there.

1953 Andover, Mass., directory, entries for Mary and Wilfred T Croteau

 I do know that she died in Danvers, Mass., in 1960.¹⁵ That's the site of the Danvers State Hospital, a psychiatric institution, so I have an sad suspicion that her last days may have been spent in dementia. If so, I can only hope that the period was brief.

Toussaint and Marie may have separated in life, but they are buried together in the Bedard-Croteau plot in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Andover, along with Wilfred and Antonia.¹⁶

The children of Toussaint (Louis) Croteau and Marie Rabideau:

1. Eva (born Carrie), b. 1895, Jamaica, Vermont, married Alexis Perron, d. 1950
2. Lovia Orelia, abt 1897-1902
3. Wilfred, b. 1898, Brunswick, Maine, married Antonia Bedard, d. 1973
4. Leonce, b. 1900, Brunswick, Maine, married Emma Dube, d. 1967
5. Unnamed son, 1902-bef 1910
6. Alfred, 1903-1904
7. Joseph Alcide, 1904-1904
8. Eugene, 1905-1907
9. George, 1907-1907

Marie (Rabideau) Croteau is my great grand-aunt (or second great-aunt).


 (This post was inspired by Amy Johnson Crow's 2018 "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge.)

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SOURCES

1. 1880 U.S. Census, Coos County, New Hampshire, Berlin, ED 29, p. 2-B, dwelling 11, family 16, Loi Rabida household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Jan 2014). 
2. "Peter L. Rabideau" obituary, Lewiston (Maine) Daily Sun, 17 Dec 1946, p. 2; digital images, Google News Archive (http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=IT5EXw6i2GUC : accessed 28 May 2013).
3. "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Jul 2015); entry for Mary Croteau (Mary Robidas), SSN 014-20-2184.
4. 1900 U.S. census, population schedule, Maine, Cumberland County, Brunswick, enumeration district (ED) 37, sheet 18B, dwelling 198, family 327, Louis Crotteau household. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Essex County, Lawrence, enumeration district (ED) 1942, sheet 2B, dwelling 28, family 47, Louis "Crouteau" household. 1920 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Essex County, Lawrence, enumeration district (ED) 115, sheet 13A-B, p. 235 (stamped), dwelling 150, family 246, Toussaint Croteau household. All three viewed as digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Jul 2017).
5. "Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908," database and digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Nov 2017); bride's and groom's cards for "TousSaint Creteau"-Mary Rabida marriage, 29 Sep 1894, Jamaica, Vt.
6. "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007," database, entry for Mary Croteau (Mary Robidas). Several of her children's birth records state that she was born in "Grovetown," "Grafton," or "Groten;" the nearest possibility seems to be Groveton, a Coos County town some 20-25 miles from the Milan and Berlin locations where I know they lived. I have no other indication that her parents ever lived in Groveton. Her birthplace is also variously noted in other records as Manchester, N.H., Maine, and Canada, so this must be taken with a hefty grain of salt; perhaps it's a corrupted version of "Gorham," where her sister Adeline claimed to have been born, and which is only a stone's throw from Berlin.
7. "Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908," database and digital images, "TousSaint Creteau"-Mary Rabida marriage.
8. "Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954," database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 3 Oct 2018); birth of Carrie Creteau, 30 Jun 1895, Jamaica.
9. 1930 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Fitchburg, enumeration district (ED) 14-159, sheet 20A, p. 38 (stamped), 4904 (penned), line 8, Mary Croteau, servant in City Infirmary; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Jul 2017). 
10. "Massachusetts, Death Index, 1901-1980," database and digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 Dec 2017); entry for Toussaint Croteau, 1940, Andover; citing vol. 2, p. 36.
11. Andover and North Andover, Massachusetts, Directory, 1939 (North Hampton, N.H.: Crosby Publishing Co., 1939), entries for "Touissaint" Croteau and Wilfred (Antonia) Croteau, p. 108; database and digital images, "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 Dec 2017).
12. 1940 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Winchendon, enumeration district (ED) 14-319, sheet 3A, p. 4310 (stamped), household 42, Mary Croteau, servant in Alfred Pelletier household; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Jul 2017).
13. Gardner [Massachusetts] Directory, 1943 (New Haven, Conn.: The Price & Lee Co., 1943), entry for Mary Croteau, p. 141; "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995" (accessed 6 Oct 2018).
14. Andover and North Andover, Massachusetts, Directory, 1951 and 1953 (North Hampton, N.H.: Crosby Publishing Co., 1951-1953), entries for Mary Croteau and Wilfred T (Antonia) Croteau, p. 174 (1951) and 183 (1953); "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995" (accessed 7 Oct 2018).
15. "Massachusetts, Death Index, 1901-1980" (accessed 3 Oct 2018); entry for Mary (Robidas) Croteau, 1960, Danvers; citing vol. 43, p. 27
16. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi  : accessed 28 Jul 2017), memorials 176316476 and 176316496 for Toussaint Croteau and Mary Robida Croteau, with digital photo of Bedard-Croteau monument; both by "TECK" (13 Feb 2017); citing Sacred Heart Cemetery, Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts, plot S.

Elizabeth (Murphy) Mason: 52 Ancestors #62

The final player in my "tentative third great aunt/uncle" Murphy lineup is at least a bit more straightforward than the others: only one marriage that I know of; findable in both PEI and Newburyport; and no inexplicably vanishing children. Still, she's not without her mysteries.

First is the question of her age. Like her presumed sisters, Mary and Catherine, no baptismal record has been found for Elizabeth Murphy. I'd be inclined to think she was born around 1841-42, based on her age in the 1881 census and her death certificate, were it not for the difficulty fitting her in among Patrick (Dec 1838 – baptismal record), Catherine (tentatively May 1840), and James (May 1842 – baptismal record). Moreover, there's an inviting empty slot in 1934 between Mary (tentatively 1832) and Daniel (1836 – baptismal record), but then that's even earlier than her 1900 census reported birth date of June 1836. Still, considering that Mary's and Catherine's birth dates are questionable as well, I suppose it's futile to try to fit them all together rationally. (For that matter, there could even be a set of twins among the three women.)

The first time Elizabeth actually appears in a record is 11 Nov 1869, when she marries Demas [Nicodemus] Mason, by license, at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Georgetown, P.E.I. They are noted as bachelor (B) and spinster (S) respectively, presumably indicating a first marriage for each.¹

Marriage of Demas Mason and Elizabeth Murphy, 1869

The only baptismal record found for children of the couple is one for a daughter, Mary Jane, born 6 Jun 1873 in Charlottetown and baptized on 22 Jun at St. Dunstan's Basilica (Catholic Church).² Yet when the 1881 census rolls around, we find Demas and Elizabeth in Charlottetown with not only 8-year-old Mary Jane, but also a 19-year-old son, John!³

Baptism of Mary Jane Mason, 1873, St. Dunstan's Basilica

1881 Canada census, Prince Edward Island, Queens County, Charlottetown, Demas Mason household

Two things immediately jump out at you here: First, John's implied birth year of 1863 is a full six years before the couple's marriage. (Although his age at first appears to be 14, examination of other 4s and 9s on the sheet shows that the numeral is actually an unclosed 9; all 4s are decidedly angular, as in Elizabeth's age of 40.) Second, if Demas's age of 32 is correct, John can't possibly be his son. Possibly he's adopted, or else he is Elizabeth's from an earlier relationship. Demas was born in Nova Scotia and John in P.E.I., so it's unlikely he's a younger brother. (There is also a 3-month-old boy in the household, George Thomas Burns, with no clue as to his origin. He's not seen again.⁴)

Moreover, we'd typically expect to see at least four more children between the 1869 marriage and the 1881 census for a Catholic family in that era. (The Anglican Church marriage notwithstanding, all members of the family are noted in the census as Catholic, as would be suggested by Mary Jane's Catholic baptism.) And indeed, in the 1900 census,⁵ Elizabeth indicates that she had borne a total of ten children, only two of whom (presumably John and Mary Jane) were living. The question is why there are no other extant baptismal records.

1900 U.S. census, Massachusetts, Essex County, Newburyport, Elizabeth Mason household

While Elizabeth and the children in later censuses report their immigration as occurring, variously, anywhere from 1870 to 1885, it's likely that the actual year was about 1883, as Demas and John first appear in Newburyport city directories in the 1884 edition.⁶ (Oddly, that is also the year of Catherine's first directory appearance, despite being listed in the census in 1880.) John lived with his parents until marrying Sarah O'Grady in 1891. Demas worked as a laborer, and died from gastritis on 12 Mar 1895.⁷

1884 Newburyport city directory, entries for "Demes" and John T. Mason at 60 Marlboro St.

1894 Newburyport city directory, entries for Demas and John T. Mason

1896 Newburyport city directory, entries for Demas (died), Elizabeth (widow), and John T. Mason

1900 Newburyport city directory, entries for Elizabeth Mason and Daniel Murphy at 6 Elbow Lane

1906 Newburyport city directory, entries for Elizabeth (died) and John T. Mason

Elizabeth continued to live with her daughter at 6 Elbow Lane following Demas's death. Her brother Daniel boarded with them at least for a while, as he was enumerated there in the 1900 census and is listed there in the 1900 directory. Elizabeth died of "exhaustion from cancer" on 1 Feb 1906, and was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Newburyport. According to her death certificate, her father was William Murphy and her mother's name was "unknown."⁸

Death of Elizabeth (Murphy) Mason, 1906, Newburyport, Mass.

After her mother's death, Mary Jane (who never married) lived for a time with her cousin Pius (Peter) Murphy, son of her uncle Daniel.⁹ She died from pulmonary tuberculosis on 18 Oct 1913, and was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery.¹⁰ John and his wife Sarah had two daughters, Honora A. and Elizabeth Mary. Sarah died in 1930 and John in 1942. Neither of their daughters married.

I have no direct evidence that Elizabeth's father was Michael Murphy. However, indirect evidence (a brother Daniel Murphy residing with her in 1900, and Mary Jane living with Daniel's son, her cousin, in 1910) ties her to Daniel, and my (and my brothers') DNA matches strongly indicate that Daniel and my great-great-grandfather William have the same parents.

It's also interesting to note that both Elizabeth's son John, and Mary's daughter Annabelle, as informants on their mothers' death certificates, reported the deceased's father's name to be William, 12 years apart.¹¹ Perhaps a misconception on John's part (stemming from William Murphy's residence in Newburyport at that time) got passed along to cousin Annabelle? Again, DNA matches indicate a link between Mary and my great-great-grandfather.

Unfortunately, since both Elizabeth's daughter and her two grandchildren died without having children of their own, I won't be finding any DNA matches to confirm Elizabeth's place in my family tree. Like Catherine, she will remain as a likely – but unproven – third great aunt.

(This post was inspired by Amy Johnson Crow's 2018 "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge.)

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SOURCES

1. "Prince Edward Island, Canada, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, 1780-1983," database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Sep 2018); Various Church Records; Mount Stewart, Georgetown; 1842-95, 1911, 1918, 1946, 1977 > image 64 of 290, p. 15, Demas Mason and Elizabeth Murphy, 1869; citing FHL film 1630110.
2. "Prince Edward Island Baptism Card Index, 1721-1885," database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 14 Feb 2014); baptism of Mary Jane Mason, 6 June 1873; citing St. Dunstan's Basilica, record book no. 3, p. 341.
3. 1881 census of Canada, Prince Edward Island, district 2, sub-district A, Queens County, Charlottetown, p. 30, dwelling 135, family 135, Demas Mason household; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Feb 2014).
4. I can't help but wonder if there is any possible connection to Catherine Linklighter's residence in the John Burns household in Newburyport in 1880. The timing makes it seem unlikely.
5. 1900 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Essex County, Newburyport, enumeration district (ED) 419, sheet 2-A, p. 87 (stamped), dwelling 16, family 21, Elizabeth Mason household; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 Feb 2014).
6. The Newburyport Directory, 1884... (Boston: Sampson, Davenport, & Co., 1884) and The Newburyport and Amesbury Directory, [year]... (Boston: Sampson, Murdock, & Co. 1886-1906), entries for "Demes" or Demas Mason (1884, 86, 89, 91, 94, 96), John T. Mason (1884, 86, 89, 91, 94, 96), and Elizabeth Mason (1896, 98, 1900, 02, 04, 06); database and digital images, "U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 Feb 2014). 
7. "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910," database and digital images, American Ancestors (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 22 Feb 2014); Newburyport, vol. 454, p. 530, death of Demas Mason, 1895; citing "original records held by the Massachusetts Archives".
8. "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910"; Newburyport, vol. 1906/68 (death), p. 189, death certificate, Elizabeth Mason, 1906.
9. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule, Massachusetts, Essex County, Newburyport, enumeration district (ED) 438, sheet 3-A, p. 2145 (penned), dwelling 47, family 52, Peter Murphy household; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Sep 2016).
10. "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911-1915," database and digital images, American Ancestors (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 14 Feb 2014); Newburyport, vol. 1913/75 Death, p. 481, death certificate, Mary Jane Mason, 1913.
11. "Massachusetts, State Vital Records, 1841-1920," database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 19 Jul 2014), Newburyport, death certificate #220 (registered #152), Mary A. (Green) Bamber, 18 Jul 1918.