Recently, I found my Grandmothers resting place again, she is resting in the Edson Cemetery in Lowell Massachusetts! I say again, because the last time I was there was 1968 when we laid to earth Edith Ruby Reynolds nee Heaney, I was about 12 years then. What I didn't know was that Edith Ruby was buried in a family plot next to her father; William Heaney, her mother; Margaret J Caldwell and her son; E Arthur Reynolds and his wife; Daisy M. Reynolds nee Ritchotte. Upon finding the resting place through the Edson Cemetery Management office, I was able to get copies of the plot records. Nothing really out of the ordinary was found on the records, so I put them aside for future reference. Shortly there after, a researcher for the Ritchotte posted an obit for Jeanne Reynolds, who was the daughter of Arthur and Daisy Reynolds. While reading the obit a name popped up that I had just recently read on the plot record for William Heaney. So, I started searching for a Wendi. I found her in living in Lowell Massachusetts. We started to correspond with each other about family history and just a reconnecting a lost family link. Through our talks, finding my Great Mother Elizabeth Waters resting place is possible. And a new mystery of two unknown child who also buried the Heaney family plot.
Elizabeth was born in Nova Scotia Canada and came to this country in 1891. I found Elizabeth and her family in St. Mary's River, Nova Scotia and again in the 1900 US census in Lowell MA, where she is a widow with three children. Her husband ,George Reynolds, apparently died between the years of 1894 and 1907. I haven't found what happen to George as of yet. But, in 1907 Elizabeth remarries to a James P McArdle of Lowell. From there I loose her trail until now. I hope to have the details of Elizabeth resting place later this week.
The children I didn't know about until Wendi asked me about them and she knew very little. Not knowing, I again contacted the Edson Cemetery in hopes they had information. Yesterday, I got a reply from their office. The children, which there are three are;
10/24/1876 Ann. J. Heaney 2years.7 months
11/30/1876 Walter Heaney 4 years 5 months
7/28/1980 Ellen May Heaney 2 months 16 days
Correction: 7/28/1880
What does this mean? Well, it means more digging on who these children are and how the are connected to the Heaney family. New stuff all the time.
And through death, a connection with lost family ties have started to reconnect. I look forward to find more of the Reynolds family back east.. Thanks Wendi!
That is so neat to read how it all came about. It's an ongoing adventure, doing family history! :)
ReplyDeleteLove it! It is so interesting, very much like a good book! Thanks for all the hard work you do in finding our family history. =) I'm curious if maybe it was a typo or if it really did have the year of 1980 on child #3?
ReplyDeleteThanks again and good luck finding more! =)
The date for the three children are correct as reported to me. The dates actually are of death not birth.
ReplyDeleteBy the looks of the dates I am assuming they would be a death date because they are providing the ages at the time of death. so back into the date and you can see when they were born.
ReplyDeleteHow sad. I wonder if they are all the same family?