 |
Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, New York |
Recently my daughter Katie went for a walk in the cemetery where the famous abolitionists Susan B. Anthony and Fredrick Douglas are buried here. She was getting over a cold and needed fresh air without infecting anyone else. While walking she came across these two clearly neglected gravestones and sent me a photo.
With the weather change I am back to going through boxes of old photos. I scan the photo's and then place the originals into boxes labeled with each family name and names of possible descendants. I am hoping one of these descendants will be interested in these photos after I am gone. I also have a box labeled no descendants. I know this box will either end up in the trash or in some antique store. It is a sad box and I hate to place someone's photos in it. As a genealogist it feels like a bit of a defeat.
So today I would like to push back against that sadness and remember one of those ancestors who has no descendants and try to keep her memory alive just a bit longer.
 |
Mildred O'Leary Young |
Mildred was my grandmother's younger sister and the keeper of old photos. The O'Leary family lived in the mill village of Valley Falls near the old Ann and Hope Mills in Cumberland, RI. Mildred was the first and only one of her siblings not born at home. Her parents Catherine and Florence had eight children. The first time Catherine was pregnant she delivered twin boys- Florrie and Billy. Little Billy died at birth. Next came a boy and then two healthy girls who were all born at home . So I am assuming that when Catherine realized that she was again pregnant with twins she decided to seek help.
Mildred and her twin Myrtle were born on Corliss Street in Providence on 15 November 1911 but unfortunately little Myrtle only lived 24 days. Happily, three years later another healthy boy was born to Catherine and Florence and their family was complete.
 |
Annalene, Mildred and Mary Ethel (May) O'Leary in front of their mill house on 600 Broad Street in Cumberland, RI c. 1921 |
 |
| Mildred was a winder in the winding room. (stock photo) |
 |
| Mildred O'Leary |
 |
Annalene O'Leary Walker wedding. Mildred (on right) Cumberland, Rhode Island November 24, 1932 |
 |
| Mildred O'Leary and Mary Ethel "May" Russell After the 1938 Hurricane The Russell Cottage, Lavens Campground, Riverside, East Providence, Rhode Island |
%20and%20John%20_1942.jpg) |
| Mildred and John Young |
 |
Annalene O'Leary Walker and Mildred O'Leary Young at the Lake. |
By the time Mildred was 28 years old she was married to John Young and lived on Cranston Street in Cranston, Rhode Island. Her husband was working at a textile mill in the sanitation department. He worked about 50 hours a week and made $1050.00 in 1940. Mildred was keeping house. Mildred and Johnny desperately wanted children. By 1940 most of Mildred's siblings had several children. Even her baby brother Edward had two kids! When it became obvious that the couple were not going to have children they decided to adopt. In order to adopt in this era the couple had to first be of the same religion. Being Catholic was important to Mildred so Johnny decided to convert from his Baptist religion to Catholicism. Unfortunately, the priest they talked to declined to help them. He told the couple that "Protestants don't make good Catholics."
As the years rolled by the many nieces and nephews of Johnny and Mildred began to have children of their own. The couple put their hearts into loving these children as if they were their own. I was one of those kids!
Memories I have of Aunty Mildred:
- She learned how to drive a car when she was in her 40's . She was never very good at it!! One time I was in the back seat with several other cousins and she took a curve rather fast. As she did the back door swung open and we all were perilously close to falling out. No seatbelts back then! Mildred just gave a hearty laugh and slowed down so we could shut the door!
- She was great at volunteering. After she learned to drive she would take her friends who were nuns on errands and to appointments. It was said "those nuns took their lives in their hands when they stepped into Mildred car"! It still amazes me that she held no grudge against the Catholic church. She attended weekly mass until she died in 1974 from bone cancer.
- She loved ceramics. We still have a ceramic Christmas tree she made.
- Her sister Annalene and husband bought a home on Keech Pond in Chepachet, Rhode Island. Mildred and Johnny bought a rustic cabin not too far from them. Annalene's summer home had all the latest amenities. Mildred's summer home was a log cabin in the woods tucked into the bend of the lake about a mile down from her sister's. There was no heat. I remember napping in their bed when I was a child. It was glorious being in that big bed with my cousins all tucked under piles of quilts and covers.
.JPG) | |
Mildred is buried with her husband, sister, brother-in-law and nephew. We visit her grave every year on Memorial Day. For now her memory lives on! |
Comments
Post a Comment