Mary Martha Gleeson was born in Carleton County, Ontario,
Canada on 8 July 1863 to John Gleeson and Margaret Tierney.[1]
She was the second daughter and fourth child born to John and Margaret.
She was baptized on 2 August 1863 at St. Phillip’s Catholic
Church by Father O’Connell. James Douras and Susan Smith were the sponsors.[2]
James Douras was John’s sister, Honora’s husband, or rather, Mary Martha’s
uncle. At this time, I don’t know who Susan Smith was. Was she a relative of
John or Margaret Gleeson, or was she an in-law like James Douras? [Note: Mary
Martha’s brother, John, married a Susan Smith later in 1894, but this was not
the same Susan.]
She moved to Dakota Territory with her parents around 1880 and
married her husband, Warren Edmond Gilbert on 9 Sep 1886 in Mitchell, Davison
Co, South Dakota. A newspaper article about the marriage:
"Gilbert-Gleeson. At the Catholic church in this city at 8:30 am Thursday, by Rev. Father Sheehan. Mary Martha Gleeson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Gleeson and Warren E. Gilbert, of Grand Forks. A wedding breakfast was served at 11 o'clock, and Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert took the train east at one o'clock. They will visit Sioux Falls, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Minnewaukon before going to Grand Forks, where the groom is engaged in the insurance business."[3]
Before 1900, the family moved to California, where their
daughter, Muriel Martha Gilbert was born, 19 Oct 1895.
Mary Martha lived a long life. Here is a newspaper article
with photo of her 98th birthday. She lived at the geriatric hospital, Santa
Teresita Hospital.[4]
 |
| 98th Birthday celebration |
Happy 154th Birthday, Mary Martha!
[1] St.
Phillips Church, Richmond, Carleton Co, Register, vol. 2, 1863, B32, Mary
Martha Gleeson; digital images, "Ontario, Canada, Parish registers,
1836-1917,”FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : viewed 7 Jul 2017); citing FHL 1304679 item
2.
[2]
ibid.
[3] “Gilbert-Gleeson,”
Mitchell Daily Republican, 10 Sep
1886, p 3, digital image, Newspaper.com
(http://www.newspapers.com : viewed 7
Jul 2017).
[4] “Birthday
Girl,” Newspaper clipping, newspaper unknown, July 1961,
[5] "California
Death Index, 1940 thru 1997," database, Rootsweb.com (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com); citing
The California Department of Health Services Office of Health Information and
Research vital Statistics Section, 1962, Los Angeles Co, Mary M. Gilbert.
[6] Calvary
Cemetery, 4201 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles, California, Section G, L1009, grave
2; author visited cemetery 1 Aug 2008 and found no tombstone.
Copyright © 2017 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.
Do you have a sense of why Mary Martha's grave had no marker? That seems unusual.
ReplyDeleteProbably because her only daughter, Muriel, had already died. I visited this cemetery one summer and for the dozen or so gravesites, only half had stones. I was surprised one of her nieces or nephews didn't provide for one. My aunt Loretta was living near her. Perhaps she didn't have the money either.
DeleteI thought it might have been a matter of money. (It's great that you're keeping her memory alive for your family.)
ReplyDelete