Sunday Obituary - Mary "Polly" Felton Walton Hanson

Ok, I know this may sound a little strange (well, probably not to fellow genealogists…), but this obituary gave me such joy when I found it as there is so much information in it and it helps put just a little “meat on the bones” as to what her life was like going beyond just dates found of birth, death and marriage records. (source of obit: Mrs Polly F (Walton) Hanson, Lynn Daily Evening Item, Lynn, MA, 27 March 1913, Page 10.)

Mary “Polly” Felton Walton was my 3rd great grandmother and was married Andrew Hanson – they were the parents of Edward Augustus Hanson mentioned in earlier posts. Polly lived on Severance St. in Lynn, MA in her later years. I was unsure what the “Venerable Wyoma Woman, Dead” caption under her photo meant, although a Google search yields that “Wyoma” used to be (and perhaps still is) a neighborhood in Lynn. Further Googling places Severance St within the Wyoma neighborhood (http://www.newenglandmoves.com/real-estate/massachusetts/essex-county/lynn/wyoma). According to the Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds 38 Severance St still exists. I couldn’t locate a photo of the house from Google Earth, but did locate where Severance St is. I sense a future road trip…

From this obit I also learned that her grandfather Oliver Walton was a Revolutionary War Solider. I had suspected that from previous research, but this reference told me to keep searching for more info and I’ve since located a fair amount of information about Oliver. While there is more research to do on Oliver, it does appear that he was indeed a Revolutionary War private. More on that in another post after I’ve done more research…

The mention of General Hazen and Polly’s grandmother Mary Hazen Rugg (my 5th great grandmother) being his cousin is interesting. I assume they mean William Babcock Hazen, who was a famous Civil War Union general:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Babcock_Hazen
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1865/february/general-hazen.htm

The obituary states that Mary Hazen Rugg attended George Washington’s funeral. Found this wonderful enactment video on C-span: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/154157-1 I wonder if a list of funeral attendees exists? Perhaps Mary Hazen Rugg’s name might be on it? Looking forward to watching the entire video when I have an open block of three hours.

Lastly, the picture of Polly simply amazes me - I think I could look at it for hours. This is the first and only photo I've seen of her. When was it taken? What was the significance (if any) of it? Who took it? Do other photos of her exist?

Edward Augustus Hanson

While no known pictures exist of Sarah J. Randall, I have located three photos (thanks to my cousin Susan!) of her 2nd husband Edward Augustus Hanson (often called "Gus").

As I'm still having a issue locating photos exactly where I want them in my post (a rookie mistake I'm sure), here's a list of captions for the photos in order of their appearance below:

1) Edward A. Hanson. Unsure of the timeframe of this photo.
2) Edward A. Hanson. Obviously Edward is much older in this photo, but I'm unsure of the exact timeframe.
3) Left to right: Laura Estelle Kinnear Hanson, 2nd wife of Herbert Walter Hanson (known by middle name of Walter); Walter Hanson; Carol Jean Hanson (seated on Walter's lap) daughter of Walter & Laura; Edward A. Hanson father of Walter; unknown person. Carol was born in 1932 so this was likely taken in the mid to late 1930's. Edward died in 1938.

Sunday Obituary - Sarah J. Randall

As my first attempt at doing one of the daily blogging prompts, I thought I’d continue with the couple I highlighted the other day, Edward A. Hanson & Sarah J. Randall and use Sarah’s obituary as my Sunday Obituary.

Sarah has long intrigued me as despite having numerous documents regarding her (census records, birth, death, marriage). I have no known picture of her (although would love one!). For years all I had regarding her obituary was a few non-specific lines:

Hanson – In Lynn, March 4, Sarah J., wife of Edward E. [A] Hanson, 71 yrs. 6 mos. 2 days.

Funeral services will be held at her late residence. 38 Severance Street. on Saturday at 10:30 AM. Relatives and friends invited.

I had obtained that obituary from the Lynn Public Library way back in 1998, which was unfortunately before I became a stickler for always wanting to know the source of my information, so I did not know what paper it came from. In late 2010 on a whim to try again for a better obit for her, Edward and Edward’s mother Mary “Polly” Felton Walton Hanson, I contacted the Lynn Public Library again and received the following article:

Sarah Jane Hanson obituary, Lynn Daily Evening Item, Lynn, Massachusetts, 5 March 1914, page 3, column 5. (my scan cuts off the final sentence which should read: “bly due to apoplexy.”)


My first reaction was joy at finding out more information. However I was quickly saddened to learn Sarah apparently had a mental illness, perhaps dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease or something else. This hits close to home as my Mom is afflicted with Alzheimer’s and I can appreciate the anguish Sarah’s family must have felt.

I also find it very interesting that her husband Edward was still working at the age of 66 (perhaps a sign of the times) and apparently could only find work far away from his wife in Rowley, MA (approx. 25 miles to the north). Like any good piece of information, this obit provides lots of tantalizing tidbits and additional questions to continue to work on.

The search for a gravestone - Edward A. Hanson & Sarah J. Randall

I’ve been delving into my Hanson line again lately after several months of putting it on the back burner due to a brick wall I’ve run into regarding my 5th great grandfather Andrew Hanson. As I’ve started to look at the information again, I’ve been reminded of a discovery made a number of years ago regarding my 2nd great grandparents Edward Hanson & Sarah J. Randall which always puts a smile on my face.

In 2008 I decided to take a genealogical road trip to Pine Grove Cemetery in Lynn, Massachusetts to locate the grave of Edward & Sarah. For those who have never been to Pine Grove, I cannot recommend a visit enough. Not only is it a large, old cemetery, but it also has the most beautiful trees lining its roadways and paths. While there, I became accustomed to seeing people strolling throughout the cemetery recreating and just enjoying the lovely landscape.

I quickly located Barberry Path where Edward & Sarah along with their daughter Harriett Kenyon are buried. The burial information I had received from the cemetery said their grave was at 23 Barberry Path so I slowly started walking down the path looking for their names on headstones

Before I knew it I was clearly at the end of the path and had not seen the headstone. So, I walked back to my starting point, thinking I may have missed it. No dice. I must have walked the entire path back and forth at least six times. What was further throwing me off was I didn’t see any clear open spaces that would signify a missing stone. The only space in between stones was a large shrub, however as it was right next to another stone I initially didn’t think much of it.

Finally after walking by the shrub several more times and not being able to locate the stone, I decided to peer into the shrub as a last ditch effort before calling off my search in frustration.
Much to my pleasant surprise, tucked deep within the cedar shrub was the headstone!

I was torn between seriously clipping back the shrub (and yes, I was lucky to have clippers in my car from stewardship activities earlier in the week) or just leaving it the way it was. In a way I felt the shrub represented my ancestors having perhaps having grown from their remains. In the end I compromised and opened it up just enough so other relatives could find the site, but left it overall intact out of respect for Edward, Sarah and Harriett.