Tea with Emily
It is week 4 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge and this week's prompt is "I'd Like to Meet." As soon as I saw that prompt the first name that came to mind was Emily. Although there are many fine folks and a few scoundrels in my tree, I am fascinated with my 3rd great-grandmother. In the second week of this challenge I wrote about my maternal great-grandmother, Josie. This week I am writing about her maternal grandmother, Emily.
My search for Emily started with an old leather clutch that my mother gave me. She told me that it had belonged to Josie and didn't know what it contained but thought I might want it since I save everything. I opened the clutch with excitement! I remember that day like it was yesterday. I found a stack of papers consisting of old letters, a report card from my great-uncle, and death certificates. One death certificate in particular which interested me the most was that of Josie's mother, my 2nd great-grandmother, Teresa. This is the lady that died in the fire with her son. I was curious to see who Teresa's parents were and where they were born. I knew we had Irish ancestors and now I've found them. Emily's parents were Patrick Devine and Emily O'Leary. My mother had told me that my grandmother's cousin was working on the family tree and that I should call her. I did not want to call a stranger so I sent her a letter. My grandmother had died many years before so I had to reach out to her first cousin for answers. I had sent the letter to Janet but it was actually her older sister Geraldine who was doing genealogy. Geraldine replied to my letter with chock full of information about the family and also enclosed a copy of Teresa's baptismal certificate. I was beyond excited to have this certificate until I saw that her mother's last name was not listed. I wrote to the church to request a copy of Teresa's baptismal certificate and the one they sent had a last name of 'Sheldon' but that was the name of the sponsor on the first certificate. I now had three documents with two different surnames and one of those was the sponsor. I called the church to explain and spoke to a nice man who mailed me a photocopy of the page from the book of baptismal records. Emily's last name was Sheldon!
Emily J. Sheldon was born about 1846 in Ireland. She immigrated to the United States in 1851. I don't know when she married my 3rd great-grandfather, Patrick but the 1865 New York State Census has 20 year old Emily listed as a wife and that this was her first marriage. This was Patrick's second marriage and I later found out that the three children listed, ages 8, 6, 3 1/2 are from his first wife. Emily had given birth to three children by the time the 1870 Federal Census was taken. Another child was born in 1873 and she appears in the 1875 NY State Census but my 2nd great-grandmother, Teresa is not listed because she was born later in the year. I cannot find Patrick, Emily, or any of their children in 1880. I have searched far and wide and have no idea where they might have been hiding. Emily's youngest child, a boy named William was born in 1882.
It is now 1900... a new decade, a new century, and a new woman. Emily is listed as divorced on the 1900 Federal Census and living with her youngest son, William in the town of Esopus which is in Ulster County, NY. It was stated that she had 9 children and 7 still living. I counted 10 but one of those children was at the bottom of the 1870 census instead of the top near the other close in age so maybe he was Patrick's nephew? Of those 9 children, the oldest three were from Patrick's first wife but Emily raised them so they were hers. I do not know which two children were deceased by 1900 because I do not have a date of death for all the children.
in 1903, Emily's youngest child, William died of a head injury in New York City. At some point, Emily moved in with her daughter, Emma and family. The 1905 NY Census shows them living in Rifton, NY which is also in Ulster County. I found Emily's daughter, Emma, son-in-law, Simon and grandchildren in the 1910 Federal Census. They were still living in Rifton but Emily is not with them. Emma, Simon, and the children moved to Toronto, Ontario in Canada. I don't know if Emily moved with them or followed but she was living with them at the time of her death in March 1928. Emily's final resting place is Mt Hope Cemetery in Toronto. She also has a burial plot in St Peter's Cemetery in Rosendale, NY which is near Rifton. William I buried in St Peter's Cemetery and although his parents' names are inscribed on the tombstone, they are not there.
If I could meet any of my ancestors, I would love to meet Emily. I would love to sit and have tea with my 3rd great-grandmother. I would even make scones for the special occasion. I would ask Emily if it was the potato famine that had her emigrating from her homeland of Ireland. I would sk about her parents and siblings. Where did she meet Patrick and why did they break up? Why did she move to Canada, could she not have stayed in NY with one of her other children? So many questions but not enough answers. I still have not ordered her death certificate. I need to get that ordered so I can hopefully find out the names of her parents if the informant actually knew. I'm hoping it was Emily's daughter, Emma who provided the information. Rest in Peace.
Emily J Sheldon 1846 Ireland - 1928 Canada
3rd great-grandmother
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