Helen Hunter Follansbee ~ 52 Ancestors #51

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow.

In a roundabout way, I'm writing about a second great-aunt of mine, Helen Rainey Hunter (1886-1939).

My great-grandfather, Percy Earle Hunter, was the second of ten children of James Hunter and Mary Freeland. Mary died in March 1902 and James died in October 1902, and his obituary reports that since his wife's death, "he has never been the same man he was before."

When their parents died, Percy took responsibility for many of his younger siblings, the youngest of whom were 10 (Curtis Carr Hunter), 14 (Mary Lois Hunter), and 16 (Helen Rainey Hunter). (I still need to look to see if there are official guardianship records.)

Therefore when Percy's sister Helen Rainey Hunter got married in 1909, it was "Mr. and Mrs. Percy E. Hunter" who announced the marriage of their sister.

"Marriage Announcement," The Pittsburgh Press, 15 October 1909; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/141365338 : accessed 22 December 2018), p. 24, col. 3.

William and Helen (Hunter) Follansbee lived in Pittsburgh their entire lives and had three children: William U. Follansbee III (b. 1912), and twins, Lois Hunter Follansbee and Mary Freeland Follansbee (b. 1915). Although two of these children married (William and Mary), there were no grandchildren.

Helen and her children attended my grandparents' 1931 wedding, signing the guest list and appearing in the group photo.

I believe she is behind and between my grandmother and her father in the 1931 wedding photo. This would be just before her 45th birthday. Her older brother, Percy, is 58 in this photo. Grandmother was 24.

Helen (Hunter) Copeland, Helen (Hunter) Follansbee, Percy Earle Hunter

The only other record I could find was Helen's death certificate, which reported that she died at age 53 of colon cancer. ["Pennsylvania Death Certificates, 1906-1966," Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5164 : accessed 22 December 2018), certificate file no. 76326, record for Helen Hunter Follansbee, d. 24 September 1939.]

If any Hunter family members have any memories or photos of this Follansbee family, please let me know in the comments.

Samuel Greele's Fourth Wife ~ Solving a Mystery

In my last post, I noted that my third great-grandfather Samuel Greele (1783 - 1861) had four wives. This is documented in the Greely-Greeley Genealogy (page 303), as well as in an obituary for Samuel Greele in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register from 1861 (pp. 360-361). These secondary sources provide details about his first three wives and note that he is survived by his fourth wife, the former Sarah Follansbee Emerson.

The name of Sarah Follansbee Emerson comes from the Newburyport, Massachusetts, marriage record. Newburyport Marriage records are found in Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850, variations of which can be found at AmericanAncestors.org, Ancestry.com, and FamilySearch.org handwritten and in printed form. Two examples follow:

Newburyport, Essex County, "Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850." Marriages, Vol. 2, p. 196.

(C.R. 1. indicates that the record source is "church record, First Religious Society (Unitarian).")

"Massachusetts, Marriages, 1841-1915," index and images, FamilySearch.org.
Record for Samuel Greele and Sarah F. Emerson, 1844, left hand page.

"Massachusetts, Marriages, 1841-1915," index and images, FamilySearch.org.
Record for Samuel Greele and Sarah F. Emerson, 1844, right hand page.

This record provides more information: That Reverend Thomas B. Fox, Pastor of the First Religious Society in Newburyport officiated at the marriage in Newburyport on October 8, 1844. Samuel Greele, widower, is a merchant in Boston, and didn't report the names of his parents. Sarah F. Emerson, single, is of Newburyport and her father's name is Thomas. (Note that his surname is not noted and her mother's name is not listed.)

Each of these note that Sarah F. Emerson or Sarah F[ollansbee] Emerson married Samuel Greele on October 8, 1844. She was not quite 40 and he was just over 60 years old.