euphemia anna fish macconney (part 5 of 5)

death

Euphema Anna (Fish) MacConney dies on May 5, 1904 in Rockland, MA. Her death record shows she died from paresis, which is a slight paralysis. I have also seen it defined as a paralytic dementia. She was 64 years old when she died, her husband James was still living at the time. They are both buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Rockland, MA.

death record for Euphemia Anna Fish MacConney 1904

From euphemia ann fish macconney blog post

gravestone for James Frank MacConney and Euphemia Anna (Fish) MacConney

Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Rockland, MA

From euphemia ann fish macconney blog post

The day I visited the cemetery, the sun was shining in a difficult direction to get a good picture of their stone.   There was also some moss growing on the stone, which made for a picture that is difficult to read.   The inscription is as follows:

James F MacConney
Hartsuff post g.a.r. no 74
20th unattached m.v.m.
his wife
Anna Euphemia
1840 - 1905
Hartstuff w.r.c. no 137
children
Frank 1871 - 1896
Archer 1880 - 1886

Both James and Anna's names have notations of GAR membership. This must have been important to them to engrave it on the stone. I did not know what GAR or Hartstuff stood for, so I googled a little bit and found that GAR is the Grand Army of the Republic (wikipedia article).  The GAR was made up of veterens of the civil war who advocated for "voting rights for black veterans, lobbying the US Congress to establish veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates." 

The wikipedia article also references..."Rockland, Massachusetts: Hartstuff Post 74 was dedicated January 30, 1900. Portions of the wooden structure was restored between 1990 and 1999. The structure is currently home of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Camp 50.^[37]"  There is also a page on the history of the hartstuff hall in Rockland here.

I still was not sure what the notation of wrc after Anna's inscription meant, until I came across this website on GAR civil war portraits that mentioned the women's relief corp, which must be the wrc. This article also credits the GAR with the establishment of Memorial Day.

websites:
1. The Library of Congress has a bibliography for the Massachusetts Women's Relief Corps.

to do:
1. find pictures of gar post 74 in massachussetts - any group photos or individual soldier photos.
2. find pictures and information on the wrc no 137 - group photos.

euphemia anna fish macconney (part 4 of 5)

family life

Anna and James MacConney had a total of six children by 1880.  They also moved from Abington, MA to Hanover, MA between the years of 1870 (when they are found in the 1870 census in Abington, MA) and 1872 (when their son George is born in Hanover, MA). 

There is a map of Hanover from 1879 on ancestry.com's database, Count Land Ownership Maps.  I searched for a J Macconney, but was not able to find him on the map, even though they were living in Hanover on the 1880 census.  I decided to search for the families surrounding him on the census, and found some of these families on Center Street.  Around these families, the name of Frank Fish stood out.  This must be James Frank MacConney; but for some reason he is listed with Anna's last name of Fish.  There is not another Fish or Frank in the 1880 census on this street in Hanover, MA.

1880 US Federal Census : Hanover, MA James F. MacConney and Anna

From euphemia ann fish macconney blog post

1879 Hanover map with Frank Fish (probably James Frank MacConney) residence

From euphemia ann fish macconney blog post

It must have been difficult for Anna to have left most of her family in Maine when she moved to Massachusetts.  Her father, John Calvin Fish, dies before 1880; as he is not listed in this census. Her mother, Cynthia Fish, is no longer living by the time of the 1900 census. Since her parents died in Maine, I wonder if Anna knew. Her sister, Nancy, most likely would have written her with the news if they were still close. It is probably likely that Anna did not see them again since she left Maine around 1860.

Since her family was in Maine, I hope that Anna had some support in Massachusetts when she had to endure the loss of two of their boys in the same week of May in 1886 to diptheria. Their sons, Frank and J. Archer, were 15 and 5 years old when they died.  This must have been devastating to their family. Their deaths are recorded in Rockland, MA, which means they had moved from Hanover by 1886.

Anna loses another child, her daughter Eva, in 1894, from Pthisis; which seems to be a term used for consumption. Eva was a widow, her husband died in 1891 from consumption also.  They had a child, Norma, and the family was living in the same town as Anna and James in Rockland, MA.  Since her parents both died, Norma is found in the 1900 census living with her grandparents, Anna and and James.  (Norma's fate was not a good one. She is found in the later censuses in the Hospital Cottages for Children in Templeton, MA and later in a state hospital as an adult.)  Norma was probably one of the only grandchildren that Anna would spend much time with, as the other 9 living grandchildren at this time were living in other towns.  Anna and James's daughter Amy and family are living in Hanover, MA.  Their son Walter and family are living Hingham, MA.  Their son George does live with Anna and James in Rockland in 1900, but does not have any children.  George does not even marry until 4 years after his mother dies.  

1900 US Federal Census : Rockland, MA James F MacConney and Anna

From euphemia ann fish macconney blog post

Anna's brother, Lee Fish, dies in 1896.  According to his death record, Lee was living in Whitman, MA, but died in Chelsea, MA.  He had cancer of the stomach, maybe he died in a hospital.  He is buried in Stoughton, MA.  Since Anna came to Massachusetts around the same time he did, I assume Anna and Lee were close.  They were living in different towns; however, and probably would not have been able to see much of each other. 

James MacConney (and therefore Anna) is listed in three Rockland, MA directories after 1900, found on ancestry.com.  For each listing, they are living at a different address in Rockland, all on the same street.  In 1900 James and Anna are at 18 Grove Street, with their son George and granddaughter Norma.  In 1902 they are now living at 11 Grove Street; and by 1904, they are at 43 Grove Street in Rockland, MA.  Maybe they were renting houses and had to move when their term was up.  According to zillow.com, the house at 43 Grove Street was built in 1900.  This means that when James and Anna were living there, it was a new house. The other two addresses are not listed, so I am not sure if the houses are still standing.

Anna and James MacConney residence in Rockland (yellow 1900s) and Hanover (blue 1879)

View Euphemia Anna Fish and James Frank MacConney in a larger map

Residence of Anna and James

• 1860 Abington, MA
• 1870 Abington, MA
• 1872 Hanover, MA (birth of son George)
• 1879 Hanover, MA (land ownership map)
• 1880 Hanover, MA
• 1886 Rockland (death of two sons)
• 1890 Rockland (VA 1890 schedule)
• 1900 Rockland
• 1904 Rockland (death)

to do:
1. Dyer Memorial Library in Abington has some newspapers from this time period for Rockland, MA

euphemia anna fish macconney (part 3 of 5)

civil war

Anna was about 22 years old when the civil war started.  She had some relatives from both Massachusetts and Maine enlist as soldiers, including her husband and her brother.  Her husband James enlisted in August of 1864.  Anna would have been home with my great great grandmother, Amy, who was almost three years old and another child, Walter, who was only 4 months old.  At this time, Anna's parents are in Maine, but her parents-in-law (James and Sylvia MacConney), brother (Lee), and a sister-in-law (Lavina MacConney Raymond) all live in the same town as Anna, Abington, MA.  They do not seem to be on the same street as Anna beacuse she is enumerated more than 10 pages after all of them; but they may have been close enough to have visits with each other if they found the time. 

 

Information from the following database on ancestry.com

U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865

James F Macconney - Anna's husband

• Regiment Name: Unattached Co., 20 Massachusetts Mil. Inf. 100 Days, 1864 (Militia)
• Enlisted in Company 20th, Massachusetts 20th Infantry Company on 11 Aug 1864.
• Mustered out on 18 Nov 1864.

Lee Britton Fish - Anna's brother

• Enlisted in Company G, Massachusetts 12th Infantry Regiment on 26 Jun 1861.
• Mustered out on 26 May 1862 at Washington, DC.

Uzza Thomas - Anna's brother-in-law (sister Nancy's husband)

• Regiment Name: 8 Maine Infantry Regiment
• Rank In: Private

Willard Jones Fish - Anna's Half-Uncle (father John Fish's half-brother)

• 30th Regiment, Maine Infantry

euphemia anna fish macconney (part 2 of 5)

marriage

Euphemia did not stay in Maine for long. By 1860, Euphemia moves to Massachusetts and meets her future husband, James MacConney.

 At 21 years old, in June of 1860, Euphemia marries James in Abington, MA. Euphemia, who seems to sometimes go by her middle name of Anna now, may have come to Abington with her brother Lee Fish, who marries in that town in 1858. (I will refer to Euphemia as Anna from now on)

I have not been able to find Anna in the 1860 census; maybe she was in between moves since she marries the same year as the census. She is not living with her parents, or her future husband James, or her brother Lee. Her sister Nancy and parents John and Cynthia Fish all stay in Maine throughout their lives.

The marriage record of Anna and James states they were married by H D Walker, congregational minister. The book, History of Abington (note 1), states H D Walker was a minister of the Third Church in East Abington, a congregational church. I assume Anna and James were living in the eastern part of Abington if they attended this church. The only historical map of Abington I have found on ancestry.com was from 1879. There is a J McCorney listed on this map, but matching the names around this residences found in the 1880 census; this J McCornney is actualy James' father James McConihe.

Third Congregational Church from the History of Abington, MA

notes:
1. Hobart, B. (1866). History of the town of Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement. Boston: T.H. Carter and Son. (p 164) (Google eBook)

henry torrey and amy frances mcconney

My great-great grandparents, Henry A. Torrey and Amy Frances McConney (McConihe), were married April 16, 1884 in Weymouth, MA, by Jacob Baker, Clergyman. Jacob Baker was the clergyman for the church in South Weymouth at the Second Universalist Society of South Weymouth, according to the book, Historical Sketch of the Town of Weymouth, page 119-120.

Henry and Amy had 3 boys and 3 girls by 1895. I could only find a couple of the birth records for their children online at newenglandancestors.org. Accroding to the records, Henry and Amy and their family lived in Weymouth up until at least 1892, when their daughter Eva was born there. Their next children, Henry and Lottie, do not seem to have a record of birth in the newenglandancestros vital records database, so I am not sure which town they were born in. By the 1900 Census, Henry and Amy's family is living in Hanover, MA. They are also found in a 1902 directory on Webster Street, in Hanover, near the Rockland Line. Henry is listed as a shoe-treer.


They did not stay on Webster Street long, as the 1910 Census has this Torrey family living at 66 Church Street in Rockland, MA. There are two other families also living at this address, the Lowell family and Meara family. This house must have been a 3 family residence, most likey the Torreys were renting at this time. Their oldest daughter, Grace, was still living with them at the age of 22, along with their youngest son and daughter, Henry and Lottie, ages 19 and 14. Their middle daughter, Eva was married in 1908, living with her husband at this time. Their oldest son, Everett, my great-grandfather, was also married living with his wife Ethel. I am not sure where their second son, Fred, was at this time. I did not find him listed in the MA Census for 1910.


Henry and Amy moved again, as listed in the 1916 Rockland directory, to 119 Spring Street in Rockland, listed as boarders. Henry is still listed as a shoe worker. By the 1920 Census though, they are now living at 323 Albion in Rockland. This is the last known residence I have for Henry, as he dies in 1923. Amy; however, is listed in the 1930 Census living as a boarder with Florence Myra at 373 East Water Street in Rockland. Amy's occupation was listed as a housekeeper to a private family. Wether that private family was the Myra family, I am not sure. It seems unlikely though, as one of the Mrya daughters is also listed as a housekeeper to a private family.


In 1930, Amy was about 69 years old, which shows she was a very hard worker to support herself at this age as a housekeeper. This time in American history was difficult for everyone, during The Great Depression. I am sure it was lonely for Amy to be without her husband and struggling on her own. Amy's children seemed to have been scattered and probably could not offer her much support. Her oldest son Everett seems to have been working and living in Milford in 1930, while the rest of his family was in Norwell. I am not sure what happened to Amy's daughter Grace (married to Minot Somers) or her son Fred. Her second daughter Eva is living in Warwick, RI in 1930 with her husband and children. I also could not find information on Amy's youngest son Henry. The child living closest to Amy in 1930 would have been her youngest daughter Lottie. Lottie is married and taking care of her 4 children in Hanover, MA on King Street. According to Google maps, this is only a little over 3 miles from where Amy is living. Hopefully they were able to spend time together and support each other during this difficult time in History.

McConihe

I love Google Books - it always leads me to books I probably never would have come across that may have my ancestors in them. One such book is Drawn To Art by Diana Korzenic (1984). This book is about the role of art in the lives of 19th century Americans, through the Cross family of New Hampshire. On page 205, she mentions a name that is familiar to my family tree. A family I have been looking into since I began genealogy about 5 years ago. The McConihe family. I waited patiently for this book to come in through Interlibrary Loan at my local library and was very excited when it arrived. I don't remember if I went straight to the page the McConihe's were listed on or browsed through the book to get the gist of the subject matter, but I quickly came to the conclusion the McConihe she writes about on page 205 is not the Samuel McConihe I was looking for. I was a bit disappointed but still took the opportunity to read most of the book to get an idea about the lives of my ancestors who lived in the same area as the Crosses.

I will give a little background on the family I am looking for. In June of 1808, James McConihe was born in Bedford, NH. (birth date is estimated from his death record, town of birth is from his children's vital records). On James' death record, it states his father was Samuel McConihe and Elizabeth Campbell. This is were I get stuck. I have found a Samuel McConihe and Isabel Campbell in Bedford NH - but not Elizabeth. Even if this were his correct parents and the vital records mistold his mother's name as Elizabeth instead of Isabel, I have not come across where Samuel McConihe came from - who his parents were. To make matters more confusing, there seems to be two, maybe three, Samuel McConihe's from New Hampshire. One of the Samuel's is well documented and easier to trace. I am sure that my McConihe and these other McConihe's are most likely cousins, but I have to find more evidence to find where they all fit in. Eventually, I will need to go to NH to look more closely at cemeteries, vital records, and deeds. In the meantime, I have been tracing both families to keep them all straight. So you can see why I was excited to see a Samuel McConihe in this book I found. Even if it did not lead me to my ancestor, it would still provide information on the other McConihe line I am tracing.

I have to return this book tomorrow, so I thought I would note the important genealogical information I obtained through it. The Cross family moved to Merrimack, NH on a farm in 1874. She writes, "The Farm was located on the old Daniel Webster Highway, now Loop Road, whose narrowness even today shows its age. At the time the Crosses acquired their place, houses on either side dated back to the eighteenth century. Their neighbor to the north, Samuel McConihe, had already been there some fifty years. He had acquired his property from John Clapp, who purchased it in 1808 from a family that had owned it for two generations. The houses to the south are believed to have been millhouses back in the 1700s."

I am assuming she got the information on the Cross's new neighbors from land deeds; but unfortunately, she does not state this. The problem with this information; however, is that the Samuel she is referring to was actually deceased by 1853, according to cemetery transcriptions in Merrimack, NH. Looking at the 1870 Census for the McConihe's in Merrimack, it seems Samuel's son Massena is living on his farm with a Reed family. By the time the Crosses move in though, even Massena has passed. In the 1880 census; however, on the same page as the Crosses, the Reeds seem to be still living on the McConihe farm. The wife of the family is Carrie Reed. I will have to look into this more closely, but Massena had a daughter Carrie - and it seems highly likely that Carrie married a Reed and is now living on her father's (Massena's), and previously grandfather's (Samuel's), farm. I guess the interesting part of all this is that Carrie very well knew the Cross family which Diane writes about. So where were my McConihe ancestors in the 1880s. My Samuel McConihe is also deceased, and his son James McConihe dies in 1881 in Abington, MA. James' son James is living in the Hanover, MA and Rockland, MA areas in 1880 and 1890. Unfortunately for me, it does not seem likely that my McConihe ancestors new the Cross family that is living in Merrimack NH near their cousin McConihe's (if they are even cousins). Still, I find this connection to this book interesting!