I am sure all of us are aware of the funeral card that Mama had in the ice chest in Oley by the hall closet under the front stairs. If not, Here it is:
I have always been fascinated with this document, for many reasons. I remember, when I asked Mama who this was, she seemed not happy about answering my question; hesitant or sad, or.....well, I don't know what she was feeling, I just know she was aloof, or wanting to get the conversation over with quickly. She just told me it was her Dad's first wife and that was all she knew. It piqued my curiosity. It was actually the first time I remember seeing any form of funereal commemorative, too. I don't recall seeing any from Granddad Lines or Grandmom Lines or Grandma Lilley. It certainly was ornate, as if the person it memorialized was important to whoever was doing the remembering. This very heavy cardboard memento mori measures 6.25 x 4.25 inches.
Other than the knowledge from Mama that this was Elmer Ellsworth Line's first wife, and seeing that her name was Rose, I had very little else to go on to find her. It was a mystery; where she came from , how they met, why she died...
I have not answered any of the above questions in my mind, but I have found out who she was; her name was Rose Amelia Buser.
Here is the record of that marriage.:
Other than the knowledge from Mama that this was Elmer Ellsworth Line's first wife, and seeing that her name was Rose, I had very little else to go on to find her. It was a mystery; where she came from , how they met, why she died...
I have not answered any of the above questions in my mind, but I have found out who she was; her name was Rose Amelia Buser.
Here is the record of that marriage.:
It turns out that Rose Amelia was a tad older than Elmer Ellsworth and had been previously married. She divorced her first husband for desertion.
What is sad for Rose's parents, and most likely, Elmer, is that Rose died quite soon after she and Elmer were married. They were married on July 29, 1903 and Rose died on November 13, 1903. If she had not died, of course, none of us would be here.
How did someone from Conestoga, a little town in Lancaster County, meet someone from Oil City, Venango County, PA? My initial thought was that Elmer met Rose when he went to become a member of the Great White Fleet. I thought this because Venango County, being close to the Great Lakes (well, closer than Lancaster County) was a possible starting point for a kid who wanted to become a sailor, if that is what he wanted to do. There were shipyards close by, and the Great Lakes have big ships sailing on them ( as in the big ship, The Edmund Fitzgerald, made famous by Gordon Lightfoot in his recording 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'...) His father had recently died (1902), he was 21 and maybe eager to see the world.
In fact,he enlisted in the Navy...that is right, the Navy, not the Merchant Marines as Mama thought.
He possibly sailed around the world, as did the Great White Fleet, because I think there were regular Navy personnel on those ships, but he was not in the Merchant Marines. I know Mama talked about his sea voyage, and the things he brought back. The Great White Fleet returned to the U S
However, he did not enlist until December, 1904, a bit more than a year after Rose's death. So why did he go to Venango County in the first place?
I am still working on the details....
What is sad for Rose's parents, and most likely, Elmer, is that Rose died quite soon after she and Elmer were married. They were married on July 29, 1903 and Rose died on November 13, 1903. If she had not died, of course, none of us would be here.
How did someone from Conestoga, a little town in Lancaster County, meet someone from Oil City, Venango County, PA? My initial thought was that Elmer met Rose when he went to become a member of the Great White Fleet. I thought this because Venango County, being close to the Great Lakes (well, closer than Lancaster County) was a possible starting point for a kid who wanted to become a sailor, if that is what he wanted to do. There were shipyards close by, and the Great Lakes have big ships sailing on them ( as in the big ship, The Edmund Fitzgerald, made famous by Gordon Lightfoot in his recording 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'...) His father had recently died (1902), he was 21 and maybe eager to see the world.
In fact,he enlisted in the Navy...that is right, the Navy, not the Merchant Marines as Mama thought.
- Lines Elmer Ellsworth -- [Service Number] 001160981, [Date of Enlistment] 12/09/1904,
National Archives Identifier: 3601959
Local Identifier: NV07854018
Creator(s): Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Navy Personnel Command. Bureau of Personnel. (ca. 1995 - )
siWWI Navy Enlisted Block Lines
http://research.archives.gov/description/3601959
He possibly sailed around the world, as did the Great White Fleet, because I think there were regular Navy personnel on those ships, but he was not in the Merchant Marines. I know Mama talked about his sea voyage, and the things he brought back. The Great White Fleet returned to the U S
However, he did not enlist until December, 1904, a bit more than a year after Rose's death. So why did he go to Venango County in the first place?
I am still working on the details....