52 Ancestors Week 9: Multiples

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 9's theme is "Multiples." Any twins in the family? What about triplets? Or maybe you have an ancestor like my 3rd-great grandmother who was married multiple times. How about an ancestor who held down multiple jobs?

Yet another header passes for an album cover. Let's see if we can continue this trend!

    When the topic of multiples came up last year, I talked about how we could best talk to multiple people telling you a story at once. Trust me when I say it happened many times in my case. Sometimes it still does and I ask people to just talk one at a time! PLEASE! Wow. Got a little sidetracked, there. Moving on, you can see the blog here.  I should also note that this week marks my 100th blog post for #52Ancestors! Here's to many more blogs!

Gertrude Stevens and fam.

    This week, I thought I'd take a little break from the Italian genealogy blogs I've been writing to focus on my 2nd great-grandmother, Gertrude Stevens. Or rather her husbands. She had three of them over the course of her life and I've done some extensive work researching those guys. Why not? It makes for great cousin bait and including everyone an ancestor married gives you a better sense of who they were and adds a real human element. It's important to remember that though they lived over a century ago, they were still human. They had their faults and foibles just like we do today.

    With that said, Gertrude's first husband was none other than my 2nd great-grandfather, Wilfred Felker. They were married on September 12th, 1891 when she was just sixteen years old. He was twenty at the time and the marriage did not last too long.

    My great-grandfather, Austin, was born almost exactly a year later and sadly Wilfred had an affair with Anna Pierce while she was pregnant. Sufficed it to say, they got divorced by 1899. These things happen and all you can do is move on. And that's exactly what Gertrude did.

  While Austin ended up living with his grandfather Jeremiah, Gertrude met and married a man by the name of Walter Howard Senter.  He was a carpenter. They were married on September 22nd, 1899 and would stay married until his death in 1938. Gertrude seemed to be much happier with him. He's the tall guy on the top left of that picture. His mother, Mary Elizabeth Davis is right next to him and in front of him is father, Franklin "Tiny" Senter. Side note: I've never been able to figure out why people insist on calling tall or large guys "Tiny". Is it irony?

The Senters in the 1920 US Census in Haverhill, Mass.

    The Senters lived in Haverhill for many years. Well, at least until some time between the 1920 and 1930 census when they moved to one of the neighboring towns. The Senter children ended up growing alongside their half-brother and three of them were actually at my parents' wedding! Theodore, John and Lawrence to be exact. My mother remembers them and they seemed nice. I mean they showed up at their half-brother's granddaughter's wedding! I guess that proves that they were pretty tight as the kids say. 

    Sadly, Walter's life came to an end on March 30th, 1938 while the family was living in Dover, New Hampshire. It wouldn't take long for Gertrude to marry for a third time and final time. Meet her third husband, Charles Melvin Berry! I do not have a picture of him. But, I do know that they were married in Alton, New Hampshire on September 1st, 1938. Gertrude must have really liked late summer in New England judging by the time of year she got married. Sensing a pattern, yet? Then again that IS when the leaves start to change color.

    Chuck was born in 1876 in the town of Farmington, New Hampshire to Steven William Berry and Hannah Jane Edgerly. As it turned it, Gertrude was also his third wife as he married twice before marrying my 2nd great-grandmother. He married Kate Strout in 1896 and Annie Adams in 1908. I have no clue if they had children or they got divorced. Those facts remain to be seen.

Farmington News, March 17th 1944

     Gertrude and Chuck were married for a few years before she became ill in 1943. According to her obituary, she felt fine shortly before her death. She woke up her husband and died before help could arrive. Her cause of death was listed as coronary thrombosis, angina pectoris, general arteriosclerosis and diabetes mellitis. That's a very sad end. Whatever you do: Don't look those up on WebMD! I'm not even linking the site.

    Her obituary is a well-written one, I'll admit. All of her children were mentioned and it was a sad turn of events. At least you can say she lived a long life and though she married three times, she had to have been happy at some point in each of her marriage. Why else would she have married three guys in September? Maybe she just really liked that month? I don't know. One thing is certain. I can't judge her for marrying three times. No one should. There are celebrities now that are on their fourth and fifth marriage. She's also one example of an ancestor who married multiple times. There were others!

   She was sixty-eight when she passed away and missed out on a lot of things including her grandchildren (including my grandmother) growing up and having families of their own. Perhaps she watched over everyone in spirit? One thing is for sure....My own mother looks a lot like her! =O

   Now as for Chuck. Chuck Berry passed away in 1950. The musician by the same name would go on to produce many songs and become a rock and roll icon. =)

See ya next time! And happy anniversary "All Roads Lead to Haverhill"!