Bessie was a colorful lady. Certainly the documents we have concerning her marriages and the births of her children give evidence of her not being your traditional grandma.
But, it’s the more colorful members of our families that it’s fun to hear about.
(Click on any image to enlarge it)
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| The William & Elizabeth Lindsay family - children are left to right, Ellen, William "Bill", Marie (my grandmother) and Bessie |
Relationship to me: Grandaunt – my paternal grandmother, Marie’s sister.
Born: 11 Nov 1892 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan to William Wallace Lindsay and Elizabeth “Bessie” Fitzcharles. She had two sisters, Ellen & Marie and one brother, William.
Married first to William Bryant Curry on 11 Sep 1911 in Windsor, Essex, Ontario, Canada. They divorced 14 Oct 1915. William Bryant Curry died at Camp Taylor in Kentucky while serving during World War I. He was a victim of the 1918 influenza.
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| Marriage record for William B. Curry and Bessie Lindsay, 11 Sep 1911 |
Married second to Stewart Frances Hockster on 19 Jul 1913 in Windsor, Essex, Ontario, Canada.
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| Marriage record for Stewart Hockster & Bessie Lindsay, 19 Jul 1913 |
Yes, the marriage to Stewart Hockster took place before the divorce from William B. Curry. Also of note, is that Bessie is listed as a "spinster" meaning never been married. We know that's not exactly true because she was married to William B. Curry in 1911. Interesting what we find out when we do our research.
Children born to Bessie:
- A son, Everett William Hockster born 21 Sep 1910 in Michigan, died 9 May 1985 in Farmington Hills, Michigan. He married Mary Sophie Ortell.
- A son, Oliver G. who was adopted by a family named Cline. Oliver was born 23 Jun 1912 and died 10 Aug 1977 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
- A daughter, Ellen Marie born 14 Nov 1914 in Michigan, died 9 Jun 1990 in Los Angeles, California. She married Robert Boice McConnell.
- A son, Stewart Hockster, Jr. who was born 1 Jan 1917 in Michigan and died just 10 days later on 11 Jan 1917 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.
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| Stewart Hockster & Bessie - the young man standing is her son, Everett and the little girl is their daughter, Ellen. |
Bessie & her family lived in Detroit, Michigan.
Stewart Hockster and Bessie were divorced in 1935. Bessie never remarried.
Stories from her granddaughters say that she was very social and enjoyed dating and having a good time.
Bessie had 9 grandchildren and lived to be 78 years old. She died on 28 Oct 1971 from “pulmonary embolus.”
Bessie is buried at Grand Lawn Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan. When one of her granddaughters went to the cemetery in recent years, she found there was no headstone for Bessie. Her granddaughter ordered one and it is now placed on the site. She is buried with her sisters, Marie & Ellen and several other family members.
I wish I would have gotten to know my grand aunt Bessie. I know I met her when I was young, but I don’t remember her. Fortunately, I have reconnected with her granddaughters and am very close to one of them. I’m thankful for that.
Tell me about some colorful characters in your family. Either by leaving a comment or writing about it in your blog.
OTHER POSTS THAT MAY ALSO BE OF INTEREST
BREAKING DOWN BRICK WALLS - FINDING ELIZABETH FITZCHARLES LINDSAY'S PARENTS
LOTS OF NEW LINDSAY INFORMATION
LEGACY 8 SEARCH FUNCTION - WHAT CAN YOU FIND? FEATURING RICHARD LINDSAY
Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright © 2014 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION
I'm jealous of all the bloggers who post these beautiful, and extremely informative, funeral cards. My New England ancestors never had them. I never saw one used at a funeral until about the 1990s here in New England, except at Catholic weddings. Those Puritan frugality genes run deep.
ReplyDeleteHeather,
DeleteI was actually surprised to find I had 9 of these. I wish I had more that's for sure. I think of the ones I could have saved through the years. Just happy to have what I do have. Didn't know they didn't use them in New England.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Diane, my boyfriend is also a grandchild of Bessie Lindsey Hockster. He remembers when she came to stay with his mom (Ellen) and him in the late 1969. Thank you for your beautiful posts and pictures.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Tell your boyfriend "hello from his cousin." I wish you would have left your name so I could get in touch. I'm assuming your boyfriend is either Kevin or Colin. If you read this, please send me a message as I'd love to communicate with him.
DeleteThank you for your kind comments, I'm glad you enjoyed the post.
It is Colin. I have been doing some research for him and his two adult children over the years. Kevin and his wife Cathy live nearby and are very close.
ReplyDeleteHi - Nice to hear from you again. I would love to hear about your research. I know for sure that my cousin Paula Hockster would also be quite interested in anything you'd like to share. She and her niece are the genealogist's for the Hockster family. There have been some very interesting and surprising new finds the past couple of years. Get in touch if you'd like to know more. The best way would be by email michigafamilytrails(at)yahoo.com I post it with the parenthesis to avoid the web scrapers.
DeleteI look forward to communicating with you.
If I've located the correct birth record, then Colin & I share a birth month & day :)
Delete