SUNDAY’S OBITUARY ~ Emma Pope Seed–1850-1928, my half 2nd great grandaunt

Emma Pope Seed is my half 2nd great grandaunt.  She is the daughter of my 3rd great grandmother, Emily Gillen and the 2nd of her three husband’s, David Pope. I am descended from Emily Gillen and her first husband, Rev. Isaac C. Hunter.

Rev. Hunter died at age 43 in 1842, leaving his wife Emily with 5 children at home, the oldest one 14 and the youngest about 1. It is no surprise that she was married four years later to David Pope.  Together Emily & David had two children, a son George and the subject of my post today, Emma.

Emma was born, 29 Jul 1850, according to her death certificate.  The 1850 census was taken on August 6th, but Emma is not enumerated with her family.  She would have been 7 days old. Her parents & brother, George were living in Fayette, Lawrence, Ohio and her father, David was working as a Carpenter.  What became of David Pope after 1850 is still a question.  I know that Emma’s mother, Emily, remarried on 5 Dec 1858 to Joel Stover.

Emma married Thomas Hugh Seed on 28 Mar 1871 in Clay County, Illinois.  The couple had two known children.  A son, Maurice Joy Seed 1871-1947 and Rhoda 1879-1960 who married James R. Barclay.

A directory listing in 1915 shows Thomas Seed as the Associate Editor of the Mt. Vernon Register and the couple is living at 517 N. 10th in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.  The directory lists their phone number as 378 – 3 rings.  Their daughter Rhoda is still living at home and Maurice lives nearby and is the Editor of the Mt. Vernon Register.

Emma & Thomas can be found in the 1920 census, living in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.  He is 76 years old and still working.  He is a Manager in the mailing department of a newspaper. Emma is 69.  In our current society, most people are retired well before the age of 76.  I wonder if Thomas worked because he wanted to, or because he had to?

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)


According to a Civil War Pension Index Card, Emma, a widow, applied for a pension on 4 Jun 1923, from the state of Pennsylvania.  Thomas had already applied for his Civil War Pension back on 28 Jul 1888.  I don’t know if it was granted or not.

 

I have not yet located Thomas’ death record.  However, I have located Emma’s.  She died 10 Oct 1928 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, as stated in her obituary.  Her cause of death was Pyelitis following a fractured left femur.  She tripped over a small rug and fell to the floor at home, which must have caused the fracture.  An online medical dictionary gives the following definition of Pyelitis:

pyelitis [pi?e-li´tis]
inflammation of the renal pelvis, a fairly common disease that usually can be diagnosed and cured without great difficulty. Prompt and effective treatment is necessary to prevent the spread of infection and the development of pyelonephritis, which in its chronic form is a severely disabling disease in which damage to the kidney cells may lead to high blood pressure and uremia. adj., adj pyelit´ic.

Here is her death certificate



The death certificate for Emma gives us evidence of her date & place of birth and her parent’s names.  The informant was her daughter, Rhoda.  While we know that informant’s can give incorrect information, even if they are closely related, we can match this information with what we already know and come to a conclusion.

Emma & Thomas are buried at Oakwood Cemetery, in Mount Vernon, Jefferson Co., Illinois.  You may visit their memorials here #99285028 and #99284963.

Here is a picture of their headstone, used with the permission of EPS, who placed the photo on findagrave.



If you have any connection to this family I’d love to hear from you.  I also welcome any input or corrections.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

MYSTERY MONDAY–WHO’S YOUR DADDY? Brick Wall Post #5–William Gillen 1782-1841

MYSTERY MONDAY - Who's Your Daddy? Brick Walls Post #3–Rev. Isaac C. Hunter 1798-1842

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

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