My Favorite Female Ancestor, Rose Springer

Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist has put together a great list of writing prompts for Women’s History Month. The first prompt asks if you have a favorite female ancestor, one you seem drawn to or would like to learn more about. Write about the key facts or what you would like to learn. Outline your goals and what potential sources you can check.

I have two women that I would like to know more about, it was a hard choice. My decision is to write about my Great Grandmother, Rose/Rosa May (Springer) O’Connell McAvoy, the reason I decided on Rose is because she is the closest generation to me.

Rose/Rosa May Springer was born 30 Mar 1888, in Maine. Her Mother’s name was Mary. She had a sister named Sophia and a brother named William. I currently do not have information on her father.

About 1897 Rose married Dennis O’Connell. They were both Catholic and raised their children in the Catholic Church. Rose gave birth to 4 children, with 1 child dying in infancy. The surviving children were:

Ambrose Lawrence 17 Dec 1905 – 28 Feb 1975

Linus Joseph 5 Mar 1908 – 31 Oct 1980

Theresa May abt 1909 – 1990

The fourth child is still unknown at this point.

Dennis and Rose lived in a few different places. Son Ambrose was born in Berlin, NH while Linus and Theresa were both born in the state of New York. I have traced Rose in the following locations:

Moreau, Saratoga, NY

Glens Falls, Warren, NY

Chicago, Cook, IL

In 1917, Rose’s husband Dennis signed the World War 1 draft card and then proceeded to move to Canada, where he died in 1950. Rose continued to raise her children alone in NY until the 1920’s when her boys rode the rails to Chicago. She soon followed with daughter Theresa. By 1930, Rose is found remarried to Frank McAvoy. Within the past year, I have found the gravesite of Rose and Theresa just blocks from my home.

What would I like to know about Rose?  How can I find the information?

Who is her father? Check for her birth information, some type of index or registration list for Maine 

Where did Rose and Dennis get married? An exact date would be good too. Find marriage record, in either NY or NH

When and where did Rose and Dennis get divorced? Assumption would be NY which is where they last lived together. Would have to check with the courts. I am unsure of this process since I do not have any dates.

What happened to Frank? He is not in the same cemetery. Check with his family. They are connected on my Geni.com family tree. I sent a request for information once, I need to follow-up.

What happened to her fourth baby and where is that baby buried? Again, back to NY check Moreau, Saratoga County which is where the family was living in 1910.

There are many other questions I have, but  research would never answer them. They would be more of the personal questions that only Rose would be ale to answer.

This was a great exercise, not just to put information out there. But because Lisa has prompted me to think about where I can find the answers to the questions I have. Thanks Lisa for putting thought into the prompts for this month. I look forward to doing as many as possible. 

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