My ancestor, Louise Coleman, used determination and hard work to make the most of life's challenges. Born in 1855 in Rensselaer Co., NY, she married James Dempsey about 1877. They lived for a time in Oswego, NY, near their parents, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio by 1885. All together, seven children are known to have been born to this couple, until their marriage unraveled by the early 1890s. Their married life was marked by regular moves into different lodgings, in the area of Cleveland surrounding the Walker Mfg. Co. Perhaps James was employed there. Their children were baptized at St. Colman's Catholic Church, which served the Irish community. It still operates today.
At some point in the early 1900s, Louise and her two youngest children struck out for Chicago, where Louise worked as a "practical nurse" and midwife. She was said to have received an inheritance from someone in New York, which made it possible for her to obtain the training. This was no doubt her brother, Civil War veteran John Henry Coleman, who left her $1300 in his will upon his death in 1891.
I believe that Louise wasn't on the best of terms with the remainder of her family in New York, because she expressed a disinterest in ever going back to visit, or in maintaining contact. Perhaps something about the man she chose to marry wasn't acceptable, or perhaps pride kept her from going back.
Louise never remarried, and died in California on a visit to her son James in 1923. She is buried in River Grove Cemetery in Cook County, Illinois. Although no marker is visible today, Louise was certainly remembered by her descendants as being a strong and loving woman.
Using the website http://www.deathindexes.com/ as a portal, I recently made my way to an index of digitized newspapers for Quincy, Adams County, Illinois. That website is at: http://www.quincylibrary.org/library_resources/NewspaperArchive.asp . There, I discovered a treasure trove of news snippets about my ancestors and their connections. Notices of trips taken, new jobs, illnesses, and the like, were all used to fill small corners of the pages. However, a wedding notice of Fred Francis to Florence Dempsey, from 1916, points up the dangers of recording these items as "proof" of anything, or even a starting point for further information. Here is the article from the Quincy Daily Journal of Saturday, 12 February 1916:
From my research in other sources, I know that the story is accurate on many points. The last sentence, however, needs major clarification. "She is the daughter of a prominent business man in South Chicago," diverges from the truth on two major points.
Florence Isabell Dempsey was born in Cleveland: Ohio, the youngest child of James Dempsey and Louise Coleman. James and Louise were natives of New York state, and met when both were living in Oswego, NY. The couple moved to Cleveland around 1880, and were the parents of 7 known children. Theirs was not a happy marriage, and by the early part of the 20th century, lived apart. Research to date hasn't revealed whether they ever actually divorced. Louise Coleman Dempsey moved with her two youngest children, James Gleason Dempsey and Florence Dempsey, to Chicago by 1913, where she worked as a "practical nurse," and may be the individual listed in a city directory of that year described as widowed. James Dempsey, the father of her children, remained in Cleveland, where he died in 1916. He's buried at Calvary Cemetery, Cleveland.
Based upon the addresses which appeared in varioius Cleveland city directories, as well as the job description of stationery engineer on his death certificate, it's possible that James Dempsey worked at the Walker Mfg. Co. of Cleveland. This was a forerunner of Westinghouse. The addresses for the likely James Dempsey and his known children all surround a massive property where the factory was located. Using a plat map of the time, I was able to identify the name of the factory on the site.
And so, using additional available sources, the prominent South Chicago businessman emerges more accurately as the factory heavy equipment operator in Cleveland.
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