Mary Ellen (May) Purcell Drown of MA/NH/NJ

[Jim Jurista]

Hello,

I'm researching family history for Mary A. Purcell, a/k/a Mary Ellen Purcell and known by family as "May".  I'd very much like to discover more about her family and ancestry.

According to census and other records, she was born 3 Oct 1897 in Massachusetts. She married Henry C. Drown of Boston MA in Pittsfield, NH on 22 Aug 1917, immediately before Mr. Drown shipped out with the 101st Regiment of US Engineers in September. The couple lived in Belmont MA from 1920 until at least 1925; by 1930 they were living in Montclair NJ. Mr Drown died some time between 1930 and 1943; Mrs. Drown (nee Purcell) lived in Montclair the rest of her life and passed away in January 1979. 

The Drowns had a son, Robert W., in 1920.

Any assistance will be deeply appreciated. Thank you.

Jim

[James Purcell]

I see no relation to my family, however I did check into your family and note the following:

Henry Carruth Drown was born 3 Jul 1886 in Providence R.I. In the 1942 WWII draft he is listed as physically disabled and married to Mary A. Drown. He was a son of Walter H. & Emma C. Drown. He died in Montclair 13 Jan 1943 and is buried at Mt. Hebron Cemetery. He received a granite grave marker showing he had been a 1st Lt. in Co. E., 101st U.S. Engineers. His widow is again listed as Mary A. Drown. The Drown family appears to have been in Providence as early as 1800--though I did not research them.

 

I'm sure you have some record--perhaps the marriage--that lists her as Mary Purcell, however something is wrong. Either she was a widow/divorcee of a Purcell when she married Mr. Drown, or she was not from Massachusetts. She may also have been adopted or some other anomaly. I am a pretty good genealogist and I can find no such person as a Mary or May Purcell born in Massachusetts in Oct 1897. Good luck...

P.S. I'd advise you to get her death cert and see what it shows.

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[Mary]

hi aim not familiar with this family at all  the family I'm looking for is a James Purcell that married a Sarah Dowell all of the information in the Purcell were done by other family members years ago but can not verify dates for Sarah and James that puts a George Dowell Purcell I  the age bracket to be a child of Sarah so thanks for writing but this is what I need sand no relation to your research as I know let me know if we do connect From

: Jim Jurista

Sent: Friday, February 15, 2013 9:07 AM

To: purcell-fami...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Mary Ellen (May) Purcell Drown of MA/NH/NJ

[Jim Jurista]

Thanks, James. I'm a fairly experienced genealogist as well, and Ms. Purcell's ancestry has eluded me to the point that I have expanded my search to this forum. I also thought that she must have come by the name differently - or that family history has it wrong.

The evidence that I have for her marriage is a 1917 article from "Lumberman's Review" in which Henry's brother Winthrop E. Drown (who worked in lumber) had a highlight for being married. The article has a sentence about his brother (Henry Carruth Drown - whose ancestry I know very well) married in Pittsfield, NH to "Miss May Purcell of that place" on August 22 of that year. 

Thanks again for your prompt and thorough assistance. I will keep looking and broaden my search to accommodate the possibility that the Purcell name has been incorrectly attributed to Mr. Drown's wife. Finding her death certificate will be a good start for that and it will be my next step.

Regards,

Jim

[Jim Jurista]

This morning I spoke with the city clerk's office in Haverhill, MA and got the answers to some of the questions I've had about the Purcell family.

They do have a marriage certificate on file; the couple was married in Haverhill by a justice of the peace on 22 Aug 1917.

"Mary A. Purcell" is the name on the certificate; her father's name was Jeremiah J. Purcell and her mother was Johanna (Varson) Purcell. Mary's occupation is given as "stenographer"; the couple would live in Boston MA.

In the 1905 Concord NH city directory, there is a Jeremiah J Purcell (occupation: tailor) living with Johanna (Varson) Purcell (occ: homemaker) and a "Mary Ella" Purcell (occ: student). Jeremiah and Johanna show up on federal censuses in 1910 and 1920 in Pittsfield. I think it's a safe assumption that this is the same family indicated on the marriage certificate and the same "May" described as the wife of Henry Carruth Drown in subsequent biographies and trees.

Many thanks to all who reviewed my original request.

Jim