Sunday's Obituary - Lillian Blanchfield

Easton Express, 04MAY1976

"Lillian Blanchfield

Miss Lillian L. Blanchfield, 85, of 65 Glen Ave, Phillipsburg, died yesterday in Oxford.

Born in Beaver Meadows, Pa., she was a daughter of the late Martin and Anna Boyle Blanchfield.

She was a member of Sts. Philip and James Catholic Church.

Survivors include nieces and nephews.

The funeral will be held at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday at the Finegan Funeral Home, Phillipsburg, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St.s Philip and James Church.  Interment will be in the parish cemetery."

Lillian was my great grand aunt.  I don't know much about her except that she was talked of fondly by my mom.  Rest in peace, Aunt Lillian.

Sunday's Obituary - Josephine Blanchfield

Easton Express, 07SEP1959, pg 16

Another Blanchfield that I've unintentionally neglected!

"Josephine Blanchfield

Miss Joesphine Blanchfield, of 65 Glen Ave., Phillipsburg, died at her home last night after a long illness.

Miss Blandhfield was employed in the beauty salon of Orr's department store in Easton.  She retired two years ago.

Born in Beaver Meadows, she was a daughter of the late Martin and Anna Boyle Blanchfield.  She lived in Phillipsburg about 42 years.

She was a member of Sts. Philip and James Catholic Church, Phillipsburg.

Surviving are two sisters, Mrs. Robert Flynn, Phillipsburg; and Miss Lillian Blanchfield, at home, and two brothers, William and Joseph Blanchfield, both of Phillipsburg.

The funeral will be held at 9:25 a.m. Thursday at the Finegan Funeral Home, Phillipsburg, followed by a Requiem High Mass at 10 a.m. in Sts. Philip and James Church."

Josephine was my great grand aunt.  Although it is not mentioned in her obituary, she is buried in the church cemetery in the Blanchfield plot.  Only the surname is on the marker.

Josephine was 72 years old when she died.  I do have a copy of her death certificate from the state of New Jersey but they redacted the cause of death when issuing it to me.  Sad, but true.  One of the pitfalls in researching sometimes.

Sunday's Obituary - I'm Baaaack!

Marker for Martin, Anna and 2 of their daughters

I've missed you all.  I've missed my blog too, but I'll be honest...this recent move to Colorado kicked my butt.  I'm used to moving.  The military saw to that, but it was so much easier when I was just a little younger and wasn't caring for a desperately sick kitty.  Since I was having such a difficult time getting to my blog I decided to wait until the move was complete before heading back.  So the house is built and the boxes have (almost) all been emptied.  The organizing is mostly done and the kitty is hanging in there, so it's time to get back to it.

During the organization of our office (which is also the place that is still requiring some attention) I started to go through old genealogy papers that I was bad enough to not file and enter into my database when I first collected them.  Bad, but a habit I'm trying to break.  Anyway, I realized that I had several obituaries on the Blanchfield side of my family and not a single one made it into a post! Shameful, but now I'll have posts for Sunday's Obituary for many weeks to come.

I decided to start with the father of this particular collection...Martin Blanchfield.  Martin Blanchfield married Anna Boyle on January 9, 1876 in New York City in Saint Andrew's Catholic Church.  I did blog about their marriage before as St. Andrew's was kind enough to send me a transcription of their marriage sacrament.

Martin and Anna had 12 children:  Mary, Alice, Annie, William, Josephine, Lillian, Catherine, Joseph, and four children that did not survive, but were acknowledged, namelessly in census records.  Their daughter, Alice, was my great grandmother.  The family moved from New York City to the Beaver Meadows area in Carbon County, Pennsylvania.  Most of their children were born in Carbon County (except Mary and Alice), and all except Mary and Alice moved with their parents to Phillipsburg, New Jersey where they lived out the remainder of their lives.

Martin's obituary was published in the "Easton Express" on Monday, May 13, 1935 on page 8...the same day he passed.  The obituary is brief.  Just one short paragraph, but I'll give them credit for squeezing in as much as they could that would help a genealogist:

Easton Express, 13MAY1935, pg 8

"Martin Blanchfield

Martin Blanchfield, aged 75, died early this morning at his home, 65 Glen avenue, from a heart attack after an illness of one week.  Mr Blanchfield was well known and had many friends.  He is survived by two sons and four daughters, William and Joseph Blanchfield, Mrs. Robert Flynn and Misses Anna, Josephine and Lillian Blanchfield.  He was a member of Sts. Philip and James' Catholic Church and the Holy Name Society."

Not too bad for a brief obit.  Church, address, and kids.  No mention of his wife, Anna, so if I hadn't already discovered her death date this would have let me know that she predeceased him.  If only every obituary I needed had this much useful information!