The final years of Rose Caroline Dougherty (1839-1915)

It can't be said often enough. The wealth of information in digitized old newspapers is at times overwhelming and always absorbing. Thanks to the amazing effort of the BaNQ to digitize the thousands of newspapers in its collection, I and many other genealogists have been spending an inordinate amount of time sleuthing for information about our Quebec ancestors.

Yesterday's efforts produced several Sherbrooke Daily Record items about my great grandmother Rose Caroline Dougherty (1839-1915) and her final years. Until now, the only newspaper reference I had was a two-line item in the Waterloo Advertiser (near Sherbrooke) in March 1915 noting her passing.

Sherbrooke today is a drive of under 90 minutes from Montreal, in the heart of the Eastern Townships. Rosie and Joe made their home here following their marriage, and if not living in Sherbrooke proper, they were very near throughout their marriage. I imagine that trains ran between Sherbrooke and Montreal.

Rose's husband, my great grandfather, John James Dougherty, died in his 60th year, in 1893 in Sherbrooke, when my grandfather Joe was just 13 years old. I've not yet found a detailed obit of my great grandfather's passing (the Sherbrooke Daily Record only began publishing in 1897), but I hope to one day find some record of his life. In any case, he left Rose enough money so that my grandfather's education was financed. The story goes that Joe spent some of his high school years at a Massachusetts school. This is bolstered by the 1901 census, when Rose was listed as living alone in Sherbrooke. He later attended McGill University, studying electrical engineering in the Faculty of Science. Quebec university tuition today remains the lowest in all of Canada. I don't know what it was in the early 1900s, but expect that it was no small achievement that Rose was able to send her son to McGill.

Esplanade Ave, Montreal

Rose is living with my grandparents in Montreal at the time of the 1911 census in a flat on the top floor of a triplex on Esplanade. Yes, there's someone named William listed as my grandfather's brother, but my grandfather was an only child. The mystery of who this William is--likely a distant cousin--remains unresolved. By 1913, Rose's health is failing. If anything, walking up two long flights of stairs (one indoor, one outdoor) to get into the flat would certainly have been a challenge for anyone in their 70s, as she then was.

1911 Canada Census

I found the first reference to Rose in the Sherbrooke Daily Record on  9 Oct 1913.

Sherbrooke Daily Record 9 Oct 1913

Soon after Christmas that same year, Rosie's health took a turn for the worse.

Sherbrooke Daily Record 29 Dec 1913

But Rosie rallied, and ten days later, this:

Sherbrooke Daily Record 7 Jan 1914

After that, I find nothing about Rose and her life in Sherbrooke, until the first report of her death:

Sherbrooke Daily Record 8 Mar 1915

This was followed two days later by a wonderful obituary that contains details of Rosie's life, and of her funeral.

Sherbrooke Daily Record 10 Mar 1915, 1 of 3

Sherbrooke Daily Record 10 Mar 1915, 2 of 3

Sherbrooke Daily Record 10 Mar 1915, 3 of 3

The details in this report are truly gifts. Aside from the varying spelling of Dougherty (which my family uses) and Doherty (used by Judge Marcus and his family), we get a sense of the very kind woman that was Rosie. We get confirmation that my grandfather was a cousin of Judge Marcus. We learn that Rosie was a nurse in her later years (she was a teacher before her 1876 marriage). 

Rosie's burial is recorded in the register of St Patrick's Parish in Sherbrooke: 

St Patrick's Parish Register, Sherbrooke, Quebec, 1915

The funeral soloist mentioned in the newspaper report, Margaret Doherty, is the granddaughter of James J. Doherty and Margaret Anderson, who were the sponsors at my grandfather's 3 Dec 1879 baptism. I'm still trying to proof a family relationship between my Doughertys and this Doherty family. 

According to her obituary, Rosie had suffered a stroke and related paralysis. What we don't know is whether this stroke had been suffered before she returned to Sherbrooke in 1913, which it is already known she was in failing health, or did this happen afterwards in Sherbrooke? 

Nineteenth century and early 20th century obituaries were full of details. I love them. 

The never ending story continues....




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