A LITTLE QUESTION OF PATERNITY It should be easy to determine the birth year for Norris considering we have more than a couple of resources which list it.  The problem I have is some resources contradict the others. It is my own belief that he was indeed John's son, but I will present the evidence, so to say, and allow you to draw your own conclusion.  From what we have gathered, Rosa was married three times in her life. She was married first, at the age of 17, to a man named MARTIN KENNEDY. They married in Caratunk, ME, 18th June, 1885.  As of right now, I have no resource to clarify how long they were married and if she was, but one family tree on Ancestry.com, with little else information, suggests she was widowed before the year was out, but is not supported by any documentation.  I found an M. C. Kennedy buried in the Caratunk Cemetery on Rte 201, born in 1861 and died in 1908.  He is buried beside a wife, Fannie. I'll try to find out more about Martin Kennedy.  Now, here is where it gets sticky.  Up until recently we had only a partial name and a "she may have been married to A man named Divier or Dwyer.   I've found proof of his existance on her marriage license to John in 1896, which says they were divorced. I can see how the original family records didn't know exactly how to spell his name, handwritten data can be tricky.  Personally, I believe it says Dwier. Naturally, if this gent is Norris's biological father, I would like to find some supporting documents (as he is my own link to the family!!) Turns out the name is not very common in Maine, but I still couldn't find anyone that fit the bill without a first name and vital data.  I'm going to extend the search to Canada and forums, but if anyone can fill in any blanks, please EMAIL ME.  I'd love to find Norris's birth or death certificate and would also like to know where he is buried, as I'm still trying to find my grandmother's grave and she might be with him. Rosa married John in 1896, her third and final marriage.  Norris was born in 1890 .  So, it seems he can only be John's son if Rosa and John were involved for some time prior to their marriage.  Norris did take the McCollor name, (often spelled McCollar in that branch), and I believe his biological father did not stay in his life, and John was the only father the small child knew.  In the 1900 census of the household, Norris is listed as John's son.  As far as I'm concerned Norris and I were/are devoted McCollars, by adoption or not, and I have no reason to believe Norris felt any differently. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT NORRIS? He was no less than six years old when his mother, Rosa, married John McCollor.  In the 1900 census of the household, we learn he is has reached the seventh grade, which was higher than most in that area during those times, it was quite common for children to quit school in order to help support the family. By 1900 he has a baby brother, Earle, and a toddler sister, Mona.  In May of 1906 his mother succumbed to tuberculosis.  She was probably sick for some years prior to her death, and it's possible the younger children had already been "adopted" out as she could no longer care for them.  Most can only imagine how heartbreaking that must be for a mother.  If they had not already left the household, they did upon their mother's death.     Norris did not appear lucky in love, as he married four times before he was 37 years old.  In January of the same year of his mother's death, Norris married Estella Hall, a young girl only recently relocated to Maine from Massachusetts. There is something rather odd about their marriage certificate. According to all other sources, Norris would have, at the time of the union, been only 15 on his last birthday (turning 16 in March), and Estella "Stella" Hall about a year older, at 16.  The bride and groom were already expecting their first child, which may very well explain why they married so young.  Their ages on the certificate are listed as 18 and 19.  I'm not familiar with the laws at that time in Maine, but the incorrect ages may have been used because 18 was the legal age for marrying.  Married and with a baby on the way, Norris had gone to work as a laborer.

In June of 1906, little Eva was born, followed in September of 1907 by another daughter, Helen. Since the newlyweds were but children themselves, It's unclear if they ever actually parented the girls and for how long before each were placed in other living situations (see below, "Little Girls Lost").   It is also unclear if the children grew up with contact from either parent.    Predictably, Norris and Estella divorced, and by 1910, Norris was living on the Guy Wellington farm in Hartland as a farmhand with a marital status of single.  He did not remarry until 27th Jan.,1917 in Farmington, ME.  His second wife was Edith Mabel Wilkins, of which I know very little about save that she was born on or about 1899 in Union, ME.  I do not know if he had any children with her, or with any of his wives after his two children with Estella.  A little later the same year, he registered for the draft, and we learn a little more about his from his draft card.  He was 27 that year, and working as a teamster in West Farmington.  We get a glimpse of some of his physical features as well, as he is described as being of medium height and build, with brown hair and blue eyes.    Norris was with Edith a very short time, as, the 1920 census lists Norris's "wife" as a woman named Hattie C. Wallace.  I have found all the other marriage certificates for Norris's marriages, but have not yet found one with Hattie.  It's possible they were "common law" spouses.  I have very little information on Hattie (short for Harriet?), but the 1920 census does provide a very basic sketch of her and the household.  They were living in Brighton.  Hattie was about ten years older than Norris, at 41, and brought to the household three sons from a prior marriage, aged 10, 11, and 18, and all with the Wallace surname. In 1920 there were two incomes for the household, Norris was again working as a farmhand, and Hattie's eldest son was also working, listed as a "laborer".   I don't know how long they all lived together, for, six years later, in September of 1926, he was married again.  She was a woman from Wilton, ME, named Emma Cushman.  She had been married at least once previous to her marriage with Norris, to a man named Downes.  I've found no support to tell me what happened from then on.  For lack of research telling me otherwise, it appears she was his final wife.   Neither Norris or Emma appear in the 1930 federal census.  It is possible he had died, or perhaps they had moved away? This is information I would very much like to have and hope someone is able to provide it to me at some point. I researched Emma using all of her names for quite some time, hoping to find her in a 1930 census or another source, yet I seem to be on the wrong road.   If you are doing any research on Norris, please keep in mind that it seemed impossible for those recording on documents to get his name right. You will find his first name as Morris, and even Harris, and McCollar is found once as Collas.  You need to check the record details over yourself to make sure it really is our Norris.

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NORRIS DRAFT REGISTRATION

MARRIAGE TO ESTELLA HALL

MARRIAGE TO EDITH WILKINS

1900 FEDERAL CENSUS 1910 FEDERAL CENSUS 1920 FEDERAL CENSUS

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All documents here are shown in reduced size.  Please click on each document to view in larger sizes. LITTLE GIRLS LOST STORY of girls leaving home goes here 1910 FEDERAL CENSUS LITTLE EVA   EVA'S life and death, her adoption by Kenneys goes here   EVA'S BIRTH RECORD EVA'S DEATH RECORD In 1920 Helen's half brother was born and her mother, Estella passed away in childbirth.  I don't believe Helen and Stella's final child were ever aware of each other, but can't know for certain. I have had some communication with his descendants and hopefully will have more at some point in the future.   I don't know how Helen met Clarence Merchant,  a young wood turner from New Vineyard, about 8 years her senior.  His draft registration card describes him as having light brown hair and light blue eyes, but other than that, we do not have photos as of this time. My father, his son, remembered his father as having blonde-red hair, but that is contradictory to his draft card.  They were married in April of 1924, and set up house in New Vineyard.  The next year, Helen gave birth to a little girl, Doris Alice, who lived but four days. In 1926 their first son, Robert was born, and in 1930 my father, Earle Emmons, came along. A daughter, Helen, was born in 1932, and a son, Richard, born in 1935.   My father does not have pleasant memories of his childhood. He remembers a home with violence and alcoholism and his mother becoming weaker and weaker with tuberculosis.  At 81 he still remembers his baby brother being taken away to be cared for elsewhere and his mother being moved from the house just days before her death in July of 1936 "by her people".  Her death certificate records her death in Skowhegan four days later.  I do not know who she lived those days with, who took care of her, or if she was finally taken to hospital.  I would love to know more.  We do not know where she is buried, we have been told it is in or very close to Harmony, ME in an unmarked grave. My father would like to put a stone on her grave, if we are able to find it.   Her sad life over, her children were separated.  Robert, the oldest, remained in his father's home. He was just over ten years old. Tragically, he would die of an accidental shotgun wound at their home in New Vineyard the following year. Earle, my father, had tuberculosis, just as his mother did, and spent three years in a Maine TB sanitarium. He survived, and survives still, a widower, living now with me in Belfast, Maine. After he returned he was fostered out to one family and then ended up with a childless couple in Farmington, ALBERT & FANNIE FYFE.  Albert was a master welder, and they lived just south of Farmington on Rte 2.  He changed his name to Steven James Fyfe around 1950. It was not long after that he had mixed feelings about the name change. He loved the Fyfes and wanted to honor and them, but at the same time the change distanced him somewhat from his own family, something he regrets even now.    Helen was about four when her mother died, and was taken in, cared for and loved by Clarence's sister, Nettie Dyer.  Dad has good memories of the limited contact he had with his sister while growing up and into the late 1940's. She was an extremely talented musician.  She never had children, and my father was notified of her death by drowning in August of 1964, at the age of just 32.  I have some photos and news clippings of Helen that I will post here eventually.   Around 2000 or 2001 I was successful in finding my father's younger brother, who had been adopted by a Norton family in Wellington, ME, and named Richard Leroy Norton.  A widower, he lives in Harmony, ME with his daughter, Vickie.  Clarence Merchant remarried, at one time I had the marriage record and am trying to locate it again.  He died 20th May 1946 in Farmington, ME at the age of 46 and is buried with two of his children, Doris & Robert, in Riverside Cemetery in Farmington.   As I grew up and had a child of my own, my father told me more and more about Helen's tragic life, and the closer I felt to her, this woman who went through so many losses in her life, and never fully "belonged" anywhere. I thought about her last years, and the horror stories my father told me about her mistreatment at the hands of her husband when he became drunk.  Even in death, she was abandoned and disparaged by her husband and his family, and turned away from the cemetery plot where her daughter and later her first son, where buried.  I felt I needed to give her the dignity and validation she received so little of during her short life. That is how this site was born, and my hope is that it's pages will give a voice to all the McCollors long dead, the babies never named, the children who died young and the men and women who struggled to support their families despite tragedy, illness and poverty.  They lived, they loved, and they survived. If you are reading this site now, you would never have been born if not for these survivors.    In the years I've worked on this site, I've learned the McCollors were strong Irish stock, independant, hard working, and true survivors where many might have been overcome by life's burdens.  I'm honored to play this small part in keeping them "alive" in words and documents, and whenever possible, photos.  I feel gratified that I was able to give Helen a family, albiet it spread all over Maine, Quebec and the midwest.    ....Áine Irene MacCollar HELEN   Helen was the second child born to teen-aged parents Norris and "Stella" McCollor, following her sister Eva by only 13 months.  She was born in the tiny town of Brighton, ME on the 28th of September, 1907 (research note: the handwriting on her birth record is a little difficult to read, I may have the day of the month wrong).  She was boarded out closeby in Wellington, ME, to the family of Charles and Julia Gowen, who, like many families in that area in that time, took in boarders for extra income. I believe that she was placed there by the authorities, what is now referred to as child protective services.    I don't know why she was not placed with family of some sort, perhaps a sibling of either Norris or Estella, but it is not the first time I've seen this sort of situation in my genealogical research. Maybe it was because most families were impoverished and taking on another mouth to feed was plain impossible.  And Helen was at the age where she needed constant care.  It's just that it seems awfully sad for a two year old to be listed on a census form as a "boarder".    Fortunately, she was placed just a couple of doors down the road from her sister, and for at least five years I'd like to think they had some sort of relationship.  I have also wondered why the two girls were not kept together, both "adopted" by the Kenneys, not just Eva, but there is no way to speculate on that.   Charles and Julia Small Gowen were married in 1890 in Wellington. In 1910, when the federal census was taken, they had three children: Lee, 16, Orva, 15, and Victor, aged 12. They had two "boarders", 64 year old Benjamin Sherban (spelling very difficult to read, I might easily have his surname wrong), and two year old Helen, also a "boarder".  Mr. Gowen was a farmer, and the children all attended school.  A family by the name of Small lived next door, it appears that they were Julia's mother and brother, and his two sons.   In June of 1915, at the age of 51, Mr. Gowen was accidentally shot to death.  About eight months later, at the age of 8, Helen's sister Eva died of a throat abscess and pnuemonia.  In the 1920 Federal Census, Julia Gowen is listed as a farmer, son Lee was married with a small son not far away.  Orva had married in 1912.  Victor remained at home, working as a woodsman, but he would marry in March of that 1920.  Helen remained with Julia, and, although she was never officially adopted, she was now listed as Julia's 12 year old daughter, Helen I. Gowen.  Julia's widowed aunt Frances (can't read her age, but looks like 82), and her widowed 35 year old brother-in-law both lived there as well. CLARENCE MERCHANT BIRTH RECORD CLARENCE MERCHANT DRAFT CARD 1920 FEDERAL CENSUS (Using name "Gowen") 1930 FEDERAL CENSUS Show a print version
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