Nora Odell Coffey Death Cert. |
Harriet L Beach Odell Death Cert. |
So far, so good...but! There is a Burke Co., NC marriage record for William J. Odell to Harriet L. A. Beach with a bond date of May 10, 1868.
Nora's daughter, Hattie Coffey Connelly of Morganton was named as the informant on her mother's death certificate. It appears that Hattie Connelly while attempting to handle the grief caused by the loss of her mother, mistakenly named her maternal grandfather as Alfred.
What I need to now know is who was Mary Coffey who married Alfred Beach?
*After her husband's death, Nora worked as a "laundress" and later as a "doffer" to support herself and her daughters. Nora's mother was a seamstress and later, her daughter Gladys was a school teacher while still living at home. Apparently, all strong women who did what it required for them to live. A "doffer" removed empty spindles or bobbins from machines in a cotton or textile factory and replaced them with full ones.
**In 1870 Hattie Odell lived with her brother James Beach, the Morganton jailer. Hattie's husband was not in the household at that census and, I have not found them in 1880. In 1890, Hattie appeared in the Veteran's census in Morganton but, for whatever reason, her name is over struck! It shows however, that she was the widow of William J. Odell who was a private in Co. A, 5th OH Cav. He enlisted on Jun. 1, 1861 and was discharged Apr. 29, 1865, after serving for 3 years, 10 months and 28 days. So, was he already deceased in 1870?