Friday, January 29, 2010

Chronicling Rosalie and Jeremiah - Part 1

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Following up on my post Using the Library of Congress "Chronicling America" Site from earlier today, I found three articles in The Washington Times newspaper concerning the death of Rosalie B. McKnew. All I knew about Rosalie was that as Rosalie B. Taylor she had married Jeremiah McKnew on 29 December 1852 in Washington DC (found in a Washington DC Marriage Index).

The three articles that I found last night on the Library of Congress Chronicling America site are shown below and transcribed. The first one was published in The Washington Times on 12 June 1906:


This article reads:

"DEATH EARLY TODAY OF MRS.ROSALIE M'KNEW

"Mrs. Rosalie B. McKnew, mother of the late William H. McKnew, died at her residence, 1324 Q Street, at 2:30 o'clock this morning. although Mrs. McKnew had been an invalid for many years previous to her death she always maintained her naturally cheerful and lovable disposition.

"She was widely interested in charities in a quiet and unostentatious way.She was born in the District of Columbia October 2, 1835, and resided here all of her life. She is survived by her daughter, Miss Susan F. McKnew. The funeral will take place Thursday afternoon."

Another notice in the 13 June 1906 edition of the Washington Times newspaper:



This article reads:

"McKNEW -- On (Tuesday, June 12, 1906, at 2:30 a.m., ROSALIE B. McKNEW, wife of the late Jeremiah McKnew.

"Funeral from her late residence, 1324 Q Street northwest, on Thursday, June 14, 1906 at 3 p.m. Relatives and friends invited."

Another newspaper article published on 19 June 1906 in the Washington Times described the death of her faithful servant, and even more information about Rosalie McKnew:



"DEATH IS A RELIEF TO DEVOTED SERVANT

"Faithful Attendant for Forty Years Follows Her Mistress to Final Rest.
"In the same room where less than a week ago she witnessed the last sad rites over the body of the woman she had loved and served throughout her life, funeral services for Louisa Miller, for forty-one years a devoted and faithful servant in the household of the late Mrs. Rosalie B. McKnew will be held at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning from 1324 Q street northwest.

"When ten years of age, Louisa Miller came to the home of Mrs. McKnew and since that time she has served the family continuously. Respectful and respected, she was a type of the old Southern colored servant that made the race famous before the war for undying loyalty to those they served and honored.

"During the past fifteen years Mrs. McKnew was an invalid, and for weeks at a time the faithful servant would sleep at the foot of her bed, doing everything possible to make her comfortable. When her mistress died she grieved deeply, and on several occasions remarked that she wanted to die. Death came suddenly due to heart failure.

"Louisa Miller had been a member of the Temple Baptist Church, formerly the old E Street Baptist Church, almost ever since she first entered the employ of the McKnew household. Here it was that Mrs. McKnew and other members of the family worshipped, and the old servant had always been a regular attendant at the services."

So what did I learn from these three articles in the newspaper?

* Rosalie B. McKnew died on 12 June 1906 in Washington DC
* Rosalie McKnew was born 2 October 1835 in Washington DC
* Rosalie McKnew was the widow of Jeremiah McKnew
* Rosalie McKnew had a deceased son William H. McKnew, presumably by Jeremiah McKnew
* Rosalie McKnew had a daughter Susan F. McKnew, presumably by Jeremiah McKnew.
* For the last part of her life, Rosalie McKnew resided at 1324 Q Street northwest in Washington DC
* For the last fifteen years of her life, Rosalie was an invalid.
* This McKnew family worshipped at the Temple (formerly E Street) Baptist Church
* Rosalie's faithful servant was Louisa Miller, who died 19 June 1906.
* Louisa Miller was a servant to Rosalie McKnew for 41 years (since 1865?)

What else can we find out about Rosalie McKnew? And who was her husband, Jeremiah McKnew? Was he my wife's 2nd great-grandfather, born in about 1804? I thought he was until I found more records today...stay tuned for the second episode of Chronicling Rosalie and Jeremiah.

1 comment:

Joan said...

This was a great article --- and I loved the Forest Gump method --- which I quite often use but never mention because it seems to unorganized. Thanks for a great motivator post --- and very interesting besides.