Seavers in the News -- Mrs. H.T. Seaver Dies in 1973 in Florida

 Here is this week's edition of "Seavers in the News" - a weekly feature from the historical newspapers about persons with the surname Seaver that are interesting, useful, mysterious, fun, macabre, or add information to my family tree database.

This week's entry is from the Press Journal [Vero Beach, Fla.]  dated 25 January 1973, page 3:

The transcription of the article is:

"Vero Club Woman, 96, Dies

"Mrs. H.T. Seaver

"Mrs. H.T. Seaver, who at 96 years of age had been a resident of Vero Beach for nearly 50 years, died Sunday afternoon at Indian River Memorial Hospital.

"Mrs. Seaver's activities had included long-time membership in the Order of Eastern Star, membership in the Vero Beach Woman's Club, and charter membership in the Vero Beach Community Church.  Her death occurred only 11 days after her 96th birthday.

"Although she was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 10, 1877, her family considered Vermont their home and she herself lived in Vermont many years.  Nearly two years ago, she sent regrets that she was unable to fly to Vermont for her 75th anniversary of her graduation from high school to attend an alumni association dinner, and was surprised and delighted when a huge floral arrangement arrived the day of the banquet.

"Mrs. Seaver worked as auditor in a downtown New York City hotel for a number of years, later becoming cashier in a Barton, Vermont, bank.  While residing in Barton some 48 years ago, she and her husband visited Vero Beach to call on a cousin of his.  They liked the place, bought a grove, and moved to Florida permanently the next year.  Her home was on Atlantic Boulevard.

"Survivors include her daughter-in-law, Mrs. A.D. Seaver, who is visiting in Vero Beach; a nephew, Frank W. Cowles, Ft. Pierce; two grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and a cousin.

"Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. today, Thursday, at the the Cox-Gifford-Baldwin Funeral Chapel."

The source citation is:

"Vero Club Woman, 96, Dies," Press Journal [Vero Beach, Fla.] newspaper, Thursday, 25 January 1973, page 3, column 4, Mrs. H.T. Seaver obituary,   Newspapers.com   (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 15 May 2023).

This obituary identifies her married name, residence, age, date and place of birth, names of her deceased husband and a daughter-in-law, her work and association histories.  However, it doesn't provide her given name, her husband's given name (only "H.T."), her parents' names, or her son's given name (only "A.D.").  

Frances Elinor Sophia Butler (1877-1973) was born 10 January 1877 in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Francis and Nancy Elizabeth (Parrish) Butler.  She died 21 January 1973 in Vero Beach, Florida.  She married Harley True Seaver (1860-1930) as his second wife, on 2 April 1918 in Barton, Vermont.  They had no children.  

Harley True Seaver had a son, Amory Davison Seaver (1893-1972) by his first wife, Abbie Amanda (Davison) Seaver (1861-1915).

Harley True Seaver (1860-1930) is my 4th cousin 6 times removed, with common Seaver ancestor is my 9th great-grandfather Robert Seaver (1608-1683). 

This obituary baffled me for awhile, since I had only initials to work with and the death date of Frances.  I searched all of the H and A names of Seaver profiles in RootsMagic, and did not find a conclusive match, although I did look at Harley True Seaver, but it showed his first wife on the RootsMagic profile with Amory Davison Seaver as the son.  I then searched the Florida Death Index on Ancestry.om for Seavers who died in 1973, and there was Frances (and Harley in 1930).  The Ancestry "Suggested Records" provided the Find A Grave memorial and several census records, that helped me find Frances and Harley in my RootsMagic database.  

There are over 10,000 Seaver "stories" in my family tree - and this was one of them.   Life happens, accidentally and intentionally, and sometimes a person lives a very long life with an interesting obituary. I am glad that I can honor Sophia Elinor Sophia (Butler) "Mrs. H.T." Seaver today.  

You never know when a descendant or relative will find this blog post and learn something about their ancestors or relatives, or will provide more information about them to me.

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Disclosure:  I have a complimentary subscription to Newspapers.com and have used it extensively to find articles about my ancestral and one-name families.

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