Kathleen Louise (Russell) Heggen (abt. 1903 - 1974)

Born about 2 Jan 1903 in United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 9 Feb 1974 at about age 71 in Glendale, Los Angeles, California, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Michael Heggen [send private message]

Biography

Kathleen (Russell) Heggen migrated from United Kingdom to Canada.

Kathleen (Russell) Heggen migrated from Canada to United States.

Kay's mother, Louise, emigrated to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada from Liverpool, leaving seven-year-old Kay behind in England. Three years later, Louise sent for Kay, who traveled (either unaccompanied or with the assistance of the Salvation Army or some other charitable organization) by steamship across the Atlantic Ocean to Quebec, and then from there across Canada by train to Victoria.

When Kay was about 16, she and her mother moved across the border to Seattle, Washington in the United States. She married to Henry Heggen at about age 23. They had two children, Mary Lou and Russ, and divorced shortly after that. She raised the children on her own in Seattle (during the Great Depression) and became a U.S. citizen.

After her children were grown, she eventually moved to southern California, where she spent the rest of her life. All of her grandchildren have memories of her.

Research Notes

According to her daughter-in-law:

• Kathleen had no birth certificate or other documentation.
• Her birth date on her U.S. naturalization papers was her own best guess.
• Regarding her father, there were vague explanations within the family of him being in the British military.
• She lived at either an English convent boarding school or possibly a poorhouse after her mother emigrated to Canada without her.
• There is a family story of her "dancing (solo or group?) for the Queen" before she emigrated.

Heggen-43 08:02, 15 December 2019 (UTC)

Sources

• Michael Heggen. Personal recollections and notes, 27 Nov 2019.