Edna Lucille or Lucy (Trudeau) Lansing (1891 - 1938)

(I originally wrote this to accompany a photo of her that I shared on “WikiTree” a free genealogy site) A copy of this photo came to me either from my father or his brother, my Uncle Ed; I do not recall now in my later years when I first received a copy of this photo. I have copied it numerous times since then and have shared it with many Lansing cousins. I'm guessing that this picture was taken around the time that the war was nearly over or was entirely over as I see he is already a Corporal by his wearing of the two stripes on his shoulder. He like his son Richard G. Lansing who later fought in WWII in the Army Infantry would also become a Corporal like his father before him. Howard left home on 15 Cedar St. where he had lived in his wife's childhood home in Northampton, Mass. after marrying her on April 24 of 1923 in Hartford, Connecticut after their son Richard was already four months old. Howard had been married before to Mary I. Martin of upstate New York where he had also been living at the time of his marriage to her and not far from where he had been born and raised. Howard and Mary Martin Lansing were married Aug. 9, 1912 in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Cty, NY when he was 21 (and a toolmaker and a boxer) and she was 19 (and a glove maker); perhaps they met in the same factory or at a nearby restaurant on lunchbreak. Nevertheless, they were married when they were both young and obviously in love. After nine months, Mary left my grandfather Howard and Howard eventually after six years of searching for his wife Mary, finally filed for divorce in Boston giving the reason of her having "deserted" him as the cause however because he could not find her to serve her papers that she could sign also agreeing to a divorce he had to wait another year (seven years has to go by when one spouse is absent and cannot be found to be served divorce papers to before the remaining spouse can legally get a divorce without the other spouse's signature). In the meantime, Howard had obviously found work in the Northampton area of Massachusetts and had met the young sweet single Edna Trudeau and they must have courted for awhile while his divorce was pending and by April 22 or so of 1922, Edna found herself two months pregnant and a secretive situation apparently ensued thereafter. It was not long after that Howard found a place for him and Edna out of state in Hartford, Connecticut waiting until the baby came and when the day came for his arrival they drove a half hour north or so to Holyoke, Mass. hospital for the baby's birth. Meanwhile, Howard was likely working at the Springfield Arms or some such place where guns were being made I believe he told me. Eventually, the couple removed to 15 Cedar St. where the baby boy Richard George Lansing was then raised and 3 more births followed. The next child Howard I did not live long and then Edwin came along (named after Edwin Hocmer, the husband of Howard's mother's sister Nellie Durkee.) After Edwin's birth came Howard II who lived long enough to be able to be fed in a high chair according to my father (Richard's) memory and it was a sad day when that little boy died as my father had bonded to him at least somewhat and then the child was no more to be seen. My father was a little boy at the time the youngest sibling passed away. My father recalls his mother being very quiet and not saying much and needing to rest a lot on the couch that was put in the first floor room next to the kitchen wood stove to keep her warm and comfortable as she was constantly ill and failing in health it seemed. The Depression years were hard on the little family and they shared the home on 15 Cedar St. with Edna's other sisters Georgianna, Mary, (both of whom were single and worked at the local silk mill on West St. owned by Mr. McCallum (which years later became a felt factory) and also their sister Mabel Trudeau Berube and her husband Nap (Napoleon) Berube and also possibly Delia Trudeau and her husband William Chatel might have lived there during the Depression years also as well as Ora Trudeau their other sister and her husband Emmanuel Cortez (Cortes) who assisted by painting the house. It is even possible that their oldest sister Celina Trudeau LaFond and her husband Albert LaFond might have also briefly lived there before settling on their dairy and maple sugaring farm in Huntington, Mass. but the family story goes on to say that several families lived in that 8 room house built by the Trudeau girls' father Cleophas Trudeau in 1892 and that for some time after his death many of his daughters and their only surviving brother who never married, George Trudeau (who worked driving a horse-drawn wagon through the streets collecting rags from which to sell to the local paper-manufacturer during the Great Depression when any job was one that anyone would be grateful to have just to have some food to eat every day. George did not live past 1938 but died having a heart attack upon arising from bed one morning. Out of 15 Trudeau children no other baby girls or baby boys survived beyond infancy except one, Dolores who died at age ten of Bright's Disease (a kidney disease that Georgianna always felt was a result of little Dolores always running around the house barefoot on freezing cold floors or so she constantly said in her later years to her grand nephews and nieces (like myself) when we were young and while she lived with all of us since we were born and was like a second mother to us and like a mother in law to our mother Stella (Murphy) Lansing or so my mother often felt she was to our dear Aunt Janner's chagrin, (Georgianna's nickname we gave her) who was the constant brunt of our mother's impatient disdain for Aunt Janner's disapproval of our mother's impatience with her and with her nephew (our father, our mother, Stella's husband). Edna Trudeau died on the daybed that had been her resting place for most of her later years which later became our dining room after our father married our mother and had us children. By then all of Aunt Janner (Georgianna's) sisters and their husbands had either moved out or had died. Ora moved to Chicago where her descendants still live. Mabel and Napoleon had one son Lucius Berube who I have never heard of and am not sure he married or ever had children but would love to know more about him. Celina and Alfred settled in Huntington, Mass and are not related to any LaFonds in Northampton area but I am in contact on occasion with one of their descendants Mary but have lost her phone number and address and hope she finds me here. I have been in contact with the descendants of Delia and William Chatel and have sent them genealogy. I yet have to send papers on to Mary and her siblings who I have lost contact with. I also have sent genealogy to Chicago and have been in contact with the Trudeau girl's mother's relatives, the LaFleurs. Their mother was Marie (LaFleur) Trudeau who married Cleophas Trudeau on Aug 16 in 1869 in Northampton, Mass. Many of these people's remains and some LaFleurs are buried in the local Northampton, Mass. St. Mary's Cemetery on Bridge Rd. I have some photos of some of the graves and have frequented them over the years when I still lived in Massachusetts until my early sixties when I moved out of state. The Trudeau girls were very admired for their beautiful singing voices and their hard work and their legacy of integrity and a strong work ethic where they could always be depended upon to do long hours of labor without complaint and with a cheerful loving countenance; their legacy went on for decades even after they were gone when I stopped by a small old tire shop on Bridge St. (across from the fairgrounds) and spoke with an elderly gentleman when I was in my 30's (over 40 years ago now as I write in 2020) and he recalled the Trudeau "girls" (sisters) with great respect and admiration which astonished me and made me very proud to be the grand daughter and grand niece of some wonderful women who labored with their hands and always showed up even when tired and never seemed to get sick and were known for never missing a day of work. Their health was much stronger than that of my grandmother Edna's but she too was much loved and respected for her talents and sweet demeanor and loving ways and beautiful singing voice. How I wish at times I could go back in a time machine and hug them all and speak with them about their lives; one day we will meet in a heavenly home and have a great reunion.