Mary Caroline (Abt) Faulds (1880 - 1928)

Born 6 Jun 1880 in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Wife of William Henry Bookwalter — married 15 Aug 1899 in Juniata Township, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, United States

Wife of Austin Ramsey — married 8 Aug 1907 in Hollidaysburg, Blair, Pennsylvania, United States

Died 3 Mar 1928 at age 47 in Homestead, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States

Biography

Mary (Abt) Faulds has German Roots.

Mary, daughter of Joseph L. Abt and Kathryn Ann Chilcoat,^[1] was born 6 June 1880 in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania,^[1] probably in Juniata Township.

Hers was a life of drama that ended in tragedy.

On 15 August 1899 in Juniata Township, Huntingdon County, she married William Henry "Harry" Bookwalter,^[2] son of Abraham "Abram" Bookwalter and Eliza Ann Showalter. They had at two daughters before their divorce in July 1906 due to non-support:

• Eva Viola G. (Bookwalter) Imes (b. 10 January 1901;^[3][4] m. and likely divorced Herbert G. Imes;^[4][5] d. unknown).

• Verna C. (Bookwalter) Cornelious (b. 16 July 1903;^[3] m. Dennis Dennig “Denny” Cornelious;^[6] d. 1926).^[6]

Before 1900 the family had relocated to Catharine Township, Blair County, Pennsylvania and grown tremendously to encompass Joseph L. (age 42, day laborer) Catharine (40, mother of 12, ten living), John Leonard (22, day laborer), Mary C. (Abt) Bookwalter (20, newly-wed) and her husband William Bookwalter (32, day laborer), Charles Calvin (18, day laborer), Frederick (16, day laborer), Walter Abt (13, day laborer), Harry Abt (11, student), Nora Abt (9, student), Sidney Keefer (5), Catherine Elizabeth (3) and Alma G. Abt (four months). ^[7]

Harry became ill with epiletic dementia and was institutionalized in early November 1906.^[8] Mary (age 28), needing support for her children, divorced him in 1906 and remarried on 8 August 1907 in Hollidaysburg, Blair County, to the 60-year-old, widowed carpenter Austin Ramsey, son of Richard Ramsey and Eveline Locke. They had children together:

• Keturah M. (Ramsey) Matthews Lingle (b. 14 April 1907;^[9][10] m. Edward D. Matthews;^[10][11] m. Charles F. Lingle;^[10] d. 23 November 1985).^[9][10] At least three children with Matthews.

• Theodore Joseph Ramsey (b. 27 August 1908;^[12] m. Sylvia Mae Gutshall;^[13] d. 1 December 1985).^[12][14] At least three children.

• Joseph L. R. Ramsey (b. ~1911;^[15] d. unknown).

• Charles U. L. Ramsey (b. ~1912;^[15] d. unknown).

• Richard M. Ramsey (b. ~1915;^[15] raised in an orphanage with his brother Eddie;^[16] d. unknown).

• Wilber Edwin "Eddie" Ramsey (b. ~1916;^[15] raised in an orphanage with his brother Richard;^[17] d. unknown).

1910^[3]

1920

Mary slashed her husband's throat before plunging a butcher's knife through his breast, while he shot her twice in the chest with a .32 calibre gun.^[18] She died at 10:45 p.m. in the ambulance en route to Homestead Hospital, Allegheny County, on 3 March 1928.^[1] She was buried 9 March 1928 at Braddock Cemetery in Braddock, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.^[1][19]

Her sons Eddie and Richard were placed in an orphanage^[20]

Research Notes

• Surname: The surname "Abt" is German for abbot. A legend related to the author by a great-aunt after a funeral is that her grandfather was an abbot who married and had to leave the area (likely Hessen) in disgrace. Nothing has be found to substantiate the story.

^{[2] [7] [8] [15] [19] [1] [18]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1967; Certificate Number 26405 for Mary Faulds, 1928, (accessed 6 March 2020. Free to view. Birth: 6 June 1880, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Parents: Joseph L. Abt (b. New York City, New York) and Kathryn Chilcoat (b. Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania). Death: 3 March 1928 en route to Homestead Hospital, Homestead, Pennsylvania. Age: 47 years, 8 months, 26 days. COD: Shock and hemorrhage from gunshot wounds to chest at 321 Cherry Street, West Homestead, Pennsylvania. Husband: John Faulds. Burial: 9 March 1928 at Braddock Cemetery. Informant: Joseph Abt, 524 Talbot Avenue, Braddock, Pennsylvania.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Pennsylvania Marriages, 1709-1940, database, FamilySearch (11 February 2018), William H. Bookwalter and Mary C. Abt, 15 Aug 1899; citing Huntingdon, Pennsylvania; FHL microfilm 900,601. The record shows that she was 23, but she was actually only 20. Perhaps she didn't have her parents' permission to marry and had to add a year to be old enough to do so. It appears that this was a forced marriage: Their daughter Eva was born in 1898 or 1899 and, therefore, was conceived out of wedlock.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} United States Census, 1910, database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 9 March 2020), Viola G Bookwalter in household of Ostin Ramsey, Clay, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 60, sheet 7B, family 90, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1349; FHL microfilm 1,375,362. This record names her Viola G., but it is obvious that Eva and Viola are the same person, because they are the same age, only Viola is shown in 1910, and Mary reports that she is the mother of four, all living and all accounted for.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1R-C8SD : 12 November 2019), Herbert G Imes and Eva G Bookwalter, 13 Sep 1916; citing Marriage, multiple County Clerks, Pennsylvania. She is 17 at the time of her marriage in 1916, which places her birth in 1898-99. Her parents marriage in August 1899, which means she was likely conceived out of wedlock. Her husband remarried before his death at age 28; he is buried with a different wife, so Eva may also be buried under a different married name.
5. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #187079735 for Herbert G. Imes.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Find A Grave: Memorial #86445626 for Verna Bookwalter Cornelious.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} United States Census, 1900, database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 1 September 2019), Household of Joseph L. Abt, Catharine Township, Blair, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 72, sheet 6A, family 94, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,381.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1967; Certificate Number 119454 for Harry Bookwalter, Range: 116571-120020 (accessed 6 March 2020. Free to view.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} United States Social Security Death Index, database, FamilySearch (20 May 2014), Keturah Lingle, Nov 1985; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3} Find A Grave: Memorial #89681362 for Keturah M. Ramsey Lingle. Her memorial includes a photograph of her headstone and an unattributed obituary.
11. ↑ Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013, database with images, FamilySearch (17 December 2019), Ketruak Ramsey in entry for Cecil E Matthews and Lyda Graham, 24 Apr 1948; citing Marriage, Mahoning, Ohio, United States, Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society, Columbus; FHL microfilm. Her son's marriage record shows her maiden name and her husband's name.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} United States Social Security Death Index, database, FamilySearch (19 May 2014), Theodore Ramsey, Dec 1985; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
13. ↑ Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950, database with images, FamilySearch (12 November 2019), Theodore Joseph Ramsey and Sylvia Mae Gutshall, 12 Sep 1929; citing Marriage, Huntingdon, Bedford, Pennsylvania, United States, multiple County Clerks, Pennsylvania.
14. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #121745385 for Theodore J Ramsey.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4} United States Census, 1920, database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 26 April 2020), Mary C Ramsey in household of Austin Ramsey, Saltillo, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, United States; citing ED 67, sheet 4A, line 11, family 80, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1564; FHL microfilm 1,821,564.
16. ↑ United States Census, 1930, database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 11 March 2020), Richard Ramsey, Greene, Franklin, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 13, sheet 2A, line 29, family , NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2042; FHL microfilm 2,341,776.
17. ↑ United States Census, 1930, database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 11 March 2020), Wilber Ramsey, Greene, Franklin, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 13, sheet 2A, line 29, family , NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2042; FHL microfilm 2,341,776.
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} Husband, wife fight to death: West Homestead home scene of dual killing, Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette, 5 March 1928, p. 1 (accessed 5 May 2021 on MyHeritage).
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1} Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 19 May 2021), memorial page for Mary Caroline Abt Faulds (6 Jun 1880–3 Mar 1928), Find A Grave: Memorial #227303161, citing Braddock Cemetery, Braddock, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by KIR (contributor 48665978).
20. ↑ Report by author's mother during a telephone conversation about 2019.