Eva Helen (Lapanne) Kelley (1895 - 1957)

Born 3 Dec 1895 in Holyoke, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States (Or VT) ??

Ancestors

Wife of Leo Vernard Kelley — married 30 Dec 1913 in Cambridge, Lamoille, VT, USA

Descendants

Died 19 Aug 1957 at age 61 in Bellows Falls, VT, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Amber Kelley [send private message]

Biography

Eva Mary Lapan Kelley was very close with her sister Laura Lapan Hoag. There are many pictures of them together according to Donald Lapan Kelley.

Eva did not know when her birthday was and was never successful at obtaining a copy of her birth certificate. Donald L Kelley believes that they celebrated it on November 3 each year. According to Donald, Eva was 7 years younger than her husband Leo Vernard Kelley. Since Leo Vernard Kelley was born in 1890, he speculated Eva was born around 1897. Donald Lapan Kelley's Birth certificate lists his mother's age as 31 (in 1928), but her marriage record indicates she was 18 on 12/13/1913 and Leo Homer Kelley's birth record in 1917 support a birth year of 1895.

According to her VT marriage (bride) card for 1913, Eva M Lapan & her parents were all born in VT. According to Leo Homer Kelley's birth certificate Eva Lapan was born in Holyoke, Mass. She lived in Cambridge, VT according to a letter 6/24/1980 to grandson David Kelley from her dau Catherine Kelley Schimmel.

Note that Leo V. Kelly is spelled without the 2nd e in Kelley on Leo Homer's birth certificate. This may have been a misspelling on the official document as all the Kelley's in this branch spell it with the second e except for Leo Homer who was requested to officially change his name to Kelly by the US govt due to all the records being listed as Kelly.

Marriage record found in VT Vital Records 1907-1941 Middlesex, VT on 10/1/1992 indicates she was 18.

Also note that Ellen (Langlois) and Jacob Lapan had a male child (Unnamed but probably was Samuel) on 4/23/1898 thus it would have been impossible for Eva Mary Lapan to be born Nov 3 1897. Eva's mother Ellen (Langlois) Lapan died 11/03/1899 of metral r--- (child birth?) thus her birthdate could be Nov 3 1899 but this would put her at only 14 when married. (Of course she could have stretched her age at the time of marriage). However, Eva Mary thought her birth place was Holyoke, MA thus she could not have been born on same day her mother died in St. Albans. Need more facts as this could go either way. However I will change birth date to 1895 making her 18 in 1913 when she married. This would also be in line with parents being in Worcester MA in 1893 when Laura was born. Possibly Eva remembered the date of NOV 3 because it was significant in her young life (@e 3, her mother's death) and assumed it was her birthdate?

9/21/2017 Update: My recent research has led me to believe Eva Mary Lapan Kelley was of the indigenous people of the VT/Canada Mississquoi region (aka Abenaki). Abenaki are now known to have survived by assimilating into the existing dominant white culture. They migrated throughout the region in which she lived, worked as laborers, converted to Catholicism and adopted French surnames as their baptismal/ Christian names as survival tactics. Geographical borders created by the immigrating white settlers were less meaningful to the indigenous peoples and birth records such as place & date are often reported inconsistently in documents because they were not recognized or non-existent in their culture. To date, no birth record for Eva Lapan has been discovered in VT, Massachusetts, or Canada. Also, Lapan (father's surname) & Langlois (mother's surname) are recognized Abenaki surnames as recorded by John Moody (nationally recognized Abenaki researcher/genealogist). Currently there are documented Abenaki elders & leaders in the same areas of VT with the Lapan surname. There are also artifacts from the Lapan Abenaki families who were recognized for their basket weaving and chair weaving throughout this area of VT. The Mississquoi Abenaki were recognized by the state of VT in 2012 as an indigenous tribe. I will need to research further to determine if my hypothesis regarding Eva Mary Lapan Kelley (and her ancestors) is supported.

10/02/2017 Udate: Birth record discovered for 3 Dec 1895 Eva HELEN LAPANNE with parents Jacob LAPANNE & Ellen LANGLOIS (line 1571 in uploaded record). It appears with Eva's mother's passing in Nov 1899 just before Eva's 4th birthday that these facts were lost to Eva (her correct birth name, DOB, location, etc.). Eva and her siblings lived with a paternal aunt (Catherine Lapan aka "Kate" Tessier) & her husband in MA during Eva's adolescent years until she married Leo Vernard Kelley @e 18. The photo of Eva Lapan as a young woman was taken for a New Year's postcard to her father, Jacob Lapan, around 1910 (about age 15) and included a handwritten note to him on the back. I photocopied the front of the card during one of my visits in 1992 with her son Donald Lapan Kelley. In regard to association with the indigenous peoples of the area, research has connected the family with Algonquin in the 1600s in Canada. Further research needed regarding connection with Abenaki peoples of the VT/ Mississquoi area.

Died 8/19/1957, buried 8/24/1957 Oak Hill Cemetery, Bellows Falls, VT

Sources

• 1957
• 1942 VT WWII Draft Registration Card for Leo V Kelley
• 1940 VT Census, Windham Co., Rockingham, Bellows Falls Township
• 1930 VT Census, Windham Co., Rockingham, Bellows Falls Townships
• 1928 VT Birth Record for Donald Lapan Kelley
• 1920 VT Census, Windham Co., Rockingham, Bellows Falls Township
• 1917 VT WWI Draft Registration Card for Leo V Kelley
• 1917 VT Birth Record for Leo Homer Kelley
• 1913 VT Marriage Record for Leo V Kelley & Eva Lapan
• 1910 VT Census, Lamiolle Co., Cambridge, sheet 13-B (lines 77-84)
• 1895 MA, Holyoke birth registry, line 1571