Mary Helen (McConnelogue) Lake (1854 - 1947)

Descendants

Biography

My Great-great-grand-mother, Mary Helen McConnelogue, was born on 19May1854 near Beloit, Rock county, Wisconsin. ^[1] Her father was John McConnelogue, who was born in County Donegal, Ireland on 16June1817. Her mother was Sarah Rogers, who was born in Ireland about 1826. Mary had an older half-sister, Bridget (later known as Theresa Loretta Buckley or Retta Borden), from her father’s first marriage. Her mother, Sarah, had two sons, John M. and Daniel, and three daughters, Sarah Engel, Mary and Catherine “Kate” Sullivan. ^[1] The family lived in Wisconsin for about twenty years.^[2][3]

After two of Mary’s sisters, Annie and Kate, were married, the remaining family moved to Hardin county, Iowa when Mary was about 17 years old. Mary’s mother, Sarah, died the following year, in 1874. Her oldest brother, John M., married in 1875. Mary kept house for her father and taught school for about ten years.^[4] Everyone probably expected Mary to remain single, but she finally did marry on 16June1884^[5] to Joseph Henry Lake, son of Florentine Lake and Delilah Scott. Joe was born on 10 January 1857 in Linn County, Iowa. The couple had five children, including Harry, Frank, Alta, Florentine and John. ^[1] Harry was born in July 1884, Frank was born 23 December 1885 and Alta was born 10 January 1889. It is not known when Florentine and John were born, but neither one was living at the time of the 1900 US census, and probably died in infancy, but are mentioned in the obituaries of both Joe and Mary.

Mary’s husband, Joe, moved the family from Hardin county to Hancock county by 1895, ^[6] then to Kossuth county, Iowa by 1900.^[7] They lived in North Dakota for a short time before moving to Thayer county, Nebraska about 1902. Surely Mary was tired of moving, so she and her half-sister, Retta, came up with a plan. Retta decided to build a house on Joe and Mary’s farm and have them be the care-takers, so she could stop there on her frequent train travels across the country. The house was completed in 1906 and Retta arrived for a visit.

House that Retta built for Mary.

She was so unimpressed with either the house, its location or her brother-in-law, Joe, or possibly all three, that she vowed never to return and gave Mary the house key. She arranged to have the deed to the house put in her sister Mary’s name. So Mary got her wish and never had to move again^{[8][9][10][11]} because she would never part with the gift from her sister. ^[12].

Mary lost two grandsons in World War II. Frank’s youngest son, Wallace Wayne Lake, was a pilot in the Army Air Corps and his plane was shot down in China in 1944. Alta’s oldest son, Marshal Herrick, was a bombardier in the Army Air Corps and his plane was shot down over the North Sea between Great Britain and Germany in 1943. ^[1]

In her later years, she suffered from anemia. Her great-grandson, Ken remembers that in those days, iron rich foods, especially liver, were used to treat anemia. She would only eat chicken liver, but that was not available from the grocery store and was only seasonally available otherwise, in the Fall. My uncle Mirza Joe had a knack for cooking calf liver and carving it into pieces that resembled chicken liver, thereby encouraging Mary into eating it, thinking it was chicken. One time my folks were visiting Joe & Grace in Hebron. It was early summer, probably June, and I was allowed to go with uncle Joe to feed Mary her liver. When we arrived, she was fully dressed and lying on a cot in the kitchen, where she spent much of her time. She got up unaided and looked at me questioningly until she was told who I was and immediately knew where I fit in and said, "We held you when you were nine months old." Standing there, we seemed to be about the same height, but she was very much more slender. We sat at the table and uncle Joe encouraged her to eat, giving her a bite, talked some more, then another bite. She sputtered that she felt full, but was shown there wasn't much left. His talk seemed to charm her into another bite until all was eaten and so we left. On 23 August 1947 she died."

Mary died on 23 August 1947 at Hebron, Nebraska. She was buried beside her husband, Joe who had died in 1942, at Rose Hill Cemetery, about a mile north of Hebron. Other family laid to rest in the same cemetery are her son, Frank, his wife, Nell, and her grandsons, Wallace Lake and Gene Lake and wife, Irene. ^[13] Mirza Joe was buried with his wife's kin in Nelson, Nebraska.

Note that there are many different spellings of McConneloug, such as McConnelong, McConnelogue, as well as phonetic variations from verbal renumerations, transcriptions from handwritten records, and other sources. These are not considered errors which need to be corrected, and most descendants should recognize variations were frequent and inevitable. Sources below have kept the indexed spelling. Biography above is purposely inconsistent because sources are inconsistent. Surname of profiles here on WikiTree have consistently used the spelling McConnelogue to affirm relationship, but this spelling may have only been the variation that one branch of the family in Nebraska, from which the author and manager of these profiles descended, frequently used. (Note by Steve Lake on 6Nov2019.)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} FamilySearch.org [1] "Mary's obituary"
2. ↑ FamilySearch.org. [2], 1860 US Census.
3. ↑ FamilySearch.org, [3], 1870 US Census.
4. ↑ FamilySearch.org, [4], 1880 US Census.
5. ↑ FamilySearch.org, [5], Iowa Marriages.
6. ↑ FamilySearch.org, [6], 1895 Nebraska State Census.
7. ↑ FamilySearch.org, [7], 1900 US Census.
8. ↑ FamilySearch.org, [8], 1910 US Census.
9. ↑ FamilySearch.org, [9], 1920 US Census.
10. ↑ FamilySearch.org, [10], 1930 US Census.
11. ↑ FamilySearch.org, [11], 1940 US Census.
12. ↑ Family history as remembered by Steve Lake
13. ↑ Find-a-Grave.com, [12], Burial place with family members.

• Mary Mc Conelong in household of John Mc Conelong, "United States Census, 1860"

"United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MW9X-BJ5 : accessed 1 May 2016), Mary Mc Conelong in entry for John Mc Conelong, 1860.

• Mary Mcconnelogne in household of John Mcconnelogne, "United States Census, 1870"

"United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MNSW-M5R : accessed 1 May 2016), Mary Mcconnelogne in household of John Mcconnelogne, Wisconsin, United States; citing p. 9, family 65, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 553,235.

• Mary Mcconnelong in household of Clark C Glidden, "United States Census, 1880"

"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MD2N-TMJ : accessed 1 May 2016), Mary Mcconnelong in household of Clark C Glidden, Tipton, Hardin, Iowa, United States; citing enumeration district ED 125, sheet 474A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0343; FHL microfilm 1,254,343.

• Mary Mcconnelogue, "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934"

"Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XJVP-JHT : accessed 1 May 2016), J H Lake and Mary Mcconnelogue, 1884.

• Mary Lake in household of Joseph Lake, "Iowa State Census, 1885"

"Iowa State Census, 1885," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/HZKD-Q3Z : accessed 1 May 2016), Mary Lake in household of Joseph Lake, Ellis, Hardin, Iowa; citing p. 19, 1885, State Historical Society, Des Moines; FHL microfilm 1,021,474.

• Mary H Lake in household of Joseph H Lake, "Iowa State Census, 1895"

"Iowa State Census, 1895," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VT37-HJ2 : accessed 1 May 2016), Mary H Lake in household of Joseph H Lake, Hancock, Iowa, United States; citing p. 397, 1895, State Historical Society, Des Moines; FHL microfilm 1,020,358.

• Mary Lake in household of Joseph Lake, "United States Census, 1900"

"United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M92N-QRQ : accessed 1 May 2016), Mary Lake in household of Joseph Lake, Buffalo & German Townships Titonka town, Kossuth, Iowa, United States; citing sheet 12A, family 26, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,240,441.

• Mary H Lake in household of Joseph H Lake, "United States Census, 1910"

"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MLHH-MLB : accessed 1 May 2016), Mary H Lake in household of Joseph H Lake, Hebron, Thayer, Nebraska, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 186, sheet 8A, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,374,869.

• Mary Lake in household of Joe Lake, "United States Census, 1920"

"United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MC2S-LLF : accessed 1 May 2016), Mary Lake in household of Joe Lake, Hebron, Thayer, Nebraska, United States; citing sheet 3A, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,821,002.

• Mary H Lake in household of Joseph Lake, "United States Census, 1930"

"United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XQ2N-GWY : accessed 1 May 2016), Mary H Lake in entry for Joseph Lake, 1930.

• Mary Lake in household of Joseph H Lake, "United States Census, 1940"

"United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K9MY-LJ6 : accessed 1 May 2016), Mary Lake in household of Joseph H Lake, Hebron Election Precinct, Thayer, Nebraska, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 85-22, sheet 1B, family 18, NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 2266.

• Mary Helen Lake, "Find A Grave Index"

"Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVGQ-BCLD : accessed 1 May 2016), Mary Helen Lake, 1947; Burial, Hebron, Thayer, Nebraska, United States of America, Rose Hill Cemetery; citing record ID 110230411, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.