Schumacher - Donahue Connection

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

The following are my findings on why I believe William Schumacher was married to Edna Donahue/Freisen Schumacher and listed them as such.

While updating William Schumacher I came across two Find A Grave Memorials in Family Search that appear to be duplicates for him.

I believe that Memorials for William Schumacher (1905-1999) Find A Grave: Memorial #86440837 and Find A Grave: Memorial #97937348 are for the same person.

• Find A Grave: Memorial #86440837 has the correct birth, death and associated family data, but is possibly located in the wrong cemetery. It lists Saint Marys Cemetery, Hermitage, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, USA for his burial. This cemetery had many of his family buried there. The photo of a grave marker attributed to him is his father's and not his.
• Find A Grave: Memorial #97937348 has I believe the correct Cemetery, but no data except birth and death years. It lists Saint Elizabeths Cemetery, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, USA for his burial. This Memorial has as Spouse Edna M Schumacher Find A Grave: Memorial #97937305. The photo of the marker correlates this.

William was married to Iona Bryan (1898-1956) Find A Grave: Memorial #154561654 She passed away in 1956. She is not listed in either of the above Memorials and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery Sharon, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Why isn't he buried with her?

Edna Donahue/Freisen Schumacher (1907-1995) Find A Grave: Memorial #97937305 was married ^[1] to George Freisen (1901-1956) Find A Grave: Memorial #146930590 who also passed away in 1956. The grave marker for George has a blank area that is normally reserved for a spouse who was living at the time of his burial. Again here, why doesn't she occupy this space? More on this below.

While I don't have a marriage record for William and Edna, using City Records from Ancestry I believe I can connect them. Records show an Edna Freisen living at 58 Jefferson av Sharon, Pennsylvania, USA in 1956.^[2] A record for William in 1956 shows him living at 606 Service av Residence Place: Sharon, Pennsylvania, USA^[3], an address he shared with 1st Wife Iona in 1949. ^[4]

Then a record for 1957 shows William living at the 58 Jefferson av Sharon, Pennsylvania, USA address with an Edna Schumacher.^[5] A later record shows an Edna Schumacher born in 1907 living at this same address^[6] as well as one for William.^[7]

I believe Find A Grave: Memorial #86440837 was created from records other than a death certificate and the Cemetery registered is where his parents are buried, a logical possibility The original creator of the Memorial no longer manages it. I believe it needs to be merged with Find A Grave: Memorial #97937348 to create a single Memorial for William so Iona can be added as his spouse as well.

Also, Edna has a 2nd memorial, Edna Feisen (1907- ) Find A Grave: Memorial #146930121 that was created from a Mercer County Historical Society tombstone review performed in 1985. I have a feeling this was a from cemetery record, hence the blank area on George's marker, and not an actual tombstone when the Society made this notation from and needs to be merged with Edna Schumacher Find A Grave: Memorial #97937305. No fault to the memorial creator here.

I will be contacting the Memorial Managers with my findings.

Any questions, please message me through LJ Russell.

Sources

1. ↑ West Virginia, Marriages Index, 1785-1971. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. "West Virginia Marriages, 1853–1970." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2008, 2009. Digital images of originals housed in County Courthouses in various counties throughout West Virginia. Marriage records. Ancestry Record 2538 #11484714 Data= Edna Donahue Gender: Female Spouse's name: George S Freisen Spouse Gender: Male Marriage Date: 1936 Marriage Place: Brooke, West Virginia, United States
2. ↑ U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Ancestry Record 2469 #194421046 Data= Edna M Freisen Residence Year: 1956 Street address: 58 Jefferson av Residence Place: Sharon, Pennsylvania, USA Publication Title: Sharon, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1956
3. ↑ U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Ancestry Record 2469 #194439422 Data= William J Schumacher Residence Year: 1956 Street address: 606 Service av Residence Place: Sharon, Pennsylvania, USA Occupation: Mill Worker Publication Title: Sharon, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1956
4. ↑ U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Ancestry Record 2469 #155324635 Data= William Schumacher Gender: Male Residence Year: 1949 Street address: 606 Service av Residence Place: Sharon, Pennsylvania, USA Occupation: Steel Worker Spouse: Iona O Schumacher Publication Title: Sharon, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1949
5. ↑ U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Ancestry Record 2469 #194684813 Data= William J Schumacher Gender: Male Residence Year: 1957 Street address: 58 Jefferson av Residence Place: Sharon, Pennsylvania, USA Occupation: Mill Worker Spouse: Edna M Schumacher Publication Title: Sharon, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1957
6. ↑ U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Ancestry Record 1788 #315207882 Data= Edna Schumacher Birth Date: 11 Dec 1907 Phone Number: 342-7060 Address: 58 Jefferson Ave, Sharon, PA, 16146-3352 (1986)
7. ↑ City: Sharon; State: Pennsylvania; Year(s): 1993-1996. U.S. Phone and Address Directories, 1993-2002. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. 1993-2002 White Pages. Little Rock, AR, USA: Acxiom Corporation. Ancestry Record 7339 #220186804 Data= William J Schumacher Gender: Male Residence Years: 1993-1996 Address: 58 Jefferson Ave Residence Place: Sharon, Pennsylvania, USA Zip Code: 16146-3352