Hilda Marie (Spencer) Coskey (1905 - 1978)

Born 10 Nov 1905 in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada

Ancestors

Died 12 Jan 1978 at age 72 in Westbank, Central Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada

Biography

Hilda Spencer was born on November 10, 1905 in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Her parents were Benjamin Spencer and Nannie Wessells.

Hilda married Edward William Coskey (abt.1909-1992) in the late 1920's (estimated by age of herself and her daughter). Her husband's obituary reads, in part: "Edward William Coskey passed away suddenly on Nov 7, 1992 ... survived by wife Gwen ... predeceased by a daughter Shirley (1958) [and] his first wife Hilda (1978) ..." ^[1]

She and Ed had three children during the time they lived in Drumheller, AB, and then Coutts, AB: Keith Edward Coskey (1929-2010) (b 25May1929, Drumheller, AB) Shirley Jean Marie Coskey (1930-1958) (b.25Nov1930, Coutts, AB), and Kenneth Coskey (b.19Nov1932, Coutts, AB).

They resided in Coutts in 1940, and a border crossing record shows the family at that time, on their way to a show in Sweetgrass, Montana ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Their daughter died young, in 1958^[5], at about 27 years old. It's never good to outlive your children.

Hilda and Edward divorced at some point, and it doesn't appear that she remarried^[6]. Edward William Coskey did, though; he had a spouse (Gwendolyn Kitty (Short) Coskey (abt.1916-abt.2010)) whom he married in 1974 (according to her WT profile - she would have been ~55 years of age), this would have been when Hilda was ~70 years old, and only a few years before her death in 1978.

She died on January 12, 1978 in Westbank, British Columbia at the age of 72. ^[7] She was buried in a plot with her daughter and son-in-law.^[8]

Research Notes

Hilda is named in a death register ^[9] as the mother of Shirley Jean Marie Turner, and hence (Hilda is) the spouse of Edward William Coskey. WikiTree has listed an "Ed Coskey" Ed Coskey (-abt.2005), he was from Alberta.

Hilda shows as 'divorced' on the death record^[10], and the record, which has the same birth and death dates as our Hilda, uses the name 'Hilda Marie Spencer or Coskey', so at the time of her death in 1978 she was divorced, likely from Ed Coskey.

Indeed, more evidence to the Coskey connection is that our Hilda is buried in Queen's Park Cemetery, in a plot (with her suspected spouse Edward Coskey, daughter Shirley Jean Marie Turner, and (presumably her son-in-law) Donald Turner)^[11][12], in addition to her brother Kenneth and his wife Kathleen^[13]

Okay, confirmed. Hilda was the first wife of Ed Coskey, who's obituary reads, in part: "Edward William Coskey passed away suddenly on Nov 7, 1992 ... survived by wife Gwen ... predeceased by a daughter Shirley (1958) [and] his first wife Hilda (1978) ..." Calgary Herald, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, pub date 09 Nov 1992, Mon • Page 18

Hilda and Ed's family may be bigger than I expected: There is a boy Keith b.1929, and a boy Kenneth named in Edward's obit, and Edward was not wed to his second wife until 1974, well after all the children were adults. Their suspected son Keith's obit mentions his brother Ken, and being predeceased by a sister Shirley^[14]

There is a wealth of information in the Montana Manifest, from image 1830 to 1855, showing Coskey family members visiting Sweetwater, Montana.

Sources

1. ↑ Calgary Herald, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, pub date 09 Nov 1992, Mon • Page 18
2. ↑ "Montana Manifests of Immigrant Arrivals and Departures, 1923-1956," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSV5-L9BY-T?cc=2479258 : 14 April 2020), > image 1 of 1; citing NARA microfilm publication A3447 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2007).
3. ↑ "Montana Manifests of Immigrant Arrivals and Departures, 1923-1956," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSV5-L9PD-V?cc=2479258 : 14 April 2020), > image 1 of 1; citing NARA microfilm publication A3447 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2007).
4. ↑ "Montana Manifests of Immigrant Arrivals and Departures, 1923-1956," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSV5-L91M-J?cc=2479258 : 14 April 2020), > image 1 of 1; citing NARA microfilm publication A3447 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2007).
5. ↑ "Canada, British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLRM-7Q1 : 8 November 2017), Shirley Jean Marie Turner, 1958.
6. ↑ "Canada, British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL1W-L7N : 8 November 2017), Edward William Coskey in entry for Hilda Marie Spencer Or Coskey, 1978.
7. ↑ "British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL1W-L7X : 8 November 2017), Hilda Marie Spencer Or Coskey, 1978.
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/146424552/shirley-jean_marie-turner : accessed 25 August 2021), memorial page for Shirley Jean Marie Turner (1930–1958), Find a Grave Memorial ID 146424552, citing Queens Park Cemetery and Mausoleum, Calgary, Calgary Census Division, Alberta, Canada ; Maintained by Team Beanclay (contributor 48560887) .
9. ↑ Canada, British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993
10. ↑ "Canada, British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL1W-L7N : 8 November 2017), Edward William Coskey in entry for Hilda Marie Spencer Or Coskey, 1978.
11. ↑ https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2018/309/146424552_1708c8b6-1b56-45b7-baf4-e33e8e2066d8.jpeg
12. ↑ "http://www.interment.net/data/canada/al/calgary/queens-park/surnames-t.htm". Queen's Park Cemetery City of Calgary Burial Records. Accessed 28 July, 2021
13. ↑ "http://www.interment.net/data/canada/al/calgary/queens-park/surnames-c.htm". Queen's Park Cemetery City of Calgary Burial Records. Accessed 28 July, 2021
14. ↑ obituary, Published in Toronto Star on Apr. 4, 2010. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestar/obituary.aspx?n=keith-edward-coskey&pid=141413498

See also:

• "Montana Manifests of Immigrant Arrivals and Departures, 1923-1956," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSV5-L9J3-J?cc=2479258 : 14 April 2020), > image 1 of 1; citing NARA microfilm publication A3447 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2007).
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155740532/hilda-marie_spencer-coskey : accessed 12 October 2021), memorial page for Hilda Marie Spencer Coskey (unknown–1978), Find a Grave Memorial ID 155740532, citing Queens Park Cemetery and Mausoleum, Calgary, Calgary Census Division, Alberta, Canada ; Maintained by jaynetty (contributor 46830617) .