FITZGERALD Mary Catherine

Notes:

AKA: Kate

The children of William Henry and Mary Catherine (Fitzgerald)
Freeman spent their early years in the quiet town of Prescott,
surrounded by family and friends. As the economical situation
changed in Prescott, in the late 1890's, the Freeman's looked to
the large city of Montreal, Quebec, for a better life for their
children.

Montreal, Quebec sits on a foot shaped island in the St.
Lawrence River, in southern Quebec. It is one of North America's
largest inland ports. In its earlier days, Montreal was an
important fur trading center. With the building of Railways across
Canada, Montreal became more of a transportation center. During the
1890's, gas replaced coal for cooking and heating, electricity for
lights. There was an economic boom in Montreal from 1896 to 1914,
and a new middle class emerged of Clerical workers. The boom brought
stores like "Morgan, Ogilvy and Birks". There was an electric
street car for transportation within the city and Westmount and
Outemount became the homes of businessmen and merchants in lovely
brownstone houses.

Life grew easier and more comfortable for many Montrealers.
Soon cars were bumping their way over city streets and muddy graveled
roads. Between 1901 and 1911, Montreal almost doubled in population,
reaching close to half a million people.

More About MARY CATHERINE FITZGERALD:
Burial: ST Marks Cemetery, Prescott, Grenville Co., Ontario
Cause of Death: 1907 Typhoid Epidemic Montreal, Quebec

Mary married FREEMAN William Henry on 16 Jun 1884 in Prescott, Grenville Co., Ontario. William (son of FREEMAN William and MCGRATH Frances (Fanny)) was born on 14 Oct 1862 in Hemmingford, Huntingdon, Co., Quebec, Canada; died on 06 Jul 1907 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

1. Loris William, born 29 December 1885 in Prescott, Grenville
County, Ontario. He married Pearl
"Russell" Nicholson on 21 October 1922 in Montreal R.C. Cathedral,
Montreal, Quebec. They married later in life as Russell had to take
care of her elderly parents. They didn't have any children. Loris
was very kind to the children of his youngest brother, Edwin
Freeman, and they remember him often bringing sweets each Sunday
after church. Loris was a partner in "Kerrin, Egan, Freeman",
Custom Brokers in Montreal.

Loris married NICHOLSON Pearl "Russell" on 21 Oct 1922 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

2. Gertrude Mary, born 16 November 1888 in Prescott. She married
Cecil William Blatchford on14 June 1910 at St. Marks R.C. Church,
Prescott. Cecil was born about 1882 in Kingston, Ontario, the son
of William Henry Augustus Blatchford. Gertrude met Cecil in
Montreal. They lived on Prince Authur Street, near McGill
University, in Montreal. Cecil was a Controller for Bell Telephone
Company. They had 3 sons:
1. Cecil William, "Bill", born June 1911 and died in 1994 in
St.Catherines,
2. Robert Oswald, born 18 January 1913.

Gertrude married BLATCHFORD Cecil William on 14 Jun 1910 in Prescott, Grenville Co., Ontario. Cecil (son of BLATCHFORD William Henry Augustus) was born about 1882 in Kingston, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

3. Gerald Frances, born 04 October 1891 in Prescott. He married
Mary Catherine McCarney. Mary
Catherine was born about 1894 and died in Prescott about 1974.
Gerald went overseas in W.W.1 as a Sergeant with the 156th Leeds and
Grenville Battalion and was badly wounded at Passendale, France,
from Mustard Gas. After his return, Gerald worked in Montreal and
later in Prescott with his Uncle Robert George Freeman, in the
Insurance Business.

In the "History of Prescott" by John Morris, Gerald is in a
picture of the 156th from Prescott, during W.W.1 and on page 224,
he is listed as a Member of the Separate School Board, January 1956,
in Prescott.

Gerald died in 1977 and he and his wife, Mary Catherine, are
buried in St. Marks R.C. Cemetery, Prescott, in the Freeman-
Fitzgerald plot. They had 1 daughter:
1. Mary Catherine McCarney,

Family/Spouse: MCCARNEY Mary Catherine. Mary was born about 1894. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

4. Edwin Michael, our line, was born 21 September 1895 in
Prescott. He married Mary Ellenor
"Kathleen" Leacy, of Cardinal, Ontario, on 01 October 1918 at St.
Marks R.C. Church, Prescott, by Father Masterson. For their
Honeymoon, the couple went to Toronto, Ontario where Edwin became
ill with the Spanish Flue. This was an epidemic which killed 60,000
Canadians, more than all the soldiers who died in W.W.1. Edwin
survived by the loving care of his young bride, Kathleen. Kathleen
Leacy was born 16 December 1894 in Cardinal, Grenville County,
Ontario. She was the eldest child of James Waters Leacy and his wife
Margaret Ellenor Kavanaugh. After serving in the Canadian forces
from 14 November 1915 to 04 April 1919, surviving muddy , gas
filled trenches of France, Edwin came home a Captain, and was the
Adjutant at Old Fort Henry in Kingston, Ontario until the Army was
demobilized in 1919. Edwin moved his wife to Montreal where he
established himself in the business community. He became the vice-
president of Johns-Manville Company and later the President of United
Asbestos Corporation Ltd. until his retirement in 1960. Edwin and
Kathleen moved from 685 Rockland Ave., Outemount, Montreal to
Kathleen's family home in Cardinal, Ontario, to spend their
retirement along the banks of the St.Lawrence River.

Edwin was a devoted father and grandfather, known as "Pop", and
much loved by all. He died of a heart attack, at home in Cardinal,
on 01 October 1963 and was buried in the Leacy Plot in Sacred Heart
Cemetery, Cardinal, Ontario. His wife, Kathleen lived in Cardinal
until her death on 18 May 1994, almost 100 years old. She was
buried on 21 May 1994 next to her beloved husband, Edwin, and much
loved granddaughter, Jill Ann Madden. Edwin and Kathleen had 3
children.

Edwin married LEACY Mary Ellenor "Kathleen" on 01 Oct 1918 in Prescott, Grenville Co., Ontario. Mary (daughter of LEACY James Waters and KAVANAUGH Margaret Ellenor) was born on 16 Dec 1894 in Cardinal, Grenville Co., Ontario; died on 18 May 1994 in Cardinal, Grenville Co., Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]