1916: Timothy & Mary Etta Caulfield, Ohio.
On April 3, 1916, Timothy and Mary Etta Caulfield marked their 50th anniversary. The day began as befitting the occasion with High Mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Dayton, celebrated by pastor, Rev. Father William Hickey.
Timothy Caulfield, after the death of his father, emigrated to the United States around 1860 from Ballymalone, Co. Clare. He settled in Dayton, Ohio and farmed, just as he and his father had done in Ireland. About 1866, he married Mary Etta Walsh who had been born in Holyoke, Massachusetts. while Timothy tended the farm, Mary Etta was responsible for the home and for rearing their 11 children: Thomas Francis, John Edward, Mary Ellen, Celia Gertrude, Agnes Bertha, Clara Estella, Catherine Etta, Alicia Leonard, Ann Josephine, Margaret Emma and Leo Timothy. Not to neglect the accomplishments of their three sons, but Timothy and Mary Etta’s daughters were all very accomplished which is notable for the time. The girls’ education and self-sufficiency must be credited to the encouragement of their parents. Both Gertrude and Agnes worked for Governor Cox of Ohio; Gertrude as a reporter, Agnes as his housekeeper. Gertrude was a modern and independent woman and a bit of a maverick. Agnes owned the Dinner Bell Restaurant in Dayton and also worked as a cook at the Detroit Athletic Club. Mary Ellen entered the Sisters of Charity as Sister Agnes Josephine and spent her years as a nurse. Ann and Etta also were nurses, and Etta taught elementary school as well. Alicia was a librarian.
Timothy and Mary Etta are remembered as a loving couple who were cheerful and merry, thrifty but generous. They were not wealthy by any measure; however, they were blessed with an abundance of love, faith and morality which they passed along to their children. ♦
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