Fred & Maude Married May 29, 1950

One thing that's been on my mind lately is when my great-grandparents, Fred McRae and Maude Monroe, got married. 


Since Fred was a native and lifelong resident of Brockton, Massachusetts and Maude had grown up in that city for most of her life, I always assumed that's the city they married in. But I never called or went to the Brockton City Clerk's office to confirm it because they had created a search fee a few years ago where they charge you in order for them to search their records. And whether or not a record was found, they kept the search fee. I didn't want to go there, pay them money to search for a record, only to find out it's not there and lose my money for nothing. Plus, even if they did find the record, it costs $20 for a certified copy. (Years ago, it used to only cost $5). 


But today, I decided to take a chance and call them, hoping I would get someone who was pleasant and helpful or at least sympathetic. I called, asked how much a copy of a record costs (sadly, it's still $20), and then asked if she could confirm if the marriage record was there. I could tell she was hesitant at first but she eventually did. I gave her the names and date, she put me on hold, and then came back after a couple minutes and told me that the record was indeed there! 


She told me that Fred and Maude were married on May 29, 1920 in Brockton, Massachusetts. After getting over my excitement at having the date, I looked at it for a moment and remembered that Maude was born in July of 1902. I realized that Maude was seventeen when she married (and Fred would have twenty-eight as he was born on May 10, 1892). This was interesting as one of my assumptions about the marriage has always been that Maude was eighteen when it took place.


The year of marriage being 1920 is very helpful to me because now, instead of having to spend $20 on a copy of the marriage record at the Brockton City Clerk's office, I should be able to get a copy for 50¢ at the Massachusetts State Archives. 


So now that I have a marriage year, I must, besides get a copy of the actual marriage record, return to Brockton Public Library at some point soon to see if anything was published in the local newspaper regarding the marriage.

Motivation Monday - Follow Up Visits to Pine Hill Cemetery and Brockton

There were two things I planned to do today - visit Pine Hill Cemetery in West Bridgewater and Brockton Public Library, 


I've been wanting to visit Pine Hill Cemetery for the past couple weeks after discovering that there are a few more family members of mine buried there. Once I got there, I spoke with a woman at the cemetery office who gave me the section and plot numbers of the graves I was looking for along with a free map of the cemetery. After this, I was able to find the graves I was looking for quite easily. However, these past few days, Massachusetts has received quite a few inches of snow. And although it didn't snow today, the clouds in the sky combined with the snow left on the ground did make it difficult to get decent pictures. So I need to go back at some point when the sun is out and take new photos. 


One surprising thing that happened while at the cemetery was that I located the grave of John A. McRae. John was the son of Walter L. McRae and Laura Belle Spaulding. I knew John had died before Walter (Walter died in 1966; John is not listed as a survivor in his obituary). I called Pine Hill Cemetery the other week and asked if John happened to be buried there. They checked and told me he wasn't. And that was that.


So today, as the woman was going through the files, she pulled out the card that listed all the McRae's buried in Pine Hill. I glanced at it and noticed Walter's name, Laura's name, and two others. One was a female named Gracie whom I have never heard of. And the other was of a John Alton McRae. Curious, I asked her if John was buried with Walter and Laura. She looked it over and told me he was! So much for him not being buried there. . . 


Following my trip to the cemetery, I went to Brockton Public Library so that I could search through some newspaper articles and look through the Brockton Poll Taxes once more. On my top list of priorities was finding John's obituary (I now had a death date), the obituary of his niece, Cheryl Scibetta, and some "In This City" articles (articles that tell of the activities of Brockton residents). 


But when I got there, I started out looking through the poll taxes and got so wrapped up in them that I didn't have time to find search through the newspapers. 


I have been trying to figure out more about the marriage between my great-grandparents, Fred J. McRae and Maude Monroe, and when my great-grandmother would have been committed. I had a breakthrough today thanks to the poll taxes. 


I found out that in 1923, my great-grandparents, Fred McRae and Maude Monroe, were living at 136 Myrtle Street, Brockton, Massachusetts. But in the 1924 Poll Taxes, Maude disappeared. She was no longer living with Fred and wasn't listed as living with her parents either so I can only guess that some time between 1923 and 1924, she was committed. Maude shows up again in the Poll Taxes for 1940. It lists her living with her parents and half-brother and her occupation is listed as "At Home". It said she had been living with them in 1939 too but she didn't actually appear in the 1939 Poll Taxes. So based on evidence, Maude was released between 1939 and 1940, meaning she was institutionalized for about sixteen years. 


I also discovered that Maude's father, Harvey, was a restaurant proprietor. I'm not sure how long the restaurant lasted but I'm very interested in finding more information about it (such as a name, for starters). 


The other thing I'm interested in finding more about is the death place of my great-great grandfather, James R. McRae. His death certificate (he died in Brockton on March 5, 1910) lists his death place as "City Farm". When I first read it, I simply assumed it meant he owned a farm in the city. But I've heard recently that a city farm was a type of jail for people with debts and such. I want to look more into it and figure out what exactly a city farm was and why James would have been in it.

Sunday's Obituary - "Maude M. McCrae, 86, resident of Brockton"

On November 9, 1988, my great-grandmother, Maude M. (Monroe) McRae, passed away. 

Born in 1902, Maude was originally from Nova Scotia and arrived here with her family in the early part of the 20th century. She made her home in Brockton, Mass and was a lifelong resident of the city. She married Frederick J. McRae, a man ten years her senior, in the early 1920's and gave birth to their only child together, Clayton Frederick McRae, on June 9, 1921. 

At some point after that, Maude went insane. In one instance, Maude was found selling pencils on the side of a street. Maude ended up being committed and remained so for the rest of her life. By the time Maude died in 1988, both Clayton and Fred were dead (Clayton in 1982; Fred in 1951). 

Following her death, a funeral service was held at South Easton Cemetery on November 22. 

As well as being survived by a sister and several nieces and nephews, Maude was also survived by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Monday, Nov. 21, 1988 , The Enterprise - Page 15

Tombstone Tuesday - Monroe's in South Easton Cemetery

For many years, I had been searching for the grave of my great-grandmother, Maude M. McRae. All I knew about her was that she had passed away in November of 1988  in Brockton, Mass after being institutionalized for many years. I didn't have her obituary to tell me where she was buried nor did any family member know. 

So imagine my luck and surprise when I went to South Easton Cemetery on August 4th, to retake some pictures of another grave as well as search for a couple others, and stumbled upon this! I was shocked and incredibly pleased. And I was even more pleased when I saw that she was buried with her parents! 

I've always said that I usually stumble across the most important things I need by accident. And that day was proof!