Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Louisa (May) Greeley (d. 1828) - 52 Ancestors #29

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is Musical: There seems to be a musician in every family. Who is the one in yours?

There are many musical members of my extended family, though very little is documented earlier than me (see if you can find me in the photograph at Dedham Choral Society's website) or my mother. As noted in my post about my 4th great grandfather, Joseph May, his was a musical family. His daughter, Louisa May, likely enjoyed music during her short life.

Louisa was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Joseph May and Dorothy Sewall, born in Boston on December 31, 1792. She was baptized at King's Chapel, Boston, on March 22, 1793. At not quite 21 years old, she married Samuel Greele, as his second wife, in Boston on October 19, 1823:

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, Boston Marriages (image 4974 of 60705)

Samuel Greele  +  Louisa May, married by
                                                Rev. James Freeman, D.D.  19 Octr. 1823

Her two children, both born in Boston, were Samuel Sewall Greeley, born October 11, 1824, and Louisa May Greeley, born January 1, 1827. Sadly, these two children likely had no memories of their mother, as she died on November 14, 1828, of "Bilious Fever."

As I previously shared, the first three of Samuel Greele's wives all died in Boston and are recorded in death records there. Louisa's last name is recorded as Greeley in the following record, also from Ancestry.com's Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988:




If the name Louisa May seems familiar, note that four years after her death, her youngest sister, Abigail (May) Alcott, gave birth to Louisa May Alcott, my first cousin five times removed, whom I wrote about here.

I descend from Louisa May as follows:
Louisa May
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My mother
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Me

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