Where was Mary (aka Mame) Dowd Angley Born?

By – Don Taylor

I was doing some research for a genetic cousin attempting to find a common ancestor. My goal was to determine Mary Dowd’s mother’s surname. It was frustrating because it kept appearing like her husband, Michael Angley, was married several times to multiple wives all named Mary. It took quite a bit of research to prove to myself that Michael was only married once and that his “wives,” Mame Doud, Mamie Doude, and Mary Dabb, were the same person. The birth date changed from record to record, something that I’ve come to accept, but her birthplace changed several times and even her parents’ birthplaces changed occasionally. That is problematic and I thought, for sure, there were two different people. I thought the key was in the family relationships and following all of the children, the results of which I found frustrating as well. I knew I had to chart her places of birth to understand the picture of what was going on.

When I started, I knew very little about Mary Dowd. She was born about 1874 in Pennsylvania. She was married to Michael Angley who was born about 1870 in Connecticut. They had a child Charles, born March 4, 1896 in Pringle, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, and the family was living in Pringle in 1910.

First, I looked closely at the census records. I found the family in the 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses. Then I got concerned. The 1910 Census indicated Mary was born in PA, but the 1920 and 1930 Censuses indicated she was born in New Jersey[1] [2]. Oh my. My initial thought was that there were two Mary Angleys – One born in PA and the other in NJ. I then found their marriage registration entry and became even more confused. It said her name was Mame Doud, her birthday was the same as her husband’s, 21 Feb 1873, and both were born in New Jersey and they were married 24 Apr 1895.

I thought, maybe if I follow the children I’d see there were actually two mothers.

Following the Census records I found there were 12 children. Two died young (before the 1910 Census). That left 10 children to follow and I thought their Marriage records would be a great help. Family Search is excellent for that. Because I knew the family lived in Luzerne County, PA for many years, I searched Luzerne County for any marriages involving Angley. I found the following

CROP of Mary (Dowd) Angley’s Death Certificate Source: Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963,  Via Ancestry.com

Bio – Mary Dowd Angley (1873-1940)