Name: Fanny Laurent
Born: 25 Dec 1848
Place: Belgium
Died: 6 Oct 1923
Place: Santa Clara Co., CA
Buried: 8 Oct 1923
Place: Masonic Cemetery, Decoto, California
The year of death on Fanny's death certificate (1837) is clearly
wrong--by about 10 years--otherwise, she'd have been about 53 when her last
child was born in 1890. That's not impossible, but it is unlikely. Her age
is stated inconsistently on the five federal census readings I have for her,
but she is generally stated to have been 7 to 10 years younger than the
certificate would lead us to believe. What's remarkable is that her husband
and companion for 56 years was the informant at her death.
Fanny's death record also states that she was buried at the Masonic
cemetery in Decoto, California. Decoto has since been incorporated into
Union City. The cemetery is said to now be part of Chapel of the Chimes
Memorial Park on Mission Blvd in Hayward, California. However, when
visiting there in 2007, I could find no record of Fanney and her
husband.
Hand- and typewritten notes sent to my father from relatives in the 1970s
state that Fanny's name was Marguerite. Until just recently, I have accepted
that as fact. However, Belgian/Wisconsin researcher, Ron Flemal, tells me
that Fanny was a very commom Belgian nickname for Stephanie. To date, I have
not seen her referred to in any primary records as anything other than
Fanny. (The 1870 census recorded her as "Fanny D" Stewart. I must say,
though, that the D doesn't look like any other D on the page.)
Fanny is my father's earliest identified matrilineal ancestor.
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