When you're named after your NPE ~ Nellie May Cannon

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 23 (NAMESAKE)

My great grandmother Nellie May Cannon was named after her paternal grandmother & aunt who were both named Ellen, but known as Nellie. Nellie's father was John Rodger (known as Jack/Jake) Cannon. Her mother was Edith May Lake. Nellie was named after her father's mother and sister and shared a middle name with her mother. 

What a nice family story. 

Nellie with 5 of her grandchildren

This is only a story. 

The truth is far more complicated.

I had originally done my Ancestry DNA to research a mystery on my paternal family line. At the beginning of my research journey I was unaware that there were so many other mysteries in my tree. When my results first came back I was surprised to see that I had almost no Irish. I was very surprised that I had no Irish because I knew that Jack Cannon's parents were born in Ireland. It seemed to me that if my X2 great grandfather was Irish I should have some Irish in my DNA results. I was left wondering if it was okay for me to wear the KISS ME I'M IRISH pin, or if I was now solidly in the realm of cultural appropriation. I didn't dwell on that too long as I was busy researching other things. 

It wasn't long after I uploaded my result to GedMatch that I was contacted by a brother and sister research team who asked me about my family tree. They had noticed that I matched quite a bit of their tree, but had no in common folks in my tree. I gave them permission to look at my results & tree. 

My crash course in genetic genealogy began that day.

Nellie with my brother and I (her great grandchildren) 

They studied my results in relation to their results. They cross-matched with the dna matches they had in their tree who intersected with my dna matches. They then looked at where that intersection appeared to be, and deduced that Nellie May Cannon was the result of a NPE ** (non-paternal event). They then looked at who in their tree may  have had opportunity, and then cross-referenced how much DNA I had in common with the results. The working hypothesis was that, John Lamb, a coworker of Jack Cannon's who lived not too far from Jack and Edith was the probable father of Nellie. John Lamb and his wife had adopted children so testing this hypothesis would be difficult. John had brothers who may have visited from  Minnesota so they may have been involved instead of John. When my aunt's DNA results were added a while later the hypothesis held. As more distant relatives add their dna results to Ancestry, MyHeritage, and GedMatch more will become clear.

Nellie May (nee Cannon) Graham

I haven't yet given up the idea that Nellie's mother Edith may have been the family connection to the Lamb/Deuchar family tree. Edith was from Minnesota, and I haven't been able to track her family at all. Edith being the tie to the Lamb/Deuchar family doesn't change the fact that I have only trace Irish in my DNA, and no DNA matches to the Cannon family. This also doesn't explain why the descendants of Nellie's sisters don't match any of the Lamb/Deuchar matches my aunt and I do.

Edith May Lake

It has been very difficult tracking the Cannon/Lake family line. They moved a lot. Not always together. Edith appears to have had 4 marriages, but I can only find two with records that appear to match.

On the marriage registry to Jack Cannon, Edith May's last name was Mcdonnell. I did find a record of Edith May Lahe marrying Farquhar Thomas McDonnell, 20 Dec 1912, in Ontario. I haven't found any evidence of other relationships for Jack. 

I have tried to follow the paper trails, and not fill in the blanks that only seem to fit. Each time I start to research I end up 'down the rabbit hole'. This blog has taken me over a week to write because each time I start I end up chasing more 'facts'. 

Nellie had two younger sisters: Kathleen & Florence. The three girls had a brother who died as an infant. March 11th 1911 John Patrick Cannon was born in Winnipeg. June 4th 1911 John Patrick Cannon died. This is the entire family according to my current research or until a new dna match appears to prove otherwise. 

Nellie (right) & maybe her sister Kathleen

My great grandmother was a funny lady who drank too much alcohol. 

Nellie with three of her granddaughters

She shared stories of her childhood with a drink in hand. Nellie, who the family called Nanny, was damaged by a childhood that is only now beginning to make sense to me. Nellie always said that her father didn't treat her very well while she was growing up. She idolized her mother, and was afraid of her father.  Nanny said that she was placed in a convent where the nuns were abusive.

Nellie May Cannon

The 1906 Canadian census has Jack (32) Cannon living with wife Edith (25) and daughter Nellie (1) living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Jack may not be the biological father of Nellie, but he was there from the beginning. 

1906 census

The Iowa state census 1915 indicates Nellie (age 10) living in a catholic children's home with her sister Florence (age 6) in Carroll, Iowa, United States. The following year the 1916 Canada Census shows their sister Kathleen (age 9) living with their father in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I have no record of their mother Edith May (nee Lake) Cannon while the three girls were living separately. Although the possible marriage to Farquar McDonnell was in 1912 so maybe she was residing in Ontario, and I haven't yet found those records. 

The 1920 U.S. census has Florence (age 12) living with Jack Cannon's sister Ellen (nee Cannon) Carey and her husband Thomas (along with Thomas' mother Ellen) in Iowa. The Carey's have no children listed in this census because their children were 18 & 20 so likely no longer at home. Florence was listed as step-daughter, but was niece.

In the 1921 census Jack & Edith were living in Winnipeg with daughters: Nellie (age 16) and Kathleen (age 14).

Nellie lived in Manitoba and British Columbia, but spent time in the United States throughout her life. She had one son, John Robert (Jack/Jacky) Graham with ex-husband Robert (Bob/Bobby) Graham. She lived with a man name Clarence for a time, but never married after Bob. 

Nellie May (nee Cannon) Graham

Kathleen appears to have never left the province of Manitoba if the census and directories can be believed. 

In 1927 Florence got married in Iowa, had her child in Winnipeg in 1930, and then in 1931 crossed the border noting her uncle, Pat Cannon, in Churden, Iowa for where she was traveling with her daughter (bonus namesake -- named after her sister Kathleen). Florence is later found in California living with her mother Edith (and her mother's probable third husband Bill Southern).

Nellie's sister Florence

The 1928 city directory shows that Edith May Lake was married to Bill Southern, and living in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California. In 1934 Edith crossed the border with the name Edith May Cannon. In 1940 she was listed as wife to Bill Southern. When she died in 1960 she was living in California, and married to Val Dunn. The only marriage record I have found for Edith is the John Rodger Cannon in 1919 many years after their children were born. It is probable that she was married to Farquar Thomas McDonnell. I have found no records for the marriage to Southern or Dunn.

When I look at the DNA matches I have in common with Florence's great grandson and Kathleen's granddaughter I think there is a good possibility that all three girls had different fathers. Although it's possible that Kathleen and Florence had the same father. Nellie definitely had a different biological father than both of them. Using the in common dna matches it's obvious that Edith May Lake was the mother of all three girls. 

Nellie with 2 of her great grandchildren, my brother and myself

If you have been able to follow my confusing journey through the Cannon/Lake line I happily invite you to FOLLOW ME DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE!

This is why I search -

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

** NPE - I used as Non-paternal event, but can be either parent: non-parental event 

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Sources:

Manitoba Vital Stats, Retrieved previously from Ancestry.ca

Census records, Retrieved previously from Ancestry.ca

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!