Mary O'Dea Sterling

I just want to finish what I have found about my Great Grand Father's sister, Mary, who married John Sterling at the tender age of 15 or 16.  Mary and John have five children: Margaret, Minnie, Katie, Susan, and Augustus (Gus) and they all live in Jersey City, NJ on Whiton St.  They are listed in the 1900 US Census right below Michael and Mary O'Dea (our great grandparents) and their children, which makes them neighbors.  Michael is an electrician and John is a day laborer, both for the railroad I think.  In 1900 John and Mary Sterling's oldest daughter, Margaret is married to Thomas Keough and they have a daughter Ellen born in May of 1900, all living with John and Mary Sterling.  (I have to keep adding the last name because there are so many John and Marys that it gets confusing).

Now here is the mystery that I am trying to solve.  John and Mary had a daughter, Margaret (Maggie) in May of 1872, according to the 1900 US Census.  On 8 Feb 1899 she married a man named Thomas Keogh (also spelled Kehoe and Keough depending on who is writing it) in Jersey City.  In the 1900 US Census for Jersey City Thomas and Maggie are listed as living with John and Mary Sterling 220 Whiton St, and Thomas and Maggie have a daughter, Ellen, born in March of 1900.  In the next two census records (1920 and 1930) Thomas and Maggie are missing, but Ellen is living with John and Mary Sterling.  Where were Margaret and Thomas and why would they leave their child?  I have checked for death certificates at the State Archives for Maggie and Thomas and find none (I thought they were killed in some type of accident).

Well, I have an update,  between the time I started this post on Friday and now, I have solved part of the mystery.  I started calling cemeteries in Jersey City to see if Maggie and Thomas were buried there between 1900 and 1910 (Because 1910 is the next census, and they are not in it)  I called Holy Name in Jersey City, Holy Cross in N Arlington, because those are the two Catholic favorites and gave them two spellings of K-E-O-U-G-H and K-E-H-O-E, and they did not have any listed.  Later I saw the spelling of K-E-O-G-H, and called back to Holy Name in Jersey City.  The guy told me that they had a Margaret Keogh, buried 19 Jun 1900 and and she was 28 years old, which fits.  I asked about Thomas and he checked and said that Thomas owns the plot, but is not buried there.  She is the only one buried there and there is no stone (sound like grandpa Brady).  Just in case you are interested, she is buried in Block P, Section La, Grave 29.  So my guess is that she died from a complication of child birth after a few months, and Thomas just let the child stay with his in-laws to be raised.  I can't confirm this until I get to the State Archives and find her death certificate, which I can probably find with the correct spelling.

So John and Mary Sterling raised not only their own children, but a grand daughter as well.  Maybe they were meant for each other, but realized it unusually early.