I’m back, and I dug up another story to tell. Actually, I think I told part of it before, but I can’t find the post. So sit back and enjoy, I’ll try to be brief, but no guarantees.
You may remember that my mom’s paternal side are named McConville, and one of the McConville girls married a man named Milford. The Dawson line stems from their daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth Milford marries a man named William J Dawson and they have four children of their own: William M in 1913, James F in 1914, Robert Girard in 1922, and Olive E in 1923.
The family lived on E 53rd St in Brooklyn before moving to 124 Union Ave in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. On 28 Jul 1920, their youngest son, 5 year old James, was crossing Union Ave at Driggs Ave, when he ran into the street when he was struck by a hearse automobile. He was taken to St. Catherine's Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. He was later buried in Holy Cross Cemetery on Tilden Ave in Brooklyn. Here is the newspaper article from the Brooklyn Citizen:
You may think that this is the end of a sad story, just like I did. But I was on ancestry.com and I was looking at James F Dawson when I saw a shaky leaf. I was not expecting that, so I clicked on the hint from NY Wills and Probate. I REALLY wasn't expecting that, after all he was only five years old when he was killed. I don't think there are many five year old children with a will. I have two pages to show you:
The probate is for limited letters of administration for the goods, chattels, and credits of James F Dawson, deceased. His mother, father and older brother, William, who was only seven years old are listed as next of kin. The papers also list the three men who are associated with ownership and operation of the hearse involved in the accident. If you look at the news article, it also lists the driver and owner of the hearse, two of the same names listed in the probate papers. I assume that this is to be sure that any proceeds from the lawsuit will go to the family for the funeral and burial expenses, etc..
So as we close out this chapter, this is still a sad story with a twist at the end that I was never expecting.
