The wedding certificate for Edward P. Kennelly and Mary Winifred McDonald makes me wonder how much he really knew about her when they married. I don't know how they met. Maybe they met at church?? She moved from her home in Clinton, Iowa to Chicago to work for Mrs. Potter Palmer as a seamstress. My passion for sewing must be in my genes! I do know that she was sensitive about her age. This is not to be confused with telling a lie. On her wedding certificate,11 Dec 1898, she lists her age as the same as his - 24 years old. By the 1900 census, she was two years older and born in 1871. In 1910 she is three years older and born in 1870. In 1920 she is two years older again. In 1930 she is listed as 80 and that would make her born in 1870. The only problem is that in the 1870 census her parents claim that she is four and her death certificate says she was born 30 Oct 1865. That would make her 33 when she married. She was a dear sweet person, and she outlived her much younger husband by 31 years!
Note: McDonald and McDonnell were used interchangeably at that time but the family finally settled on McDonnell the most used option. I wish I had know this fact when I first started my research.
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