Monday, January 9, 2012

California Connections

Helena (O'Sullivan) (Councilman) Mueller (1852- 1895)

This past weekend I was catching up on Marian Pierre-Louis blog Roots and Rambles and reading about US GenWeb.  I knew it covered all of the US and thought I might find some ideas for my California brickwalls.  My great-great grandmother, Hannah (Dealy/Daly) O'Sullivan had a sister and a daughter who migrated to the San Francisco area.  They each had at least two children who ended up being raised by Hannah back in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

Through the California section of US GenWeb I connected to the California Digital Newspaper Collection.   I found a death notice (below) for a daughter of Helena, Essie Helena Councilman.  This was in the Daily Alta California, dated July 1, 1877.   Because she was born in 1875 and died in 1877, this child was not listed on any census. As I continued searching, I found so many possible references under different variations of her name, that I think the best way is to start with a timeline of what I know of Helena's life.

  1. Helena was baptized in October 1852 at Bantry, County Cork
  2. Helena moved from Massachusetts to California around 1868
  3. Helena was a servant living in California on the 1870 census
  4. Helena married George Councilman in San Francisco in 1873
  5. Helena gave birth to a son, George, 1874
  6. Helena gave birth to a daughter, Essie, 1875
  7. Helena's daughter Essie died, 1877
  8. Helena gave birth to a daughter, Eva, 1877
  9. Helena was a married mother of two living in San Francisco in the 1880 census
  10. Helena divorced George Councilman, February 1886
  11. Helena gave birth to a child, February/March 1886
  12. Helena married Louis Mueller 1886
  13. Helena was sent to Napa State Hospital, July 1886
  14. Helena has trouble with her daughter, Eva,m 1890
  15. Helena gave birth to a daughter, Caroline Louise, 1891
  16. Helena gave birth to a daughter, Hella Richie, 1893
  17. Helena died in Sacramento, 1895
I'll look at these events one at a time, and try to get a picture of Helena's life.
Copyright 2012 Kathleen Sullivan. All Rights Reserved

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