Ada 'Eva' (Pelletier) Murchison

EVA MURCHISON's FAMILY

Her 3 Husbands:
► Levite A. Dumond 1899-1963 [age 64]
married July 24, 1923, in Eagle Lake, Maine;
he was 24, she was 18
— Married about 12 years, Levite and Eva divorced c1935.
► Harold W. Murchison 1910-1975 [age 64]
married March 4, 1936, in Millinocket, Maine;
he was 25, she was 30
— Married about 8 years, Harold and Eva separated and divorced in 1944.
► Henry L. Mitchell 1903-1961 [age 58] - place of burial unknown
common-law marriage; mid 1950s
— At the time of Harold's death in 1961, he and Eva had been together for about 7 years.

Her 2 Children:
► Robert P. 'Bobby' [Pelletier] Dumond 1922-1968 [age 45]
married Nov. 19, 1949, in Saco, Maine, to Rose (Jalbert) Frechette 1924-2005 [age 81]
► Oneil Dumond c1923-c1923 - died as an infant; place of burial unknown

Her Parents:
Joseph M. 'Joe' Pelletier c1871-c1930s [died in his 60s] - place of burial unknown
and Marie (Vaillancourt) Pelletier 1882-1936 [age 53] - aka 'Mary Smart'
married in 1900 in Eagle Lake, Maine ("certificate issued on June 26")
Her 2 Stepfathers:
► Joseph 'Joe' Corriveau 1884-1923 [age 38/39]
married Marie (Vaillancourt) Pelletier on April 28, 1911,
at the Woodstock Methodist Church in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada
► Joseph P. 'Joe' Kerwock 1872-1964 [age 92]
married Marie (Vaillancourt) [Pelletier] Corriveau on September 8, 1928,
at Saint James United Methodist Church of Canada in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada

Her 3 Siblings:
► Ida Pelletier 1901-1906 [age 4] - died in a house fire
► Emily M. (Pelletier) [Cormier] Pelletier 1903-1973 [age 70]
1st married Oct. 2, 1920, to Onésime T. 'Ozime' Cormier 1889-1931 [age 40]
2nd married May 29, 1943, to Richard E. Pelletier 1909-1969 [age 60]
► Arthur J. [Pelletier] Pelkey 1907-1964 [age 57] - known as Arthur Pelkey
1st married Feb. 6, 1945, to Grace F. (Forristall) Lacoon 1899-1989 [age 89] - divorced
2nd married Ida/Ada - maiden name unknown; she predeceased him

Her 13 Half-Siblings:
► Evelyn M. (Corriveau) [Sheehan] [Cutliffe] [Émond] [Patchell] Bellefleur 1911-1990 [age 79]
1st married Jan. 1, 1927, to James L. Sheehan 1901-1972 [age 70] - divorced in 1939
2nd married Oct. 7, 1939, to Harry H. Cutliffe 1891-1950 [age 58]
3rd married Mar. 22, 1951, to Albert J. Émond 1897-1962 [age 64] - divorced in 1952
4th married Dec. 1, 1952, to Donald E. Patchell 1898-1968 [age 70]
5th married May 9, 1970, to J. Édmund Bellefleur 1897-1990 [age 92] - divorced in 1984
► Laura M. Corriveau 1913-1913 [age 5 months] - died of cholera
► J. Perley Corriveau 1914-1990 [age 75]
married May 1, 1939, to Cécile M. Bellemare 1922-1992 [age 70]
► Benjamin J. 'Ben' Corriveau 1916-1960 [age 44]
married May 1, 1936, to Amelia G. 'Tee' LeBlanc 1918-1992 [age 73]
► Laura Corriveau c1917-c1917 - stillborn or died as a baby; place of burial unknown
► Leo J. Corriveau 1918-2008 [age 89]
married c1943, to Helen A. Alexander 1927-1974 [age 46]
► Camille Corriveau 1920-c1920 - born April 7; died as a baby; place of burial unknown
► Annie L. (Corriveau) [Mason] Mosca 1921-1984 [age 62]
1st married Jul. 10, 1937, to Adrion G. Mason 1905-1986 [age 81] - divorced
2nd married Aug. 1, 1966, to Gabriel Mosca 1895-1979 [age 84]
3rd married Jul. 16, 1983, to Guillaume V. 'Willie' Coté 1920-1988 [age 67]
► Infant Corriveau c1922-c1922 - stillborn or died as a baby; place of burial unknown
► Francis J. Corriveau 1923-1928 [age 5] - died of a ruptured appendix
► Marie J. Kerwock 1925-1925 - died as a baby
► Camille J. Kerwock 1927-1971 [age 43]
married Nov. 8, 1947, to Sarah L. 'Sally' Chesson 1931-1997 [age 65]
► Infant Kerwock c1928-c1928 - stillborn or died as a baby

Her Grandparents:
Paternal - her father's parents
► Michel Pelletier 1836-1924 [age 87]
and Véronique (Clavet) Pelletier 1844-1907 [age 63]
married on February 18, 1862,
at L'Église de St-Basile-le-Grand in St-Basile, Madawaska, New Brunswick, Canada
Maternal - her mother's parents
► Germain 'Jerry' Vaillancourt 1857-1938 [age 80]
and Modeste 'Maude' (Albert) Vaillancourt 1853-1927 [age 73]
married August 20, 1877, at Saint Louis Church in Fort Kent, Maine

Her Paternal Step-Grandmother:
Hélène (Pelletier) [Thibodeau] Pelletier 1858-1913 [age 54]
widow of Sifroid Thibodeau
married Michel Pelletier (above) on November 26, 1910,
at Sacred Heart Church in Caribou, Maine

TELL THE STORY · REMEMBER THE LIFE

Ada Murchison, known as 'Eva' to her family and friends, was born and raised in Eagle Lake, Maine, a daughter of Joe and Marie Pelletier. She was a young girl of three or four when Joe Pelletier abandoned his family, leaving his wife with no means of support — at which time Eva, like her sister Emily and her brother Arthur, was sent to live elsewhere. Although the Pelletier children grew up in different households, Eagle Lake was a very small town and it's likely that the siblings saw each other often. Eva's new home was on a farm owned by her grand-uncle, Bénoni Vaillancourt (often referred to as 'Uncle Billy'), and it was her uncle and aunt who raised her to adulthood. Bénoni (the twin brother of Germain Vaillancourt, Eva's grandfather) was in his early 50s by then; and though he and his wife Nancy had eight children of their own, there was always room for one more. In the 1910 U.S. census, Eva was identified as an adopted daughter; but in census reports, that term was broadly applied to include foster children. Though she was enumerated under the name Vaillancourt, Eva was never legally adopted.

Eva was a single young woman, only 17 years of age, when she gave birth to her first child (Bobby) in August of 1922; but the following summer, she married a local man (Levite Dumond) who was six years her senior. Levite adopted Eva's son, who was given the name Dumond; and though Eva soon gave birth to another son (Oneil), the child died in infancy.

By the close of the decade, the Dumonds had relocated to Millinocket (as had most of Eva's family) where Levite was gainfully employed as a construction laborer; but within five years the couple had divorced. In 1936, at age 30, Eva remarried in Millinocket to Harold Murchison, a single guy who was five years her junior; and by 1940 (according to the U.S. census) Harold and Eva had moved to Lincoln, Maine, and had recently taken in a baby girl (Marilyn Kneeland) who was then five months old. Though Marilyn was listed as the Murchisons' adopted daughter, oral family history indicates that she was a foster child — and what became of her is unknown.

Between 1940 and 1960, Eva's life was ever-changing; but many of the details have since been lost to history. In early 1944, Eva left her husband and the couple soon divorced. Along with her son Bobby, she relocated to southern Maine (in the Biddeford-Saco area); and in December of '42, Bobby was enlisted in the army. Both of Eva's former husbands remarried and eventually moved from Maine — Levite to Rhode Island, and Harold to New Britain, Connecticut. After the war, Bobby returned to Biddeford, where in 1949 he married a local woman; and by the early '50s, Eva had moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, where she stayed for several years. It was there that Eva met up with Henry Mitchell (affectionately known as 'That Henry'); and though they were never formally married, they established a life together as a common-law couple. By the end of the decade, Eva's son had moved to Connecticut, settling in New Britain; and Eva and Henry had done the same, planting themselves at 249 River Street in the south end of Waterbury. Often described as a jolly and likeable man, Henry held down a fulltime job; but the story that Eva's family enjoyed telling most, is that in fair weather months the couple would travel the region's carnival circuit, where for a small fee Henry would guess someone's weight. Sadly, however, Henry's life was cut short when he passed away at age 58 on Thanksgiving Day in 1961.

Despite the many twists and turns in her life, Eva was an optimist who learned to roll with the punches. She had a mischievous smile, loved people, and always enjoyed a good time. After Henry's death, Eva remained in her small apartment on River Street; but she always looked forward to spending occasional weekends at her sister Emily's house in nearby Naugatuck. Once again, she adapted to life as a single woman; but in 1968, she was truly heartbroken when her son Bobby died in his sleep at age 45. By the end of the following year, when Emily's husband died unexpectedly, Eva (then 64) decided to give up her apartment; and the two widowed sisters spent their final years together in Naugatuck.

Just before Christmas in 1974, Eva passed away at age 69. She had suffered a debilitating stroke in the early '70s which left her partially paralyzed, but her demeanor never changed. With the help of a tripod cane (which she dubbed 'George') and a cumbersome leg brace, she kept herself active and refused to let her handicap make her an invalid. She remained cheerful and upbeat — and was always appreciative of the help she received from her extended family. Simply put, she was 'a good egg' — right to the very end. May she rest in peace.

Thanks for all the memories, Aunt Eva.

CEMETERY INFORMATION

Type of Marker: Footstone (flat)

Location:
Eva is buried on the southern edge of the cemetery in an all-footstones section of single-grave plots. It's not difficult to find but may require a little bit of hunting.

Directions:
Enter the cemetery from Cross Street; turn left and follow the road up and around the bend. Take the 1st left you come to, then follow that road around another bend and drive about 200 feet and look for a footstones-only section on the right. Eva's gravesite is in the 1st row of footstones on that far side, about 40 feet in from the road.

Click 'Show Map' in the Burial information at the top of this page. Eva's grave is pinpointed with a red icon.