Nearly Forgotten: Grandpa's First Wife and Son
My grandfather, Valentine Edward Mohney, died in 1954, several years before I was born. He and my grandmother, Margaret Annetta Book Mohney, had 10 children and my dad was the baby of the family. I knew all of my uncles and aunts, some better than others. Or so I thought.
My mother and I began doing some genealogical research. We were in Ridgeway, Elk County, PA and decided to stop at the courthouse and look for information on the Mohneys. We were looking through marriage records and found one for Grandfather Valentine Mohney. However, surprise, it was not the record of marriage to Grandma. It was an earlier marriage to Clara C. Mercer. Her brother, Banfield B, (Ben) Mercer, was married to Valentine's sister, Mary Elizabeth (Mayme) Mohney.
Valentine Edward Mohney
Marriage License of Valentine Edward Mohney and Clara C Mercer
Valentine and Clara were married, in St. Mary's, Elk County, PA, on April 1, 1912 by E,E. McKelvey. Clara was living with her parents in Cheerful, PA when she delivered their son, Elmer Edward Mohney on 21 September 1912. Elmer was stillborn. He was buried the next day at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Shippenville, PA.
Death Certificate of Elmer Edward Mohney
Clara had uremic poisoning following the childbirth and died 23 September 1912. She was buried on 26 September 1912, also at Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Death Certificate of Clara C. Mercer Mohney
I am assuming that she was living with her parents due to the fact that Valentine was working in the logging camps or on the railroad. Was he able to be there for the childbirth? Did he get to see his son? Or provide support to Clara through her short illness? So many questions.
The biggest question though is why didn't he tell his family about Clara and Elmer? His children were surprised to learn that Valentine had been married to Clara, and one aunt, in particular, refused to believe it.
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