9. Who Was Raymond's Mother?

                             

Back to the mystery of my great-grandfather’s first wife, and Raymond’s mother. Who was she, and what happened to her? My first clue came from Raymond’s Social Security Application where he listed his mother and his father – John Arthur Mullen and Anna McCavin. 

I looked through census records and city directories for any McCavins in Youngstown.  No luck.  However, I did find one McGavin family with a girl named Annie.  She was 7 in 1880, which would have made her 23 or 24 when Raymond was born.  (I couldn't check the 1890 census records because they were destroyed by a fire)

The next find was the marriage record for Annie McGavin and John Mullen. They were married in 1895 and Raymond was born in 1896. Looking at the dates more closely though - they were married in September and Raymond was born in February. It appears that Annie McGavin was pregnant with Raymond when they got married! They were also married the same day they got the license – does that mean they were married at the courthouse, and not in church?

Annie was the daughter of Irish immigrants – John and Anna McGavin. My great-grandfather John was the son of Scottish immigrants – Peter and Hannah Mullen. According to both Irish and Scottish naming traditions, the first son was usually named after the paternal grandfather (Peter) or sometimes the maternal grandfather (John). Why on earth would they name their son Raymond Charles? No one in either of their families was named Raymond either. It doesn't make sense!

Two months after Raymond was born, his mother Annie died from peritonitis. I don’t know if my great-grandfather took care of baby Raymond by himself, or if Annie’s parents took care of him. Since John had to work, I would think the family would have been very involved in Raymond’s care. By 1900 Raymond was living with my great-grandparents, and my great-grandmother had taken on the role of stepmother.

This is Annie’s obituary in the Youngstown Vindicator from April 1896. She is buried in the McGavin family plot in Calvary cemetery.

                               

I don’t remember my grandfather ever talking about his brother, Raymond, although my mother remembered him.  Raymond spent his life in Youngstown, married twice, and had two children with his first wife.  He worked as a pipe fitter in the steel mill and died of heart disease in 1951.