The Michael J. McKeown Family Tree:Information about Katherine McKeown
Katherine McKeown (b. 1881, d. 17 Apr 1948)
Notes for Katherine McKeown:"Aunt Kate" was called from the family farm in Ontario to assist her brother, Henry McKeown when he was widowed in 1901.Henry's wife, Ella, had died on August 1 of that year, two days after giving birth to her third child.
Henry was left with three very young children to raise, Rose Ella age 5, Joseph William (Bill) age 2, and the newborn Mary.It is unclear when Aunt Kate moved in with Henry and his children, but it may have been after Rose Ella died in 1903.
It is known that Katherine became a second mother to young Bill and Mary, and cared for them for eight years until Henry met his second wife, Elizabeth McDonnell.
Katherine, along with and her widowed mother,joined her siblings in Hayward, Wisconsinin 1909 when that city became the new lumber "boomtown."While there, she met the man who was to be her husband, John Lessard.The couple had several children in Hayward before ultimately settling in Pontiac, Michigan.
Years later,Bill McKeown brought the girl he was courting, Bessie Newton, to meet Katherine at her home in Pontiac.She heartily approved of his choice, and soon after this, Bill and Bessie became engaged and were soon married.
By all accounts, Katherine is remembered as a warm and loving woman.She was the only mother that Bill McKeown had ever known, and it is thought that he came to get Katherine's blessing before he asked Bessie Newton to be his bride.
More About Katherine McKeown and William Lessard:
Marriage: Hayward, Wisconsin.