Madness Monday - The Perils of Pauline

One of my most intriguing ancestors has been my Great Aunt Polly (1880-1958). What I have been told about her makes me want to know more about her life. My dad remembered her as "coming from New York" to live with them when he was a kid. Or perhaps it was that my grandmother, Mattie, always felt some degree of gratitude to Polly, as she had helped raise her, once her own mother, Polly's sister Alice (1886-1957), remarried and began a new family.

I have heard mentions of her working as a housekeeper and as a secretary to a doctor. She never married, but may have had a few gentlemen friends. In any event, I will always be fascinated by the kind of life this woman led.

Recently I came across a scrapbook of my grandmother's, which contained several pictures from her childhood. I am pretty convinced that this is Alice and Pauline, probably from the 1920's or so.

I was so thrilled to find this clipping of her obituary from the Portland Press Herald just the other day.  I suppose she will always be a woman I wish I knew more about.