Several years ago I compiled my research on the family of my 4th cousin, Kaye, into a book. I was intent on trying to answer several questions before I finished it, especially, “Who were the parents of Martha Irene Kline?” Martha, Kaye’s great grandmother, was also known as Mattie. I had found conflicting clues about her maiden name and attempted to sort it out. But the more I searched, the less clear the answer became.
I knew Mattie had lived her entire life in Westmoreland County PA and raised a large family. She was born about 1858 in Kecksburg—her gravestone suggests 1854. Mattie’s death occurred in 1936 in Adamsburg. No parents were listed on her death certificate nor in her obituary, which also did not mention any siblings. A marriage notice in The Tribune and Herald on October 21, 1879 announced her marriage: “Kline—Griffin, on the 20th … Mr. John J. Kline to Miss Mattie Griffin, all of Greensburg.” It appeared that Griffin was her maiden name. But it was not as simple as that.
Other secondary documents indicated Mattie’s maiden name was instead Beacon or Beacom as listed on several of her children’s delayed birth certificates. Mattie’s children applied for their birth certificates after their mother had died. One application had a witness, Lizzie Tuning, who verified she was the midwife at the birth and a sister to Mattie Kline, the mother. I was certain this would quickly lead me to the answer before I put the book in print. I easily located a marriage application for Charles Tuning and his betrothed, Lizzie Beacon, who resided in Kecksburg and was 24 years old on Nov. 1890. Lizzie’s parents were listed as Thomas and Sarah. Were these also Martha’s parents?
In the 1870 census I found a Thomas and Sarah Beacom, who were only 21 and 20 respectively—too young to be the parents. I searched again with various names and spellings, but no luck. I scoured the 1870 census for Mt. Pleasant Township page by page looking for Thomas and Sarah with daughters Sarah and Martha. Nothing matched. I did the same for 1860, and again no trace was found. I realized I would never complete the book if I sought every unsolved question, so I put my research aside and printed the book for my cousin. Nevertheless, that burning question of Mattie’s maiden name smoldered in the back of my mind.
Recently my attention turned back to this riddle and I decided to spend a few minutes with online resources to see if anything ‘new’ would appear that might illuminate Mattie’s parentage. I reexamined the 1870 census for Beacom; the eliminated Thomas and Sarah appeared as well as a few other families, but no Martha. Next I typed in Beacon and a couple of names with Bacon filtered into the results. I noticed one family living in Mt. Pleasant Township with a Martha in the household: Charles Bacon Jr., 26; Sarah J., 37; Lena Melinda, 4; Elizabeth, 3; C. Henry, 1; Martha, 10. I had viewed this enumeration years before, but I had dismissed it since the name was Charles not Thomas. Then something caught my attention; Martha the oldest child was listed last. Children were usually listed in birth order, unless they were adopted, another family member, or a step child. I realized that I had possibly stumbled on Mattie—once again. This time I took notice.
I learned what I could about this Bacon family, beginning with the census. Charles and Sarah were in Mt. Pleasant Township in the 1880 census with some of the children and also in the 1900 census. Sarah was about 10 years older than Charles. Charles lived with his parents in 1860; Sarah has not been located in this census year thus far. They married about 1862, several years after Mattie was born indicating Mattie was possibly adopted or the daughter of only one of them. Death certificates for both Charles and Sarah Beken were found. Charles, the son of Charles Beken and Melinda Wand, died September 27, 1909; Sarah, the daughter of Henry Trough and Polly Bishop, died January 19, 1909. Both were buried in Moccasin cemetery, now Fairview, in Kecksburg.
Thanks to the volunteers on FindaGrave.com, photos of Charles and Sarah Beken’s headstones were posted. Sarah’s parents Henry and Mary Ann “Polly” Trough were also buried in Fairview cemetery; a note on the site indicated Sarah was first married to a Mr. Weaver. This led me to the 1850 census for Mt. Pleasant Township where William and Sarah Weaver had two girls in their household, including 2 year old Harriet. Ten years later a Harriet Weaver was living in the William Giffin household. A death certificate for Harriet Weaver Wendell listed Sarah Jane Traugh and William Weaver as the parents, confirming this previous union for Sarah. If the Giffins were raising Sarah’s daughter, there must have been some relationship between them. Could the Giffin family hold the key to discovering Mattie’s lineage?
Before following that trail, I needed actual evidence that Martha in the Beken household in 1870 was, after all, the same Mattie Kline who lived in Adamsburg. I turned to obituaries in hopes of finding the answer. Online I browsed the Connellsville newspapers around the death dates for Charles and Sarah; no published obituaries were found for them. Their youngest son Lee died on June 10, 1944; I checked The Daily Courier for that date. I scrolled to the deaths on page 2 and spotted an obituary for Lee Beken. I slowly absorbed the words and gave a relieved sigh when I read “He leaves … two sisters, Mrs. Jennie Lang of McKeesport and Mrs. Elizabeth Tuning of Coolspring.” This was the Lizzie who was the witness for Mattie’s children; Mattie was finally connected to the Beken/Beacon family!
I have no documentation proving Mattie is a daughter of the Beken’s. Evidence eliminates Charles as her father; however, I highly suspect that Sarah is her birth mother, which would explain why Mattie’s children used Beacon as her maiden name. Lizzie Tuning did, after all, refer to Mattie as a sister. There is the possibility, of course, that Mattie was adopted and only raised by the Bekens. Nonetheless, many pieces of the puzzle still need to be uncovered to give a complete and accurate picture about Mattie’s parents. Satisfied that a connection between Mattie and the Beken family has been established, I intend to evaluate what clues have been collected in order to consider what path to follow next. With these additional family names to explore, I soon hope to solve the mystery of Mattie’s maiden name, once and for all.
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