Mrs. John H. O’Brien, Former Waterman Hill Resident, Dies In Springfield, Mass.
(died February 16, 1933)
Mrs. Julia M. O’Brien, wife of John H. O’Brien, of 30 Prince Street, Springfield, Mass., died in her home Feb. 16, after an illness of four weeks with grip. She was born in Norwood, N.Y., daughter of the late Dennis and Julia Hurley O’Brien. When she was quite young the family moved to Canton to the Waterman Hill section, where they resided on the farm now owned by Michael O’Brien. Her early education was received in the district schools, later attending St. Lawrence University, graduating from there she became a well known teacher in the schools in and around Canton and Potsdam where she taught for a number of years.
Mrs. O’Brien went to Springfield, Mass., about fifty years ago, where she married John H. O’Brien, a former Dickinson Center, N.Y. man who survives her with one daughter, Mrs. Millard Lindsley Smith. A son John Edwin died at an early age.
Although not active in social affairs she had a large circle of close friends and was known as a woman whose interests were her family and home. She was the last member of a family of seven children.
She also leaves several nieces and nephews among them are Sister M. Agatha of Gabriels, N. Y.; Mrs. Josie Spain of Newcomb, N.Y.; Miss Fanny C. Hayes of Colton; Mrs. Mamie Murphy of Canton; Mrs. Jerry Sweeney of Potsdam; Mrs. Julia O’Connor Burkett of Potsdam; Mrs. Simon Gaffney of Watertown, N.Y.; Dennis John O’Brien, Eben, N.Y.; Emmett Reynolds, Canton; Dennis Reynolds, Ogdensburg; Harry Reynolds, Massena; John and Fred Hayes of Colton.
The funeral was held from her home followed by a solemn requiem high mass in Holy Family Church, Rt. Rev. Msgr. Cornelius A. Sullivan was celebrant of the mass. Rev. James A. Deery, deacon, and Rev. John E. O’Toole sub-deacon, with full choir in attendance.
The bearers were James C. Hourihan, Daniel C. Sweeney, J. Emmett Sweeney, Timothy F. Hurley, William J. Hurley and John O’Malley.
(From the Tuesday, March 14, 1933 edition of the Canton Commercial Advertiser page four. Courtesy of the Northern New York Library Network @ news.nnyln.net).