Finding Mary Mattimore

Finding Mary Mattimore

If you read my last post, you know the story of our great grandmother, Mary O’Rourke Mattimore, and how she died young from tuberculosis in Arizona in 1901. This follow-up is the story of the search for her burial site in Tucson. Son Harry Mattimore was almost six when his mother died — old enough to remember, and likely be somewhat haunted by her death. So it’s no surprise that many decades later Harry journeyed west in search of his mother’s grave. He never found it. In 2015 I learned why.

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Died Too Young — Our Great Grandmother’s Story

Died Too Young — Our Great Grandmother’s Story

Mary Ellen (O’Rourke) Mattimore, mother of Harry and Joseph, died tragically young. She was 27 when death took her near Tucson, Arizona in 1901. Her husband Henry Mattimore was left a widow with two young boys, Harry, then almost six, and Joe just three. How did Mary die? What was she doing in Tucson so far from Buffalo? Read on for her story…

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