For a long time, the end of Mary’s life was a mystery. She simply vanished from the records, and not a single story was passed down about her life. I knew she must have died before my grandmother was born in 1938, but beyond that, I had nothing.

And then in 2021, I gained access to the Newspapers.com Plus membership. I did a search for Mary Cannon in Camden County, New Jersey but did not find an obituary.

I found a marriage notice.

This woman had married a fouth time, to widower, Charles Sellick/Sillick, aged 78. He was from the area, and the article describes them as looking for helpmates. I don’t know yet what happened to Charles — I’m still not positive I have the right spelling for his last name — but using her fourth marriage, I finally located the last piece of Mary’s puzzle — the end of her life.

Mary Mahoney Hartman Lyden Cannon Sillick died on Dec 16, 1937 and was buried in New St. Mary’s Cemetery. She’s not listed in any of the indexes for burial, so I don’t know if she’s buried with any of her children, but at least I know where to look now. It’s nice to put Mary to rest — at least this part of it. Her early years remain a mystery.