Person Sheet


Name Jane "Jennie" Mary MacNeil
Birth 6 Jun 1901, Barra Glen, Nova Scotia
Death 21 Apr 1986, Le Grand, California
Burial Plainsburg Cemetery, Plainsburg, CA
Occupation Homemaker, waitress.
Religion Roman Catholic (excommunicated 1923-~73)
Father John M MacNeil (1873-1946)
Mother Christy MacDonald (1875-1945)
Spouses
1 Rasmus "John" Marius Jensen
Birth 27 Dec 1890, Hvilsager, Randers Amt, Danmark
Death 30 May 1973, Antelope Valley Medical Center, Lancaster, Los Angeles County, California
Burial 1 Jun 1973, Joshua Memorial Park, Lancaster, Los Angeles County, California
Occupation Gardener, Farmer, Laborer, Milkman, Trolley Driver
Education 8th Grade?
Religion Lutheran, And Perhaps Briefly Mormon
Father Niels Johan Jensen (1870-~1944)
Mother Jensine Rasmussen (1864-~1963)
Marriage abt Apr 1923, New York, New York?
Children Helen Mary (Private, Female)
John Neil (Private, Male)
Notes for Jane "Jennie" Mary MacNeil
Janie MacNeil, AKA Jennie, was born in Barra Glen, a village just inland from Iona, Nova Scotia. Her family had been in Nova Scotia for generations, but they still sang Gaelic songs, often when families would get together to play cards and other activities.

Jennie's father was a strict Roman Catholic. She rebelled against him, but continued to identify with her religion of birth. She was out of the house by age 15, working as a maid-servant, and left for America at about age 20.

She did visit her family in Nova Scotia on a couple occasions, but appeared to be anxious about being cought by the authorites, as it appears she was an illegal immigrant to the United States.
Misc. Notes
Jane MacNeil was born in Barra Glen, near Iona, which has become a heritage center of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia . Her parents were descendants of immigrants from the Western Isles of Scotland, and would often sing Gaelic songs in the evenings. Jane was occasionally heard singing in Gaelic in her adult years. Jane was the oldest surviving child in her family, and took on more than her share of her father's iron-handed, religious. Though he was given to drink, he was not known to be physically abusive, but was controlling, and once came down hard on Jane for showing a liking for a Protestant boy. Jane was given to one of father's friends as a house servant at age 15, and then left Canada for New York at age twenty.
Misc. Notes
I remember that she died on 21 April 1986. This is corroborated by the California Death Index (http://www.rootsweb.com). This record states:

Last Name First Name Middle Birth Date Mother Maiden Father Last Sex Birth Place Death Place Residence Death Date SSN Age
JENSEN  JENNIE  MARY  06/06/1901  CAMPBELL  MACNEIL  F  CANADA  STANISLAUS    04/21/1986  062-14-6858  84 yrs

The SSN is that of her late husband.
The recorded place of death is Stanislaus County, though she is said to have died at home in Le Grand.
The record indicates her mother's maiden name was Campbell, but she told me herself it was MacDonald, and this has been corroborated by records.
Notes for Rasmus "John" Marius & Jane "Jennie" Mary (Family)
I've narrowed down their wedding date to mid-spring 1923, but even that's unsure. Their firstborne came a few months later. I have no idea how a Lutheran would marry a pregnant Catholic in New York City at the time. Neither of them liked the others' religion much at all. I'm confident theirs wasn't a Catholic wedding.
Last Modified 9 May 2007 Created 19 Mar 2010 by Reunion for Macintosh

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