A Mystery Solved: Mary G. Springsteen Mythen
HELBLING, SPRINGSTEEN Family (Click for Family Tree)
Mysteries are fun, but solving them even moreso.
Back on June 20, 2016, we posted about Mary G. Springsteen Mythen as a part of the Springsteen family bible series. The bible, we now think, belonged to Anna Conner Springsteen and Jefferson Springsteen. (Please see the original article on the bible for the updated information.) Their children and their spouses, and a couple of grandchildren, were listed in the births, marriages, and deaths in the family record section. There was also an entry for a marriage for “Mary G. Springsteen,” as seen above.
Mary G.’s entry is curious for a number of reasons:
1) There was no birth or baptism entry for Mary G., but there was for Anna, Jeff, and all the other persons listed in the bible.
2) Jeff and Anna Springsteen had a daughter named “Mary E. Springsteen” and we know she married Joseph Beckwith in 1872. The bible and many other records support this fact. Families sometimes named a second child after one who had died young, but both Marys survived into adulthood, married, and had children.
3) “Mary Mythen” had her death at age 44 recorded in the Bible, as was the death of Mary E(lizabeth) [Springsteen] Beckwith, aged 82. Indianapolis has death certificates for both women.
4) Mary Elizabeth is buried with the Springsteen family in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, under the Beckwith name. There is no Mary G. Springsteen Mythen/Mithen buried in Crown Hill with the family.
5) Mary Elizabeth (Springsteen) Beckwith is found in the 1926 Indianapolis city directory, listed as the widow of Joseph F. Beckwith. There is no entry in the 1907 Indianapolis city directory for Mary Mythen, nor Mary Mithen.
With all this evidence, we can be pretty certain these Marys are not the same person.
In the previous article, we hypothesized a number of explanatory scenarios as to the relationship of the mystery Mary G. to the Springsteen family. We had no proof of any of them, except a few clues such as the Indiana Marriage Index 1800-1941 on Ancestry, which mentioned a Mary A. Galvin who wed John Mithen in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1885. We asked for anyone with information to contact us, and waited.
Four years after publication of the mystery, a genealogy librarian working for the State Library of Indiana contacted us. Angi Porter (nporter@library.in.gov) wrote that while doing research for a library patron, she found a newspaper article about Mary’s marriage to John Mythen. The article solved our mystery- Mary G. was the adopted daughter of Jefferson and Anna (Conner) Springsteen.
It was one of those “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that??” moments. No birth record in the Bible? That makes sense if she was adopted when she was older than a baby. The same first name as another Springsteen daughter? Sure, because she had likely been named by her biological parents, and then adopted out. Not buried with the Springsteens? Again, logical since by blood she was not a Springsteen, family burial plots are only so big, and they may have bought the plots before her adoption. The new information fits easily within what we know, including that Mary G. was obviously very important to the Springsteen family.
As always in genealogy, an answer generates new questions, such as:
- When was Mary G. adopted by the Springsteens?
- What were the circumstances of the adoption?
- What was Mary’s life story before and after her time living with the family?
Being researchers, we of course had to learn more about Mary G.
Next: a bit more about Mary Galvin Springsteen Mythen.
Notes, Sources, and References:
- “Mystery Monday: Mary G. (Springsteen) Mythen,” Heritage Ramblings family history blog, 20 June 2016. https://heritageramblings.net/2016/06/20/mystery-monday-mary-g-springsteen-mythen/
- “Treasure Chest Thursday: The Springsteen Family Bible,” Heritage Ramblings family history blog, 9 June 2016.
https://heritageramblings.net/2016/06/09/treasure-chest-thursday-the-springsteen-family-bible/ - Angi Porter, Librarian, Genealogy Division, Indiana State Library– https://www.in.gov/library/genealogy.htm
- Indianapolis, Indiana city directories, found on Ancestry.com and InternetArchive.
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