Mary Galvin Springsteen Mythen-Her Adult Years
HELBLING, SPRINGSTEEN Family (Click for Family Tree)
Although Mary Galvin was listed as a servant to the Jefferson Springsteen family in the 1880 US Federal Census, it does seem that there was more than just a servant relationship between Mary and the Springsteens, since she was included in their family bible record- twice.
Her first entry in the bible stated “Mary G. Springsteen To John Mithen Feb. 25, 1885, St. Patrick Church.” There was no explanation in the bible as to how Mary was related. The marriage newspaper announcement, however, found by Angi Porter at the Indiana State Library, tells us that “The bride is the adopted daughter of Jefferson and Anna Springsteen”- our mystery solved as to the relationship of Mary and the Springsteens.
The wedding announcement tells us that wedding guests travelled to the home of the bride’s parents after the church ceremony; we assume this means the Springsteen home. Their guests were treated to a “sumptuous supper” and “…dancing was indulged in until the wee small hours.” The newspaper also stated “The presents were most valuable and numerous. Mr. and Mrs. Mython, like sensible people, went at once to housekeeping at 240 South East street.”
Mary was 23, John 32 when they married. It was John’s second marriage, as he had wed Bessie Hays (1860-1884) on 4 Aug 1880 in Indianapolis. John and Bessie had a son, James Grattan Mythen (1883?-1925). They also had a daughter, Katie Mithen, who was born on 11 Jan 1884 and only lived about 5 hours, dying on 12 Jan 1884. Bessie died the next day from complications of childbirth, and they share a monument in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Lafayette, Indiana. So John may have brought his 2 year old son to the new marriage.
This has been one of those “Stop the Presses!” moments, as in the last few days we have found quite a bit of new information about this family and have needed to rewrite our scheduled posts. Here is one new-to-us article:
“Mary E. I.(?), daughter of Mr. J. Mithen, aged 6 yrs, d. Sun [6/12/1887] @4pm. Funeral this Tues [6/14/1887] @2pm, at 16 Greer st.” -Indianapolis Journal of this date, p7 c3.
This daughter would have been born about 1881, after John’s first marriage, so Bessie (Hays) Mithen might be her mother. Of course, we cannot be certain that “Mr. J. Mithen” is our John Mithen of interest, but a newspaper article we will explore later gives us a hint that he had two children buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Lafayette, Tippecanoe Co., Indiana. (We have not, however, found this Mary in the Find A Grave listing for burials at St. Mary’s, though should check with the diocese.) So this is one more intriguing bit about the family that needs further research.
The history of the family is further made confusing by information found about John and Bessie’s son James.We do not know how long John Mithen, his son, and possibly daughter from his first marriage lived with Mary G. and their daughters. Some of the story concerning (Patrick) James Grattan Mythen is discussed in numerous posts by Matthew Namee and others on an Orthodox Church history website. These posts state that the birth mother of James, Bessie [Hays Mithen], was Roman Catholic, his father John Mithen an agnostic Episcopalian, and his step-mother Mary Galvin Springsteen Mithen a German Lutheran woman. James claimed his mother died giving birth to him, which is incorrect. James also stated that his father “lost his mind” and then he was raised by an uncle who was Episcopalian. James possibly also had Unitarian influence when in school, but became a Roman Catholic, as in 1900 he was to enter seminary in Baltimore to study for the priesthood. But then he was back to being Episcopalian, and eventually became both a priest in the Episcopalian and Catholic religions as he switched back and forth. He very actively supported the women’s suffrage movement, joined the US Navy in World War I, and became an advocate of Irish independence, which did not go over well with the Episcopal Church that had roots in England. So James left the Episcopal church and became a Russian Orthodox Christian. James was a very powerful member of that church even though he only stayed in it for 4 years; he returned to the Catholic Church in 1924.
James was very proud of his Irish ancestry, and his middle name of Grattan was a paternal family name, and he stated he was descended from one of the early proponents of Irish independence from Britain, Henry Grattan. Family oral history states that the Mithen brothers who emigrated from Ireland to America changed the spelling of their name to “Mithen” from the “Mythen” that had been used in their homeland. As an adult James changed the spelling of his surname back to the older way, with a “y.” James also added his first name “Patrick” before he converted to the Orthodox Church to honor his Irish ancestry. Sadly, he was found dead at the age of 42. His journey is quite interesting per the Orthodox History posts and other research. Please search within the Orthodox history website to read more about him.
And what about John Mithen and Mary Galvin Springsteen Mithen? Mary had become a mother in her own right, with the birth of Robert E. Mithen in 1886, Mary Anna Mithen in 1887, and Anna Laurel Mithen in 1888.
In an 1887 Indianapolis city directory, John was listed as a tailor, as he was in various censuses, directories, and advertisements in the newspaper. In December of that year, he was named as a Vice-President of the Peoples’ Saving and Loan Association, No. 3, in Indianapolis, which had a capital stock of $100,000. We don’t know any more about this business venture, or even if it is ‘our’ John Mithen, but it was said that ‘our’ John was a prosperous tailor, and perhaps he was helping his Irish community and others by becoming involved in a banking venture. There was quite a lot of discrimination- especially against the Irish- in banking and bank loans for immigrants in those days, so as many immigrants do, they may have banded together to help those newest to the American shores become successful. Just a theory.
A real estate transfer in the newspaper of 12 Apr 1888 to John Mithen was for Lot 12 in Greer & Bater’s Subdivision of Outlet 101. John paid $2,600 for the property, which may have become the Greer address we find later in records for both John and Mary. In February of 1889 Mary sold a part of the lot for $2,510. For some unknown reason, John’s name was not in the newspaper real estate transfer notice.
In 1889 John H. Mithen was listed in Indianapolis as being a ‘cutter’ (cutting fabric for men’s suits most likely) and he lived at 18 Greer per Ancestry’s transcription- no image is available.
The next year, 1890, Mary was was listed by herself in Indianapolis city directories as working in “dry goods.” The dry goods store address of 157 Virginia av was listed as a millinery shop in 1891 with Mary’s name, and her home address at 17 Greer. (Again, no image on Ancestry.com, just the transcription.) Their children were aged 12, 13, and 14. Women often did not ‘work’ if they were married and generally were not listed separately in a directory, if at all. (Indianapolis city directories generally do not even list a married woman with her husband.) So it seems the couple may have separated.
“John Mithen” was listed under tailors in a 1900 city directory and in the general section, with his business at 234 Indiana av, and residence the same. “Mary A. Mythen”- note name spelling difference- was listed in the general directory section as being a milliner at 307 Virginia av, her residence 324 S New Jersey. In the 1900 article about James Grattan Mithen entering seminary, it states he is the “son of Mrs. Mary Mythen”- no mention of his father. The use of Mary’s first name along with ‘Mrs.’ instead of her husband’s first name, again suggests that she was a widow or separated from her husband John Henry Mythen.
Now, another “Stop the Presses!” moment- we found more information, and will tell that in our next post.
Notes, Sources, and References:
- Angi Porter, Librarian, Genealogy Division, Indiana State Library– https://www.in.gov/library/genealogy.htm
- Mary G. Springsteen-John Mythen wedding announcement- Indianapolis Sentinel, March 1, 1885.
- GenealogyBank.com and Hoosier State Chronicles (https://newspapers.library.in.gov) have the source newspaper articles.
- “In Catholic Schools and Churches,” (James Mythen to attend seminary in Baltimore), Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, 15 September 1900, via Hoosier State Chronicles.
- Indianapolis, Indiana city directories, found on Ancestry.com and InternetArchive.
- Additional links for Patrick James Grattan Mythen:
https://orthodoxhistory.org/2010/01/27/the-erratic-life-of-fr-patrick-mythen/
https://orthodoxhistory.org/2012/03/17/st-patricks-day-with-fr-patrick-mythen/
https://orthodoxhistory.org/2012/05/28/this-week-in-american-orthodox-history-may-28-june-3/
https://orthodoxhistory.org/2012/05/09/fr-kyrill-johnson-1897-1947-2/
https://orthodoxhistory.org/2012/09/17/this-week-in-american-orthodox-history-sept-17-23/
https://orthodoxhistory.org/2019/09/05/when-do-firsts-really-matter-thoughts-on-orthodox-history-in-the-americas/
https://orthodoxhistory.org/2010/01/26/the-first-english-speaking-parish/
https://orthodoxhistory.org/2012/11/22/thanksgiving-at-st-nicholas-cathedral-1921/
https://orthodoxhistory.org/2012/03/19/this-week-in-american-orthodox-history-march-19-25/
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