James & Margaret Levens headstone, taken by Find-A-Grave user RoadRunner

A New Year’s gift. This morning I came across the headstone photo of my great-great-grandfather James Levens that a generous Find-A-Grave user had taken. The headstone has his and his wife Margaret’s death dates.

Previously, I had a tentative date of death of 1884 for James based on some information from a Schuylkill County history book. Those sorts of books are not known for their precise accuracy, so his actual date of death was still an open question.

Now, I know James died 23 Apr 1885 at around age 55. According to the headstone, Margaret died 22 Jun 1918 which matches her death certificate. They were buried in Brock Cemetery in Ashland, PA.

Happy New Year!

After obtaining Margaret McElhenny Levens’ death certificate which listed her parents as Alexander McElheny and Sophia Hazelet, I found this marriage record in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s Pennsylvania Historic Church and Town Records database on Ancestry.com. The below is from the church records of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia.

McElhenny-Hazlet Marriage 1833
click image to see full page

McIlhenney, Alexander & Hazlet, Sophia > married 24th December 1833 by Jas. Montgomery

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Original source citation:
Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Births & Marriages, Reel 1079, p. 25, Alexander McIlhenney & Sophia Hazlet, 24 December 1833; digital images, Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Historic Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2451 : accessed 4 January 2013).

Margaret Levens Death Certificate

Transcribed by Alexander Conrad from photocopy

Margaret Levens Death 1918

1. Place of Death

County of Columbia

Borough of Centralia

2. Full Name: Margaret Levens

3. Sex: female

4. Color or Race: white

5. Single, Married, Widowed or Divorced: widowed

6. Date of Birth: July 2nd 1838

7. Age: 79 years 11 months 22 days

8. Occupation: housewife

9. Birthplace: Philadelphia

10. Name of Father: Alexander McElheny

11. Birthplace of Father: Ireland

12. Maiden Name of Mother: Sophia Hazelet

13. Birthplace of Mother: Ireland

14. Informant: Mrs. Jennie Heahley, Philadelphia

15. Filed 6/24 1918
16. Date of Death: 6 – 22 – 1918

…

19. Place of Burial or Removal

Ashland, Pa.

Date of Burial: June 25 1918
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Original Source Citation:

Pennsylvania, Department of Health, death certificate 66517 (1918), Margaret Levens; Division of Vital Records, New Castle.

One hundred fifty-seven years ago this week, my great-great grandparents James Levens and Margaret McElhenny were married.

My great grandmother Sophia Levens was raised in Centralia, Pennsylvania, a mining town, but came to Philadelphia sometime before 1900. I learned that her mother was also from Philadelphia when I found the book Schulkill County, Pennsylvania: Genealogy – Family History – Biography, volume II:

James Levens, father of Mrs. Ebert, was a native of Ireland and emigrated to America, landing at Philadelphia, where he made his home for a time. Going to Port Richmond, near Philadelphia, he there married Margaret McElheny…

James Levens and Margaret McElhenny were married on October 8, 1855 at the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Port Richmond, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Rev. J Rudderow. This is yet another record I found in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s Pennsylvania Church and Town Records database available on Ancestry.

James Levens & Margaret McElhenny marriage, 8 Oct 1855. Click to see full image.