Edna Mae OTWELL-SIM-DAILEY (1905-1976)

Edna, Woodlawn Beach, 1923



BIRTH - Edna Mae Otwell and her twin, Edwin James Otwell Jr., were born May 23, 1905 at 221 Seymour Street, Buffalo, New York.  Her parents were Edwin Otwell and Mary Jane Charnock.  She had six sisters and three brothers.

                                                            EARLY YEARS:

Edna, 1917 Buffalo

Edna, about 1915,
photo courtesy of Delores S.

Edna grew up on Lord Street in Buffalo.  She remained on Lord Street until her marriage in 1924.

When Edna was three, the youngest member of the Otwell family, Dorothy, died at the age of one.

On September 28, 1915 Edna's twin, Edwin, ran in front of a vehicle on S. Division Street in Buffalo.  He was rushed to a doctor's office and then to an emergency room where he died from a fracture at the base of his skull.  Edwin Jr. was buried October 1, 1915 in Ridge Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo.  The twins were ten-years old.                                                           

Edna's father died five years later on June 2, 1920.  Her sister, Irene, had died March 27, 1920.  Edna was 15 years old.
                                                      
Edna had a 7th grade education.  She quit due to heart trouble (may have been rheumatic heart).  At age 16 she had a job as a printer but only worked at that job for three years.

OTWELL-SIM wedding 1924, Buffalo

MARRIAGE - Edna fell in love with George W. Sim.  Her mother, Mary Jane, was very strict and opposed her marriage to George.  Edna and George were married June 18, 1924 in Buffalo.  They were married without Mrs. Otwell's approval and she did not attend the wedding.  The young couple lived in Lackawanna, NY.  Edna and George had five children which included William, John, Joan, Patricia and Gerald.

TIMELINE:
On the 1930 US Census, Edna lived at 217 Lasalle Avenue, Buffalo.  She was living at her in-laws' home with her husband and sons, William and John.  She was 25-years old.

On the 1940 US Census Edna was 35 and lived on Chapman Drive in Hamburg, NY with her husband and five children.

Edna's husband, George, died from aplastic anemia on October 19, 194l.  They were still living on Chapman Drive.  Edna was 36-years old when she became a widow and had five children at home.

When Edna was 49, she married John (Jack) R. Dailey on March 16, 1954 in Alma, Michigan.  Jack died on January 23, 1962 in Buffalo.  Jack was 57 and Edna was 56 when she became a widow for the second time.  Jack and Edna were married for 7 years.

Jack and Edna DAILEY, Michigan, circa 1960s

DEATH - Edna Otwell-Sim-Dailey died at Buffalo General Hospital, Buffalo, NY, on September 16, 1976 at the age of 71.  The cause of death was lung cancer.  She also had cervical cancer for over a year before her death.  She was buried at Ridge Lawn Cemetery, Cheektowaga, NY.

Click here to visit her on-line memorial.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=92199370