O'Connel Delia Louella

Notes:

In the 1900 census, Delia was living in Ganeer, Kankakee County,IL

Delia is buried next to her husband, John Wilson in the Momence Cemetery. Also buried in the Wilson plot are her sons, Gaylord and John (Jack). Her third son, Wayne is buried next to his wife, Elnora (Grimes) Wilson in Union Corners Cemetery, Grant Park, IL that is located on the Dixie Highway between Grant Park and Momence, IL.

Delia and John's first child, Harold died at the age of one years old and is buried in an unmarked grave next to his grandparents, Thomas and Rosella Brown O'Connell. Because Delia was pregnant with Harold before they married, the birth of this child was kept a secret from the rest of the children and wasn't made known to them until after the death of their mother nearly seventy years later.

Her Social Security number is 330-44-4029 issued in IL.

Delia married Wilson John Wilhelm on 22 Jan 1902 in Momence, Ganeer Tnshp, Kankakee County, IL. John (son of Olofsson Lars Johannes and Larson Bertha, son of Olofsson Lars Johannes and Håkansson Berstran (Bertha)) was born on 10 Sep 1881 in Momence, Kankakee County, IL; died on 16 Nov 1936 in Momence, Kankakee County, IL; was buried on 19 Nov 1936 in Momence Cemetery, Momence, Kankakee County, IL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Harold was the first child born of Delia L. O'Connell and John W. Wilson, but it was not known to his brothers and sister until long after the death of his parents that his existance came to light through an elderly aunt, Freida Wilson, half sister of John.

Delia was five months pregnant when she and John married and in those days, unlike today, it was considered highly improper for a young girl to get in that condition before marriage. Why they waited so long is unknown.

Harold's life was very short. His death was, according to the death record, attributed to Perebes spiral meningitis due to hydrocephalis. It was complicated by acute enterils. He suffered with this illness for 2 months and 21 days. He died at 9:05 P.M. Tuesday, May 5, 1903 with Dr. J. V. Lewis of Momence in attendance.

Little Harold is buried next to his uncle, Charles O'Connell and his maternal grandparents, Rosella and Thomas O'Connell in Momence Protestant Cemetery, Momence, IL. As yet, he has an unmarked grave, only denoted by a flat iron marker.

While cleaning out the house where Delia had lived, a white satin burial piece was found that belonged to the casket of little Harold. It must have been removed shortly before his burial.

The death of this little guy surely pained Delia for the rest of her life, for she told none of her children who were born after Harold. The fact that she had to marry, being four months pregnant and the shame she felt must have driven her to keep this family secret.

Ruby married Mortensen Tage on 16 Jan 1932 in Kankakee, Kankakee County, Illinois. Tage was born on 01 Dec 1908 in Horsens, Vejle County, Denmark; died on 01 Dec 1992 in Spokane, Spokane County, WA; was buried on 26 Jun 1995 in Spokane, Spokane County, WA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Wayne was born in Momence, IL, the third child and second son of Delia O'Connell and John Wilson, Jr. He went to one-room country schools and attended Momence High School.

He served in WWII in the Army Air Corp and was stationed at Chenute Field for a time. He was then sent to the Aleutian Islands.

Wayne was always working with his hands...he loved making things. In the service when plastic was first on the market, he made his niece, Sonja, a beautiful clear plastic heart that had a red interior, looking much like tiny veins. He also made himself a false tooth when he had a tooth that needed a crown instead of going to have it fixed by a dentist!

After he was discharged from the service, he returned to Grant Park, married and started an electrical business with his younger brother, Gaylord. They were known for miles around as the Wilson Bros. Electrical Contractors.

His love for making things extended to the making of wonderful, custom guns. These were muzzle-loaders made to exact replicas of days past. Every part of the gun, down to the screws were made by hand. His most prized possession was a muzzle-loader he had made and later willed it to his favorite niece, Sonja Mortensen, daughter of his sister, Ruby. Sonja has since given it to her only son, Raymond Black, to keep it in the family.

Wayne was the quiet one, unlike his siblings. He was serious, thoughtful and also very caring.

He had for sometime, been very ill. The doctor in Grant Park was treating him for a liver ailment. The area under his right lung was swollen. When his nephew, Dr. John Mortensen came to visit him and checked him over, he discovered the real problem was a severe heart condition and he was in heart failure. Wayne was taken immediately to the VA hospital where a pacemaker was implanted just under the skin. His nephew had saved his life for many more years. He regained his energy and strength after years of suffering from this unknown heart condition.

The misdiagnosis would not be the last in this family. The same doctor in Grant Park also misdiagnosed his brother, Jack, a few years later that resulted in his untimely death.

His Social Security number is 354-28-7240 issued in IL.

Wayne married Grimes Elnora on 09 Dec 1945 in Grant Park, Kankakee County, IL. Elnora was born on 28 Jun 1919; died on 27 May 1989 in Her Home in Grant Park, Kankakee County, IL; was buried on 30 May 1989 in Union Corners Cemetery, Grant Park, Kankakee County, IL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Gaylord is buried in Momence Cemetery in Momence, Illinois in the Wilson plot. In the plot is Delia and John Wilson, his parents; John (Jack), his younger brother; and his wife will be buried next to him when she dies.

He was an electrician in partnership with his brother, Wayne after both returned from their duty in the Army Air Corp during World War II. Their business was known as the Wilson Brothers Electrical

He and Dorothy were members of the Grant Park Methodist church. He attended it periodically most of his life.

Gaylord, always the smoker,died of conjestive heart failure and arterialscerosis. He also had cancer of the lungs.

During his life, he was always interested in local history, Indian lore and family genealogy. He collected antiques and especially antique tractors. He also had a big-wheel bicycle at one time which he would ride around town.

Another interest was in antique guns. He and brother, Wayne would often go to the World Champion Muzzleloader Gun Meet in Friendship, Indiana. His brother, Wayne won the title of World Champion several times. Both wore coonskin caps while attending this meet and dressed as Daniel Boone would have.

Gaylord and Dorothy never had children. This was due to complications of mumps as a teenager and rendered him sterile.

Of the four boys, Gaylord was the most talkative. He was very outgoing and loved a good story. He was also an excellant storyteller himself.

Before the war, he and his brothers had a service station at the edge of town (Grant Park), on the curve of the Dixie highway, heading towards Chicago. It also was a restaurant where one could get hamburgers, hotdogs and sandwiches and cold beer. This was sold before both went into the service to one of their friends. It continued for several years after their return.

Gay entered the ST. Mary's Hospital in Kankakee,suffering from lung cancer and conjestive heart failure. He never left there alive.

Dorothy, his widow, grieved for more than 10 years, wanting to die and join him. Twenty years later, she still survives him alone.

His Social Security number was 347-16-3825 issued in Illinois.

Gaylord married Piersma Dorothy Pearl on 03 Nov 1945 in WItchert, Kankakee County, IL. Dorothy was born on 17 Jul 1918 in Chicago, Cook County, (Beverly Hills) IL; died on 05 Feb 2007 in Kankakee, Kankakee County, IL; was buried on 09 Feb 2007 in Momence Protestant Cemetery, Momence, Kankakee County, IL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

John, nicknamed Jack, never married but lived with his widowed mother all her life. After her death, he continued to live in the family home which was a large two-story home in Grant Park, owned by him and his two brothers, Gaylord and Wayne.

Gaylord and Dorothy lived downstairs and Jack and his mother lived in the apartment upstairs. It was fixed into an apartment after Gaylord and Dorothy married so they could have the downstairs part of the house.

Jack entered St. Mary's hospital with a condition thought to be heart failure. It turned out to be a Peptic ulcer that had ulcerated and perferated the wall of his stomach. The doctor who treated him was a foreign doctor from Pakistan and misdiagnosed his condition. This was the second time this doctor had done this to one of the Wilson brothers. The first misdiagnosis was Wayne's condition. He told him he was suffering a liver condition when it was indeed heart failure. This mistake was caught by his nephew, Dr. John Mortensen on a visit from the state of Washington. Wayne was immediately taken to the Veteran's Hospital where he underwent heart surgery and a pacemaker implanted in his chest. Unfortunately, being a small town where most doctors do not want to practice, it is a haven for foreigners who would have a tough time getting into practices in larger cities. Most of the townspeople are left to the mercy of these doctors.

Because of the tragic misdiagnosis, Jack succombed to the infection caused by the perferation to the stomach wall. He was under the impression when he entered the hospital, he would be returning home shortly and begged his niece, Sonja Abate, to take him home. It was just a matter of days, when he passed away.

Jack is buried in the Wilson plot at the Momence Cemetery, Momence, Illinois. Before the (WWII) war, Jack was always the family clown but after returning from the war, he had changed. No longer the family clown, he became a very serious young man.

He worked all his life in a factory in the middle of downtown, Grant Park. He was a PFC US Army, WW II.


Social Security number is 329-07-7311 issued in IL.