Descendants of Bessie Hartley
The following is an account of Bessie Hartley's life recalled by her granddaughter JoAnn Kauppanen Miller in 1999. Bessie HartleyShe was born in Lancashire, England, May 15, 1869. The daughter of Isaac John Hartley and Elizabeth, no further research has been done on her mothr, or how many other children were in this family for sure. Her father was the owner of a textile mill. Bessie married Charles Henry Jackson, he was a stable hand or groomsman for the family. This caused a problem, as she married below her status, and was disowned by the family. Charles and Bessie had two daughters, Elizabeth (Lizzie) and Ethel. Ethel was born 3 months after her father's death. After her birth Bessie went and begged her family to help her out. She was employed by her brother, and was able to work in the mill doing a menial task. Evidently forgiving was not in their nature. While being employed at the mill she saved from her small wages about 10 cents a week. This savings was put aside to be used to emigrate to Canada. When Lizzie, was 18 years old they lied about her age as 15 years years. (Editor's note: These ages do not fit with her marriage record or the 1910 census, where Lizzie states she immigrated to America in 1896. She must have been very vain about her age.) This was done to save on the ships passage fare. They sailed out of Liverpool, England, and entered Montreal, Canada. Great Grandma was a very frugal, and determined person. The young family made their way to the United States through New York. Bessie then late married a man she found out shortly after that he was a bigamist, and this marriage was annulled. She met and married Richard Dissett, a lighthouse keeper. He has been a keeper of the light at WHITEFISH POINTE LIGHTHOUSE on Lake Superior, and Round Island Lighthouse. Round Island Light is between St. Ignace and Roung Island at the Macinac Island area of Michigan. Richard and Bessie were the first couple to be married in Parlor of Round Island Lighthouse in 1918. This is located northwest of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Today it is a museum of the shipwrecks of that area. Great Grandpa Dissett was an influence on his son-in-law Wylie Koepka, who became a lighthouse keeper in Ashtabula, OH and in New York. This was the beginning of a love affair with lighthouses for this family. Bessie lived a very disersified life. She was active and very independent. She was interested in the stock market, toyed in the gold exchange, purchasing gold and mining stocks. This didn't give her the rewards she was looking for at the time. Each day she went to the dictionary and learned five new words and their meaning. Bessie passed away while on a visit to New York to visit her other daughter Ethel. |
Created on ... September 12, 2000, Updated Mar 29, 2003
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