Hattie Eliza Carson was born to George and Selena (Raven) Carson in Mapleton, Maine, on 13 July 1886. Here is her birth record, but this copy was submitted very late in 1943 by her brother, Frank Carson.
In 1894, when she was seven years old, Hattie's parents divorced and her mother married Herbert Leslie Merry. By the time of the 1900 census, Herbert and Selena had moved to Woodland, Maine, and her father, George, moved to St. Albans, Maine. I'm not sure where Hattie lived the last five years of the 19th century, but she was a live-in servant for the Ingraham family in Wade Plantation, Maine, in June 1900 at the age of 13. The Ingrahams are on lines 64—68 and Hattie is on line 69 in the image below. Also of note is that 18-year-old William Whipple is boarding with the family. He is on line 71.
A few months later, on 4 August 1900, Hattie married William in nearby Washburn, Maine. An interesting note about their marriage record below is that it lists Selena as being deceased, which was not true.
Things get a little confusing (for me, anyway) at this point. There is a birth record for a daughter, Emma Whipple, born to William and Hattie on 27 August 1901 in Washburn:
Then there is a birth record for another daughter, Esther Whipple, born a year and one day later, on 28 August 1902 in Washburn:
I can't find death records for Emma or Esther. They are both listed as child #1, which I guess could make sense if Emma had already died before Esther was born. William's birthplace is listed as "Rhode Island" on Esther's birth record. He appears to have been born in East Machias in 1879, but his family was in Rhode Island for the 1880 census. Both of these records appear to have been recorded in real-time (not delayed like Hattie's was) with "AR 1901" and "AR 1902" stamped on the back. These records show that the Whipples were living in Washburn in 1901 and Mapleton, Maine in 1902.
On 8 May 1903, their daughter Ivanna E. "Ivie" Whipple was born in Mapleton. I can't find a birth record for Ivie, but she does have a death record that gives her birth date and place.
Hattie and William had a fourth daughter, Ethel, born 17 March 1905 in Ashland, Maine. She would pass away at roughly 18 months old on 12 September 1906 in Ashland. This was mentioned in the 27 September 1906 edition of the Presque Isle Star-Herald:
In 1908, Hattie gave birth to William George Whipple in Ashland and to Frederick Laurence Whipple in 1909.
At the time of the 1910 census, William, Hattie, and their three surviving children were living in Masardis, Maine. They appear on lines 89–93 in the image below and were living in the "Weeks Mill Settlement":
The family would move south and out of Aroostook County soon after and their next three children were born in central Maine; Joseph Mory Whipple in Monroe, Maine in 1912, Madeline Florence Whipple in Dixmont, Maine in 1913, and Mildred Hattie Whipple also in Dixmont in 1915. By 1917, they appear to have moved back north, as Ivie passed away on 1 July 1917 due to liver disease in Ashland and the death record states that she had been living there for the previous three months. William and Hattie's 10th and final child, Myrtle Erdine Whipple, was born in Masardis 15 February 1918.
By 1920, the family had settled in Oxbow, Maine, where Hattie would essentially live the rest of her life. The census from that year shows William, Hattie, and their six surviving children on lines 87–94:
The 1930 census shows the same picture on lines 11–18:
Things appear to have soured soon after, as William moved to Belfast by 1932 and petitioned for a divorce from Hattie on the basis of "cruel and abusive" treatment. Interestingly, the divorce record lists Hattie's residence as "unknown," but it appears that William is the one who left the family back in Oxbow. The divorce was finalized on 7 October 1932 in Waldo Superior Court. See the last line in the image below:
Over the next decade, Hattie's children would start their own families. I am missing the date (email me please if you have it), but William George married Madeline Humphrey. In 1934, there were two weddings: Madeline married Henderson Earle and Myrtle married Elden Hazlett. By the 1940 census, only Joseph was still living with his mother. Interestingly, she was listed as "Widowed." See lines 62 and 63:
The 1940s would see sons Joseph marrying Amelia Stevens in 1941 and Fred marrying Beatrice Fitzsimmons in 1946. Mildred married Russell Gardner in 1941. By the time of the 1950 census, Hattie had two of her granddaughters living with her in Oxbow. See lines 2–4:
Hattie passed away on 16 October 1978 in Presque Isle. Her obituary:
Hattie is buried in Willard Cemetery, Oxbow next to her ex-husband, William, who died in 1961.
If you see any mistakes or know of information not included here, please