Laney Elenor McDermott was born on 18 May 1887 in St. Marys, New Brunswick, Canada to Hugh and Mary (King) McDermott. I've had a hard time finding any Canadian records from her childhood. From what I can gather, both of her parents died around 1890 when she and her two brothers were very young.
Some online family trees suggest that a fourth child, Lois McDermott, was born in June 1889 and died in December 1889, but I can find no records to prove that. Laney and her two brothers, Charles Elias McDermott and Hugh Alexander McDermott, were divided up amongst her mother's family and they all emigrated to Castle Hill, Maine at around the same time their parents died. The 1959 obituary for Charles stated that he "came to Aroostook County when he was six years old." This would all explain why I can't find them on the 1891 Canada census.
The 1900 US census for Castle Hill shows all three McDermott siblings living there in different King households. Laney was living with their uncle and aunt, John and Bertha King. Her brother, Hugh was with their grandfather, Elias King Sr., and his wife, Catherine. Charles was living with their uncle and aunt, Elias Jr. and Sophia King. Three years later, Sophia would give birth to Laney's future husband, Lionel Howard King. Curiously, all three McDermott children had their name spelled "McDurmic" on the census, but the dates and familial relations with the Kings all add up. The other notable things about Laney's 1900 census record are: a) that it lists her as just "Eleanor", b) it says she was born in Maine and c) the relation column says "S-in law", but she's neither an in-law nor a sister. John, Bertha and Laney "Eleanor" appear on lines 51–53 in the image below:
Laney married very young, at age 15, to another Castle Hill resident, Charles Augustus Sidell, on 29 April 1903 in Mapleton, Maine. Here's a newspaper announcement of their marriage:
Here are the front and back of their Maine Marriage Record:
That marriage lasted less than four years and there is no evidence of it bearing any children. Laney charged Charles with cruel and abusive treatment and the Sidells were divorced on 27 April 1907 in Aroostook County Supreme Judicial Court. Laney and Charles are on the 14th line in the image below:
Despite her divorce seemingly not being made official until April 27, Laney married Frank Alden Carson on 14 April 1907. Here's the record from their marriage:
Laney gave birth to their first child, Eleanor, not long after the wedding. She was born on 12 June 1907 in Ashland, Maine. Their second child, Selena Almyra Carson, was born on 21 June 1909 in Masardis, Maine.
The 1910 census finds the young family living in Masardis. See lines 85—88 in the image below:
The family moved seasonally between northern Maine, where Frank was a logger in the winter, and Waldo County, where they would farm. Laney Elenor "Kitty" Carson was born on 19 February 1912 in Jackson, Maine, Edith May Carson was born on 21 December 1915 in Ashland and Frank Alden Carson Jr. was born on 18 March 1918 in Oxbow, Maine.
Laney had an issue with someone named Hamlin in 1919 and ended up taking them to court. The name of the defendant is reported differently in almost every source and I can't even make a guess as to who it is, based on Hamlins that appear on the 1920 census for the area. Depending on which source you believe, she was seeking either $110 or "about $200" for presumably an unpaid boarding bill and she ended up being awarded $81. See the second paragraph in the notice below and the following four notices for details:
The 1920 census shows Frank, Laney and their five children renting in Thorndike, Maine. See lines 35–41 in the image below:
Laney would give birth to one more child, Zelma Blanch Carson, on 7 December 1920 in Thorndike. A few years later, she would seek a divorce on the basis of "extreme cruelty" and it was granted in Waldo County Supreme Judicial Court in Belfast, Maine on 18 April 1924. See the last line of the record below:
The notice in the newspaper also states that Laney was awarded custody of the six children:
Soon after the divorce, 15-year-old daughter Selena married Henry Littlefield on 21 October 1924 in Belfast. At some point around 1926, daughter Ellen married Elwin Francis Hustus and gave birth to Elwin Francis Hustus Jr in 1927 while in Massachusetts.
In 1926, Laney would marry for the third and final time. The groom was her first cousin, Lionel Howard King. Here is a photo from their wedding day:
The couple moved to New Marlborough, Massachusetts and the 1930 census shows them and Laney's three youngest children on lines 27–31:
Her three eldest daughters were divided between Connecticut and Maine in 1930; Ellen was living in North Canaan, Connecticut, Kitty was living with her father in Avon, Connecticut, and Selena had settled in Belfast, Maine.
Laney King died at age 44 in 1932 due to cancer.
The quality of her death record scan is horrible, but it's the best I have for now:
Her obituary:
Laney was buried in Morrill Village Cemetery in Morrill, Maine. The father of her children, Frank, would join her in the Carson/Hustus plot in 1968.
If you see any mistakes or know of information that isn't included here, please