A Mystery Graduation
by Bob Sweeney
August 2020
In the Summer of 2020, Roger Hatch sent us a photo found in the attic of the late
Genevieve Marshall on Kelly Hill in Forks Township, PA. Genevieve (1901-1975) was a daughter of Joseph and Mary ("May") (Kelly) Marshall,
and therefore a descendant of two of the great Irish Catholic families of Sullivan County. As my cousin Edward Kelly, who grew up on Kelly Hill, explains:
Genevieve Marshall is the only sister of Aloysius ("Wishy") Marshall et al. who are the children of
Joseph and Mary (May) Kelly Marshall and the grandchildren of Daniel and Mary (Leahy) Kelly. Thus she and her siblings are second
cousins to you, Ken Beirne, and me. Wishy's daughters, Doris, Janet, and Janice, are Genevieve's nieces, and she doted on them,
especially Doris who is the oldest child of Wishy. Doris is married to David Hatch who is Roger Hatch's father. Janet was
married to David Hatch's brother, Sidney, who died recently. Janice (Marshall) Walsh lives on Bahl Hill in Forks Township, Sullivan
County, PA and is the Forks Township Tax Collector, an elective office. Wishy's son, James, is deceased. Genevieve and
her brother, Paul, lived on the Marshall farm on Kelly Hill, Forks Township, Sullivan County, PA until their deaths.
Here is Genevieve's obituary:
Daily Review
Towanda PA
May 1, 1975
Miss Genevieve Ann Marshall, 74, New Albany RD 3, Forks Township, died April 28, 1975. Born April 6, 1901
in Overton Township, Sullivan County, she was the daughter of Joseph and Mary Kelly Marshall. She attended school
in Sullivan County and continued her education at Bloomsburg State Teachers College. She taught school for many years and was
also active in farming until her retirement. She was a member of St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church, Overton, and a member
of its Altar and Rosary Society. Surviving are three brothers, Lawrence of Millport, N.Y. Aloysius of Dushore and Ivan of Sayre;
several nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held this morning (Thursday) at 9:15 a.m. from the Regina Tubach Homer
Funeral Home, Dushore, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at St. Francis Xavier Church, Overton. Burial will
be in the church cemetery.
You can learn more about the Kelly family at
The Kelly Reunion of 2006.In any case, Roger sent us the following photo showing a group of apparent graduates of the 1932 Corps of Army Engineers at
Fort Humphreys, Virginia. We present both the photo and an associated roster and prgram description that Roger uncovered through his own research. The
mystery is why this photograph was in the possession of Genevieve Marshall. Who in the photo is somehow connected to her or someone she knew or was close to
. As of the posting of this photograph in August 2020, none of th Kelly, Sweeney, Beirne or Hatch individuals who are aware of this photo have any idea
what the connection might be.Here is the photo:/p>
Army Corps of Engineers
Fort Humphreys Virginia
August 1932Photo Courtesy of Roger Hatch
Source: Attic of Genevieve Marshall
Click on photo for enlarged version.Here is the Roster and Program.
We'd love to hear from you if you can throw some light on who in this photo is connected to the Marshall or Hatch family and how.
You can write directly to Roger Hatch or Bob Sweeney.Copyright © 2020 Robert E. Sweeney and individual Contributors. All Rights Reserved.
Prior written permission is required from Robert E. Sweeney and individual Contributors before
this material can be printed or otherwise copied, displayed or distributed
in any form. This
is a FREE genealogy site sponsored through PAGenWeb and can be reached directly
at ~Sullivan County Genealogy Project (http://www.rootsweb.com/~pasulliv)
