52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Historical Events

The prompt for Week 49 of 52 Weeks of Personal History & Genealogy, by Amy Coffin of We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Historical Events.

Describe a memorable national historical event from your childhood. How old were you and how did you process this event? How did it affect your family?

A national event that touched my family was the death of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy's youngest son, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy. Patrick Bouvier Kennedy was born on August 7, 1963 at the hospital at the Otis Air Force Base in Bourne, Massachusetts. He was born prematurely, and soon he was transferred to Boston Children's Hospital. On August 9, 1963, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy died as a result of respiratory distress syndrome. He was buried at Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts, but later was re-interred, along with another infant who was stillborn, at Arlington National Cemetery. Sadly, President Kennedy would be killed on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.

The reason the loss of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy affected my family was that my parents had five children under the age of 12 in August of 1963. I was just about to enter the sixth grade at that time. Even though our family was large, my parents loved each of us, and appreciated our individual personalities.

I knew how much I cherished my younger brothers and sisters, and I thought about how sad it must be for the entire Kennedy family to lose Patrick in infancy. Mom and I sent Mrs. Kennedy a sympathy card, and remembered her in our prayers. All families suffer losses, but the Kennedy family sorrows were so public, and were covered by the media across the nation and the world. My family, along with the rest of the nation, were deeply saddened by the deaths of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Photo credits:
Image of Kennedy Family from Life Magazine, April 26, 1963, page 26, via Google Books

Image of graves of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy, Arlington National Cemetery, from Wikipedia Commons

Mrs. Hannah Cowan

Mrs. Hannah Cowan was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania on March 4, 1803. She moved to Bellefontaine, Ohio in 1839. By 1844, her husband had died, leaving her to care for two young children on her own.

According to the November 28, 1882 issue of the Sandusky Register, Mrs. Cowan "was a woman of superior education and strong mind,and taking on her own shoulders the burden of life, she became a school teacher, a profession she followed for twelve years. Among her pupils were boys who have since become famous soldiers and public men, and often in the past twenty years she has been the recipient of personal attention from men who regarded her as their wise instructor in their boyhood."

Mrs. Hannah Cowan passed away on November 24, 1882. She was the mother of Mrs. Clark Center. For many years Mrs. Cowan had made her home with Mr. and Mrs. Clark. Hannah Cowan was buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Shortly after her death, General Robert P. Kennedy wrote a letter to Rev. D. J. Meese, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Sandusky, which was reprinted in the Sandusky Register. General Kennedy stated about Mrs. Cowan, "...her patience, her piety and Christian character are still imprinted upon my memory..." He continued, pointing out that Mrs. Cown had laid the foundation for the superstructure of an education.