109
Nora Bridget Doyle
1891-1909
16 Dec 1891 brought an early Christmas present to the Michael Doyle household, a daughter, Norah Bridget, per her baptismal certificate. See pg; 185 of the appendix. She was baptized on 20 Dec 1891 by Father Maurice Joy.
Though baptized Bridget she apparently was known in the family as Beatrice, since family members in later years always referred to her as Bea. Her oldest sister, Margaret, later used this name for her only daughter, Beatrice, who is also known by the diminutive, Bea.
Bea has been described by a family member as "the sweetest of the bunch" and apparently this is an apt description.
The 20 Feb 1909 Sentinel had this item. "Miss Bridget Doyle is on the sick list." Apparently this illness was serious as before she reached her 18th birthday, on 8 Jun 1909, the "Angel of Death" visited the Michael Doyle home for the first time and Bridget went off to her eternal reward. Either smallpox or diptheria may have been the cause of death, though T.B. also is mentioned as a possible cause by some of the older members of the family.
Sister Helen, who was about 13 years old at the time, remembers little of Bea's death except the impression of her coffin being carried out of the house and how her dear mother cried so hard. This left an indelible impression that is still strong almost 70 years later.
Bea is buried in the Catholic cemetery at St. Thomas, Minnesota. To add to the confusion her headstone reads Bridget M. Doyle, 1892-1909.
Within six months after Bea's death the family moved to Minneapolis.
See Appendix pg. 186 for copies of Bea's obituaries.