Mary Eleonora Gochen-Linnus (1834-1918)

[drykid]

Hi, I hope this is the right section for this.  Please let me know if it isn't.

I am trying to find out more about Mary Eleonora Gochen-Linnus (name at time of death), born 1834 in London and died in Warsaw, Poland on 20th September 1918. Unfortunately I only have the birth year and not the exact date, which is going to make things more difficult I realise.  Depending on the circumstances of her marriage – assuming she did marry – then she could potentially have been born a “Gochen-Linnus”, a “Gochen” or a “Linnus” just to make things even more difficult.

I don't know when she left the UK but my assumption is that she emigrated to Poland at some point. So it may be well be that anything related to her later life will be found in records held outside of the UK.

In case anyone is curious, this relates to a grave marker I'm trying to find more information about.  I was in Warsaw a couple of months ago with my partner to visit the grave of her grandmother who died last year.  But it's quite an old cemetery and it so happens that nearby was a grave that stood out to me, partly because it was large and distinctive in style but also because it was quite overgrown with ivy. I ended up clearing away as much of the ivy as I could to get a better look at it. 

The inscription on it reads:
"D.O.M.
Mary Eleonora Gochen-Linnus
Born in London 1834 bested [sic] in the lord at Warsaw 20-IX-1918
To his best and truest life-friend lays this memorial stone
Joseph Glisczynski"

Anyway I found myself wanting to know more about who Mary Eleonaora Gochen-Linnus was, how she ended up in Warsaw and also what her relationship with Joseph Glisczynski was (it seems fairly unusual for a grave stone to be dedicated to the deceased by a friend - as opposed to a relative - in this way?)  I doubt I'll ever know all of that but it would be nice to find out a bit oof her life story at least

[CaroleW]

What searches have you already done to establish her identity etc?

Have you checked www.familysearch.org?

[drykid]

I tried looking on ancestry.co.uk but couldn't find anyone that seemed to match the little info I have.  I was only using the free version though so I was somewhat restricted in that regard.

I will give familysearch.org a go, thanks 

[CaroleW]

You would need to establish if that was her birth name or her married name. 

No Gochen or Linnus marriage in England

You could try & find a copy of her death cert in case it gives further info but being realistic - is it worth the effort given this is a "curiosity only" search & not family history??

[drykid]

Thanks for confirming that there was no such marriage (at least in England anyway.)  Yes, not knowing the birth name is a big obstacle.  I was hoping that the relative obscurity of the two parts of the name (i.e. Gochen / Linnus) might compensate for that to a degree, but I appreciate there are limiits.

I don't mind putting more effort in; to be honest it interests me more than researching my own family history (which is something that has never particularly interested me, although I fear that might be an odd opinion to voice here.)  I suppose you could argue though that maybe doing research into my own family history first might be a better way to master the skills involved, since at least with that I have some known starting points to work backwards from unlike this particular search.

I fear getting the death cert might be something of a challenge since it would involve Polish archives and I don't speak the language.  (Also 1918 was something of a complicated year in Polish history to say the least, I'm not sure how that would affect what is held and where...) But it's certainly something for me to consider, especially if it would help unlock other angles.  Thanks again 

[CaroleW]

No guarantees the death cert would contain any useful info.  If she was a widow it may possibly show her as the widow of - - - - - which may be a starting point for a marriage search.

It may be a good idea to ask the moderator to move your post to the Europe board as people with more specialised knowledge may be able to help you.

Just click on  "report to moderator" in bottom right hand corner

[Dave Francis]

Anc* worldwide has basic details of her burial.
Transcription says her name was Mary Eleonora Linnos
and she was born 1 January 1834

Looking at the lettering on the gravestone I think Linnos is quite possibly correct.