Nancy Ruth McKenney

Nancy Ruth was born in Stetson, ME on October 5, 1823 to Oliver Hartwell Jr. and Keisha (Matthews) (Chase) Hartwell. Her father had served during the Revolutionary War. Both of her parents had been married previously, and surprisingly she was not the youngest—she had a sister named Roxanna born in 1826.

In 1840 Nancy married Robert Stetson. He died in 1850, and she married his younger brother Sherbourne in 1851. He died around 1861. She had six children, two with her first husband and four with her second.

She lived with her youngest son George in Pepperell, MA for a time after Sherbourne’s death, and then with her youngest daughter Ella in Lynn, MA. By 1910 she had moved in with her granddaughter Ida Mounsey in Leominster, MA.

Mrs. McKenney was a member of the General Israel Putnam Chapter of the DAR, being eligible for membership from her father’s service. Because she joined under her father, she is what is known as a DAR Real Daughter.

She passed away on February 7, 1914 from senility and exhaustion due to bronchial pneumonia. She was laid to rest in Evergreen Cemetery in Leominster, MA.