William Coleman and his wife, Sarah Ann Parker, married 6 February 1855 in Calais, Washington, Maine. They were the parents of six children, but like many other couples of the time, they lost several children at young ages. I would never have known about Alvin because he was born and died in between censuses. My grandmother had told me about Ethel because she – Hazel Ethel Coleman – was named in honor of her father’s beloved little sister. I found her in the 1880 mortality schedule, which said she died of croup. Mary Adelaide, or Addie as she was known, lived to adulthood and had eight children of her own. However, she died a month past her 39th birthday (cause not known) and when her husband, George Morton Redding, died four years later on 16 November 1899, their young children were farmed out to various relatives.

William and Sarah erected this stone in memory of their children. I think it was probably placed after Addie died because the lettering is the same for all names and the spacing is even. Addie was their first born child, followed by Alvin D., William Edgar, Samuel Jones, Thomas Hartwell and Ethel H.

Coleman Children, Calais Cemetery

Alvin D., died 10 April 1858, aged five months
Ethel H., died 30 December 1873, aged 6 years, 2 months
Adelaide M., died 16 January 1895, aged 39 years

Children of
Wm. and Sarah Coleman