52 Ancestors: #10 Elizabeth (Young) Redmond

Murder is a horrible thing and when you encounter it in your family research it is VERY hard to know how to handle it. It is one thing to find a murder but to also discover a child that has murdered their parent, it is simply shocking. I did not know this story until I was researching a branch in my maternal line. Distance and time had made it so our families were not close, and I would imagine that this would NOT be a story that would be easily shared.
Sadly this is what I encountered when researching my tree. I asked a researcher living where my family was located of any information they could find in the newspaper; that is when it all started unraveling.
It seems to me that when someone dies under these circumstance it can over shadow a life. Family members who are dealing with the fall-out may be forced to grieve in quiet and not spend the time remembering the life that was well-lived. This is a my chance to talk about the life of Elizabeth (Young) Redmond that I have learned through my research.
Elizabeth Young was born in Orangeville, Ontario about 1880 to parents William and Elizabeth Harrop. When she was 8, Elizabeth along with her 7 siblings lost their father who was a gardener. Elizabeth was the 2nd youngest of the children and would have been greatly impacted her loss.

In 1905 when she was 26, Elizabeth married Michael Redmond, a labourer and 14 years her senior. The 1911 census shows the family with 3 children and Michael’s mother Mary (Shields) Redmond living with them, Michael was employed at the stockyards.
The following census in 1921 shows the parents, 6 children and Elizabeth’s mother Elizabeth living in the house.

The kids grow up, they belong to the local church groups, play piano, enjoy friendships, and start getting married, and time passes. Michael Redmond beloved father dies in 1936 and is buried

Then in 1942 the headlines scream –

The story goes that Elizabeth was set upon by her son Norman and killed. It is a tragedy that has impacted for generations.

Here is one of the articles that hit the paper about the family.

I believe Norman spent the remainder of his life in prison and died in the 1980’s. Elizabeth lived a wonderful life she was involved with her community, her church and a wonderful mother. She lived a wonderful life.