Dorothy Helen Clemens

FAMILY LINE AND HISTORY

Dorothy Helen Clemens
4th of 11 children of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens & Barbara Nigon
Born: Feb 16, 1903, Cascade Township, Olmsted Co., Minnesota
Died: Jun 18, 1903 (age 4 months), Cascade Township, Olmsted Co., Minnesota; spinal meningitis
Buried: Jun 20, 1903, at St. John’s (now Calvary) Cemetery in Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota

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Timeline and Records

Spellings and information in the census and other records
are retained as in the original documents.
(italicized clarifications or corrections are in parentheses)

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Eleven children of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens & Barbara Nigon:

00. (stillborn twins, female and male)
1898–1898
1. Mary Ann Clemens
1899–1994
2. Elizabeth Barbara Clemens
1900–1996
3. Amelia Rose Clemens
1902–1972
4. Dorothy Helen Clemens
1903–1903 (died at 4 months)
5. Aloysius Michael Clemens
1904–1929
6. Carl John Clemens
1905–1986
7. Cecelia Helen Clemens (Sister Ann Clemens)
1908–2003
8. Agnes Catherine Clemens
1909–2005
9. Anna Frances Clemens
1911–1995
10. Lawrence Matthew Clemens
1912–1978
11. Joseph William Clemens
1914–2010

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Apr 19, 1898: Marriage of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens & Barbara Nigon at St. John’s Catholic Church in Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota

Eleven children: (stillborn twins), Mary Ann Clemens, Elizabeth Barbara Clemens, Amelia Rose Clemens, Dorothy Helen Clemens, Aloysius Michael Clemens, Carl John Clemens, Cecelia Helen Clemens (Sister Ann Clemens), Agnes Catherine Clemens, Anna Frances Clemens, Lawrence Matthew Clemens, Joseph William Clemens

Feb 16, 1903: Birth of Dorothy Helen Clemens, 4th of 11 children of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens & Barbara Nigon, on the family farm in Cascade Township, Olmsted Co., Minnesota

Feb 22, 1903: Rochester Catholic Churches Baptism Record (in Latin):
Baptizavi Dorethiam Helenam die 22 mensis Feb. AD 1903 ex Mathias Clemens et Barbara Nigon.
Translation: I baptized Dorothia Helena on February 22, AD 1903, to Mathias Clemens and Barbara Nigon.

Jun 18, 1903: Death of Dorothy Helen Clemens (age 4 months), on the family farm in Cascade Township just outside Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota; Spinal Meningitis
Note: Funeral Home records her first name as Dora.

June 20, 1903: Funeral Home Record (pg 45): Dora Clemens, Died at home W of City, June 18, 1903. Mr. Mat Clemens is listed. $10.00 casket cost; Date of Burial, June 20, 1903; St. John’s Cemetery, Rochester, Minn; age 4 mo.; cause Spinal Meningitis, Dr. Graham. (second record on page)

Spinal Meningitis:
Meningitis and spinal meningitis refer to the same condition: inflammation of the meninges, the membranes and fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Spinal meningitis highlights that the inflammation affects the meninges along the spinal cord, but it is the same disease as meningitis, which can affect the meninges of both the brain and spinal cord.

Infectious diseases took their toll in the first two decades of the 20th century. The common causes of illness and death, particularly among children, were scarlet fever, diphtheria, enteric fever (typhoid), pulmonary and non-pulmonary tuberculosis, smallpox, measles, and cerebrospinal meningitis.

Jun 20, 1903: Burial of Dorothy Helen Clemens at St. John’s (now Calvary) Cemetery in Rochester, Olmsted Co., Minnesota; Section CC 30 15

Minnesota Cemetery Inscriptions:
Township Cascade
County Olmsted
Name Dorothy Clemens
Birth Date 16/Feb/1903
Death Date 18/Jun/1903
Cemetery Calvary Rochester
Comments WITH MATHEW & BARBARA
Section CC 30 15

Note: In 2010, upon excavating the gravesite for Joseph William “Joe” Clemens (the 11th of 11 children of Mathew Sylvester “Matt” Clemens & Barbara Nigon) in preparation for his burial, fragments of two additional caskets were found, just pieces of wood. The family surmised that these could be the burial caskets for Dorothy and perhaps Joe and Betty’s infant son, William Joseph Clemens, who died in 1947.

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Calvary Cemetery History: formerly known as St. John’s Cemetery.
The name was changed to Calvary Cemetery in 1940.

Calvary Cemetery was founded in December 1874 as Saint John’s Cemetery through the purchase of 15 acres of land by Rt. Rev. Thomas L. Grace, the Bishop of St. Paul, and given to J.B. Cotter, the Bishop of Winona, in Jan 1895. On Nov 1, 1940, the name was changed to Calvary Cemetery Association of Rochester.

Over 10,000 people are placed in the cemetery’s care, including numerous priests from the Diocese of Winona and sisters from St. Francis of Assisi.
Source: https://calvarycemeteryrochester.wordpress.com

Note: Several generations of nearly 200 Clemens, Conway, Walsh, Nigon, Kleist, Hanrahan, and Daly family members are interred here.

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2025: Researched and compiled by Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau

Note: The cemetery headstone photos from Find A Grave contained herein are the property of those who photographed them.