Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-01-23

NEVER KNEW PARENTS FAMILY
Aged Parents of Mrs. coffey Seek
Daughter Eighteen Years, and Find
Living image in Marshalitown Girl
Who Appears Before Them-Diseov-
cry BY Mere Accident.

cry BY Mere Accident.
After Miss Helen Coffey. of this city,
has lived in ignorance of her dead
mothers people all her life. she ap-
peared before whom she firmly believes
! to be her mothers parents, Mr.. and
Mrs. Eugene Smith, at Waterloo. The
aged parents of Mrs. Goffey as hrmiy
believe that the young woman from this
city is the reincarnation of the spirit
of their daughter, shown to them as
tho in vision, after nearly twenty
years of anxiety, and after life OF
hope against hope, that. some day their
dear one would return to them.
1t was by merest accident that Miss
Coffey went to Waterloo yesterday aft
ernoon to see Mr.. and Mrs. Smith. The
young, woman who has been employed
as waitress at the Stoddart for three
weeks. noticed in a newspaper an &C
count of two aged parents at Water
loo. who had hlourned for their long
lost daughter. The picture OF the
daughter, as she appeared eighteen
years ago, accompanied the article.
"Thats My Mother!"
Miss Coffey gave the picture a hur-
ried glance, and exclaimed That's my
mother." She Immediately made
known her belief to Mrs. Stoddart, and
was so earnest in her conviction that
the picture in the paper was that OF
her dead mother, that Mrs. Stoddart
at once suggested that the two go to
Waterloo and investigate
Miss Coffeys mental impression OF
her dead mothers face was not to be
shaken, and she declared that she had
seen the same picture in the possession
iof her father, Edward Coffey, of l0os
South Center street, an 4empioye OF
the Lennox Furnac company.
Visit Waterloo Couple.
The visit to Waterloo was hastily
planned. and Mrs. Stoddart and Miss
Coffey went up on the afternoon train.
They found Mr.. and Mrs. Smith, who
declared at once that Miss Coffey was
the living image of their daughter as
they remembered her A son of the
old couple came to see the newly found
niece, and he,too, believed there was no
doubt of the girl being his sisters
daughter.
Mr.. and Mrs. Smith and son, at Wat
erloo, all knew Of Mr.. Coffey, the girls
father, but they did not know that
ANNA had married Coffey."
Sat Near Grandparents in Church.
queer coincidence in connection
with the case is that Miss Coffey
worked in Waterloo for a time last
summer, and attended the Catholic
church, For the Sundays Of three
months she occupied a pew a few rows
in front Of Mr.. and Mrs. Smith and
their son, yet neither Miss Corey nor
her grandparents were aware of the,
others identity.
Mr.. and Mrs. Smith are well-to-do
people. and own considerable property
in Waterloo.
Mrs. Coffey Died Here.
Mrs. Edward Coffey died in this city
on April IL, 1898, Of pulmonary tuber-
culosis, complicated with heart trou-
BILE. She left two children, Helen, then
aged Z, and Leo, aged 4. Immediately
following the deatY. of the mother
Rev. Father M G. Lenihan, then pas
tor of st. Mary's, took the girl Helen
to the sisters of humility, who, the,
following spring, adopted her. The
father, altho he never signed the
adoption papers, never claimed mis-
daughter until she became of age,
which was the original agreement with
the sisters, that they were to have the
girl until she became 49, Miss Coffey
left the convent in May, 1907, and has
since made her home with her father.
Knew Nothing Of Mother.
Miss Coffey claims that she has new
er been able to get any satisfactory
reply from her father as to who her
mothers people were, but why the
father should try to keep the identity
of her kin secret Miss Coffey is unable
to say. The Smiths at Waterloo are
Catholics, and say their daughter was
born and reared in the Catholic
church Here it Is claimed that Mrs.
Coffey was a convert ITO the Catholic
faith, and was anxious that her daugn-
ter be reared by the sisters in the
event of her death.
Claimed Had No Relatives.
Before Mrs. Coffey died she told DR..
A. b. Conway, her physician, that she
had no relatives living of whom she
knew This statement was made, ac-
cording to the doctor, when the doc
tor told his patient that she had but
a few days to live.
The Waterloo couple claim their
daughter to have been born in Wav-
erly, and presumably Waverly. Iowa,
from all that was said at Waterloo
Friday. The death record in Mrs. Cof-
fey's case showed her to have been
born in Nebraska There is a Waiver
N,ob I,o,,,a1,or Tho orocnnt Mrs