Joseph Barton CORNEAU

                   SOURCE:  CORNEAU 0013 lists Nicholas H. Ridgely's two wives, their
children, and their grandchildren.  It is undated, but was compiled  at
some point after 1923 and prior to 1935, and lists Octavia Roberts (Mrs.
Barton Corneau) as living.
SOURCE:  CORNEAU 0008 (Kith and Kin Mailing List, February 26, 1936),
gives address as 25 Chestnut Street, Boston, Massachusetts
SOURCE:  personal knowledge of Nancy Lenox: she and Uncle Bart lived for
many years in Ogonquit, Maine, which was their summer home when my
mother was young, then later their retirement home.
SOURCE:  CORNEAU 0008 (Kith and Kin), CORNEAU 0045 (Kith and Kin) and
CORNEAU 0057 (Road of Remembrance) contain her reminiscences of her
childhood and young womanhood prior to her marriage.
SOURCE: Information from the Sangamon Valley Collection of the Lincoln
Library in Springfield, Illinois describes her as reporter for
State Journal (which experience she describes herself in CORNEAU
0057). SOURCE:  CORNEAU 0011 includes a letter from Moses Williams of
Minot, DeBlois & Maddison dated March 13, 1970 in which he says: Mrs.
Corneau seems to be well, and Mrs. Benson [her caregiver at the time] is
doing a fine job as far as I can make out.  I go over to
Mrs. Benson has a problem, or if I have not been for a number of weeks I
go over anyhow.  Mrs. Corneau seems to be getting more and more
confused and difficult to talk to.  It is too bad that her
far away, but under the circumstances, she appears to be better taken
care of than if she had gone to Springfield earlier after the death of
Barton. OBITUARY:  Death notice, Illinois State Journal, Springfield,
Illinois, Thursday, 16 March 1972, page 12:  Mrs. Octavia Roberts
Corneau, 96, of Ogunquit, Maine, formerly of Springfield, died
her home.
Prior to her marriage to the late J. Barton Corneau she was a reporter
for the Illinois State Journal.  She also wrote several special articles
and novels, including Lafayette in America, Lincoln in Illinois, The
Perilous Isle and a history of the Governors Mansion for the Illinois
State Historical Society.  Surviving are two sisters, Miss Marianne
Roberts and Mrs. George H. Atherton, both of Springfield.  A requiem
Eucharist will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Friday at the Cathedral Church of
St. Paul, Springfield.
PUBLISHED WORKS:  I have copies of all of her books that are listed in
the Library of Congress:
Lincoln in Illinois;
With Lafayette in America;
My Lady Valentine; and
The Perilous Isle (which is a novel based loosely on the early
Baptiste Toussaint Corneau).
Also in my possession are:
A Girl in the Sixties, Excerpts from the Journal of Anna Ridgely (Mrs.
James L. Hudson), edited by her Niece Octavia Roberts Corneau;
several short stories she wrote for the American Magazine; and
10 articles she wrote for the Illinois State Journal in 1912-1913
(CORNEAU 0072), which were reprinted during 1999 by the Journal:
April 24, 1912  on the sinking of the Titanic, and women's answers to
the question Should the husband die that the wife may live?
April 29, 1912 about Springfield public vocational schools
June 6, 1912 about telephone switchboard operators
June 21, 1912 about meeting John Phillip Sousa at a trap shoot
July 13, 1912 about the moving picture business and the Grand Theatre
Sept 11, 1912 about the innovative new Montessori teaching system
Sept 20, 1912 about Autumn store window displays
October 7, 1912 about the Travelers Aid Society
November 5, 1912 about immigrants learning American customs and
language at Springfield night school
November 13, 1912 asking the question is the farmer's wife lazy of
Col. Charles F. Mills, the publisher of The Farm Home
December 11, 1912 an article against the use of chewing gum by women
June 20, 1913 about fortune tellers
PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS of Nancy Lenox:  When Aunt Tavie and Uncle
Bart, for so we referred to them, would come to visit us in Santa Cruz,
they would always stay on the very top floor of the Palomar Hotel in
downtown Santa Cruz.  It was a great thrill to go and visit them there,
since it meant a ride in the tallest elevator in town, all the way up to
the sixth floor; and a wide-eyed gaze out the window of the tallest
building in town when we got to their hotel room.  Aunt Tavie always had
a box of mints on hand -- round ones about the size of a silver dollar,
flat on top, ridged on the bottom, in four colors and flavors -- pale
green, pink, pale yellow, and white.  I think she was one of the few
relatives I knew who really understood what a joy it was to meAlice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was a birthday gift tobirthday, June 28, 1956.