Georgia (Mullen) Roland (1871-1907) was born in Kentucky in 1871 to John T. and Sue E. (Reed) Mullen. John passed away sometime before the 1880 census, which shows Georgia living with her mother Sue next door to her aunt Gussie and grandmother George Ann (McBrayer) Reed. By 1893, Georgia was working as a wrapper for F.A. Menne & Co., a tobacco company, and boarding on 15th Street with her mother. By 1900, she was married to a man with the last name of Hurst. No marriage records could be found nor any information on Mr. Hurst. However, she was able to marry again on May 24, 1907 when she married Glenn P.H. Roland in Louisville. The couple resided at 936 E. Marshall Street in the Phoenix Hill Neighborhood. Unfortunately, Georgia contracted tuberculosis and died at the age of 35 on August 16, 1907. Her obituary mentions that she had only been married four months and was survived by her husband, mother, and aunt. She was buried in Section A, Range 18, Lot 51 of Eastern Cemetery. Her headstone calls her “Our Darling” and features a rose. Her mother, grandmother, and aunt are also buried in the plot.
Georgia is a prime example of how hard it can be to research women in history. Her headstone calls her Mrs. Georgia Roland, so you know that she was married. We found her death record, but it did not list her maiden name, spouse’s name, or parents’ names. We were lucky to find her obituary, which did list her spouse and mother’s names. Her obituary also mentioned that Georgia’s last name was Hurst at the time of her marriage. That told us that she was married previously. We then had to research her mother to see if Mullen was Georgia’s father’s surname or if it was a later husband’s. We eventually discovered that Mullen was Georgia’s maiden name, which helped us find more information on her life. Because of name changes and how record keeping has changed over time, so many women can be lost. That’s why you see us include maiden names whenever possible.
