Katherine Mary Norton (1894-1942)

Katherine Mary Norton (1894-1942) aka Kitty Norton; School Teacher in Jersey City, New Jersey who Died under Mysterious Circumstances (b. June 30, 1894, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, USA - d. November 10, 1942, 4:20 pm, Hudson County Hospital, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, USA)

Birth
Katherine was born on June 30, 1894 to Patrick J. Norton (1858-1905) and Sarah Jane Carr (1866-1950). She was one of five children, out of which only three lived to adulthood.

Siblings: Thomas Patrick Norton I (1891-1968) who married Mary Margaret Burke (1890-1949) aka May Burke, and after her death he married her half-sister, Josephine Burke; James Joseph Norton I (1892-1961) who married Helen Marie Maher (1895-1974) aka Eeenie Maher; Sarah Francis Norton (1896) who died as an infant of acute pachymeningitis; and Mary Norton (1898) who died as an infant of acute meningitis.

Jersey City, New Jersey: In the year 1900 she was living at 101 Bright Street in Jersey City and by 1910 the family had moved to 31 Germania Avenue. During World War I the name of Germania Avenue was changed to Liberty Avenue.

Marriage: On July 28, 1930 she married James Patrick Langan I (1889-1975). James was an Army sergeant during World War I and a newspaper pressman after the war.

Children: They had three children: James Patrick Langan II (1931- ), John Bernard Langan I (1934- ) and Kathryn Anne Langan (1937- ).

Teacher: Katherine was put through teacher's college by her bother, Thomas Patrick Norton I (1891-1968). He became the man of the house at age 14 when his father died. Tom went to work for the railroad and became the source of income for the household. Katherine became a school teacher in the Jersey City public school system, as were her two sister-in-laws, Helen Marie Maher (1895-1974) aka Eenie Maher, and Mary Margaret Burke (1890-1949) aka May Burke.

Roman Catholic: She was a member of the Catholic Daughters of America (CDA) and the Holy Rosary Society. Her mother forbade her from attending the wedding of her nephew, Thomas Patrick Norton II (1920- ) on October 03, 1942 because Tom was marrying a Protestant, but, she watched the wedding from outside the church. She wrote Tom a letter telling him she saw the ceremony from outside the church.

Death: She died just five weeks later, on November 10, 1942. Her death is a bit of a mystery, Thomas Patrick Norton II (1920- ), her nephew, says that she died while they were trying to clear her sinuses with a hot needle. Ann Elizabeth O'Malley (1933- ) remembers talk in the family that she had become very depressed.

Psychological Exhaustion: Her death certificate says that she died from "psychological exhaustion". Unless her medical records are recovered, the circumstances of her death will remain a mystery.

Speculation: It appears that she was hospitalized for her depression and that she died at the hospital. It is possible that they performed an operation to relieve her depression and she died during the operation.

Burial: She was buried at Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City.