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Person

James H. O’Donnell

Also James O'Donnell · James H. O'Donnell · James “the Bay” O'Donnell

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
Born1885
Died1965
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Born
1885
Died
1965
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
communitydemography
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

James H. O’Donnell (1885–1965), identified in community notices as James “the Bay,” was married to Elsie Schmidt O’Donnell. They marked their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1962. The February notice says the couple had eight children, seven living, twenty-nine grandchildren, and twenty-two great-grandchildren.

Evidence and limits

The 1962 July and September notices identify Elsie, and the local cemetery index supplies James H.’s years. A January 1971 hospital note calls Bernard O’Donnell “the Bay”; it is therefore not safe to treat the nickname as uniquely James’s beyond the 1961–62 notices.

Sources

  1. Reports James “the Bay” O’Donnell’s fiftieth wedding anniversary on January 24, 1962, and gives the couple’s counts of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. It does not supply a spouse name or civil marriage record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1962-02_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1962-02_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Identifies the couple as James and Elsie O’Donnell, reports their August 11, 1962 golden-anniversary celebration, and calls James “the Bay.”
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1962-09_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1962-09_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Lists James H. O’Donnell (1885–1965), married to Elsie Schmidt O’Donnell. The distinctive spouse and matching fiftieth-anniversary context identify him with the newspaper notices.

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “James H. O’Donnell”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/james-h-odonnell/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, February 1962, “Anniversaries.” (and 4 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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