Laura Abel Stephan Couldn't Recover from a Fractured Skull

(Part of the Descendants of Henry Abel series.)

Laura Elizabeth Abel was born 19 July 1876 in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia to John Henry Abel and Laura Elizabeth Brooks.  When little Laura was just 10 months old her mother died, leaving Laura and an older brother (Lovick Askew Abel) to be raised by a single father.  Less than sixteen months would pass before John married again to Sarah Catherine Murfee.  This union provided Laura with five half siblings.

When Laura was a young woman of just 18 years, she married James M. Lightfoot.  The couple had two children:  Katie L. and Henry George.  Less than five years into the marriage – on 10 August 1899 – James died at the age of about 27 years.  His sudden death was "due to a hemorrhage."

A few more years would pass before Laura married again.  This time, she wed William George Stephan, a first generation American born to a German father.  William and Laura had five children:

• Prentice D. Stephan (d. 1966 at Arlington, Virginia)
• William Lovic Stephan (d. 1987 at Glynn County, Georgia)
• Robert Augustus Stephan (d. 1993 at Charlotte, Florida)
• Ellen Stephan Calvert (d. 1997)
• Mary Doris Stephan Hitchcock (d. 2012)

In early March of 1933, Laura had to bury another husband.  A portion of the newspaper article describing William's death said this (article may be viewed in totality at GenealogyBank):

After hearing much evidence and examining six witnesses, a coroner's jury decided Saturday afternoon that William G. Stephan, 59-year-old painter, was drowned when he fell into a pool of water while he was drunk Wednesday.  His body was discovered by a Negro boy Friday in half a foot of water in a pit at the old steam power plant of the Georgia Power company near Central City park.

Fellow veterans of the Spanish American War attended William's funeral.

Six and a half years following the death of her husband, on 7 September 1939, Laura would have a mishap in the home they once shared on Yates Avenue in Macon from which she would not recover.  She accidentally fell down some steps and fractured her skull.  Laura was taken to the Oglethorpe Private Infirmary in town, where she died eight days subsequent due to the fracture and contusion of the brain.

The survivors listed in Laura's obituary show the expanse of the Abel family in middle Georgia, just two generations after the arrival of her grandfather Henry from Germany (article may be viewed in totality at GenealogyBank).

Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. Katie McCaw, Mrs. Ellen Calvert, and Mrs. Doris Hitchcock, all of Macon; four sons, Henry, Willie, and Robert of Macon, and Prentice Stephan, of Washington, D.C.; 11 grandchildren; step-mother, Mrs. Sarah Abel; two brothers, Sidney W. Abel and Theodore G. Abel; a sister, Mrs. Mary Bessie Smith; sister-in-law, Mrs. Lovick Abel and a number of nieces and nephews in Macon.

Both Laura and William rest in the Honeysuckle Ridge section of Rose Hill Cemetery.

Some Additional Sources:

1. "Illness Is Fatal To Mrs. Stephan," issued 16 September 1939, accessed 3 June 2017, name of interest:  Mrs. Laura Elizabeth Abel Stephan, Macon Telegraph, Macon, Georgia, online image (http://www.genealogybank.com).
2. "Georgia Deaths, 1928-1940", database, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch, (http://www.familysearch.org), Image of death certificate for Mrs. Laura Stephan, d. 15 September 1939 at Bibb County.
3. Friends of Rose Hill, "Historic Rose Hill Cemetery Directory", database, Historic Rose Hill (http://www.rosehillcemetery.org) Accessed 18 May 2017, entry for John Henry Abel, d. 22 November 1892.
4. "Georgia Deaths, 1914-1927", database, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch, (http://www.familysearch.org), death certificate image for Lovick Askew Abel, d. 11 August 1925 at Bibb County.
5. Friends of Rose Hill, "Historic Rose Hill Cemetery Directory", database, Historic Rose Hill (http://www.rosehillcemetery.org) Accessed 18 May 2017, entry for Laura E. Abel, d. 25 May 1877.
6. "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch, (http://www.familysearch.org), Image of card for Lovick Askew Abel, b. 11 February 1873.
7. "Georgia County Marriages, 1785 - 1950", database, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch, (http://www.familysearch.org), image, J. H. Abel m. Sarah C. Murfee 12 September 1878 at Bibb County.
8. "Neighborhood News," issued 1 April 1934, accessed 3 June 2017, names of interest:  Mrs. Sarah Catherine Abel, Theodore G. Abel, Macon Telegraph, Macon, Georgia, online image (http://www.genealogybank.com).
9. "Georgia County Marriages, 1785 - 1950", database, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch, (http://www.familysearch.org), image, James M. Lightfoot m. Laura E. Abel 27 September 1894 at Bibb County.
10. 1900 census of United States, population schedule, 716 District, Macon City, Bibb, Georgia, E. D. No. 31, sheet no. 4A, dwelling 66, family 79, Sarah C. Abel household, accessed 18 May 2017. Includes daughters Marth E. and Mary B.; sons Theodore G. and Sydney W.; step-daughter Laura E. Lightfoot; step-granddaughter Katie L.; and step-grandson Henry G.; digital image, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org).
11. Fort Hill Cemetery (Macon, Bibb County, Georgia), Image of tombstone by Jimmy Allen (2013) via FindAGrave Memorial #117955923 -- Henry George Lightfoot. http://www.findagrave.com/.
12. "Mr. Lightfoot Buried," issued 12 August 1899, accessed 31 May 2017, name of interest:  Mr. James Lightfoot, Macon Telegraph, Macon, Georgia, online image (http://www.genealogybank.com).
13. "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch, (http://www.familysearch.org), Image of card for William George Stephan, b. 16 November 1873.
14. 1880 census of United States, population schedule, Macon Third Fire Ward, Bibb, Georgia, E. D. No. 15, page no. 47, dwelling & family 365, William Stephan household, accessed 16 June 2017. Includes wife Ellen; sons Thomas P., Alfred W., William G., Robert E. L., John, and Marian; and daughters Mary E., Elizabeth I., and Agnes H.; digital image, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org).
15. "Deaths: Stephan, Prentice D." issued 14 April 1966, accessed 16 June 2017, name of interest:  Prentice D. Stephan, Evening Star, Washington, District of Columbia, online image (http://www.genealogybank.com).
16. 1920 census of United States, population schedule, Macon City, Bibb, Georgia, E. D. No. 17, sheet no. 2A, dwelling 30, family 32, William D. Stephan household, accessed May 2017. Includes wife Laura; sons Prentice, William, and Robert; daughters Ellen and Dorris; and niece Maude; digital image, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org).
17. "Mary Doris Stephan Hitchcock," issued 25 June 2012, accessed 30 May 2017, name of interest:  Mary Doris Stephan Hitchcock, The Macon Telegraph, Macon, Georgia, transcription (http://www.genealogybank.com).
18. "Stephan's Death Called Drowning," issued 5 March 1933, accessed 16 June 2017, name of interest:  William G. Stephan, Macon Telegraph, Macon, Georgia, online image (http://www.genealogybank.com).
19. 1850 census of United States, population schedule, 716th Dist G. M., City Macon, Bibb, Georgia, Dwelling & Family 53, Henry Abel household, accessed 18 May 2017. Includes Elizabeth (age 24); Frederick (age 6); William (age 5); Henry (age 3); E. A. (female, age 2); and C. E. (male, age 8/12); digital image, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org).