Despite the fact that "their escapade created something of a sensation," they went on to get married four years later, and according to the Eastport Directory, they were still married and living in Eastport in 1935. Subsequent research showed that Carroll Sears first married Sadie Scott in Eastport in 1912.

I also found a newspaper obituary (dated December 7, 1968) for Maurice's daughter, who would have been Anna's granddaughter. It says in part: "Anna Maria Sears, 23-month-old infant daughter of Maurice R. Sears and Sharon E. Dawson Sears of 45 Westview Dr, Hazardville, died Thursday at home. She was born in West Haven, and besides her parents, she leaves two brothers, Michael R. Sears and Richard F. Sears, both at home. Burial will be in St. Bernard's Cemetery, in Hazardville (village in Enfield).

No doubt, granddaughter Anna was named after Anna J. Gallant.

Then Helen Archer notified me that she had found Anna's death record. Sadly, she passed away in Calais, Maine, on September 8, 1936, apparently after a long illness. Her date of birth was reported as February 12, 1902, so she was only 34. Her son Maurice would have been 16 years old when she died. The death record states that she was buried in Hillside Cemetery in Eastport, although she does not appear in the cemetery records.

Further research revealed that husband Carroll Sears moved to El Paso, Texas, in about 1942, and died there on June 30, 1957.

"Anna (Nan) was my great-aunt. I just read an article in the Quoddy Tides (Eastport) newspaper about your research about her. One of my cousins sent it to me. I'm grateful for all the work you put into researching Anna. There is a lot I didn’t know. Anna's oldest sister, Monica, was my grandmother. You have her name as Marie, which is wrong. She helped raise the others. I lived with her as a child, so I spent my childhood listening to stories about Lubec and Eastport. I vowed that someday I would go to Eastport. I'm 57 years old and still haven't been there. However, I saw that you are going to be speaking there in August, so I'm going to drive up there, and I've talked my sisters and my mother into coming with me. So thanks in helping me realize my little dream."

"I was very interested in the interview you had with Nanette, Anna's niece. She mentioned the construction accident that killed Anna's father. It was on Christmas Eve, and it wasn't something that fell on him, he was hit be a crane. She spoke of Aunt Katherine. She said her father told her stories of how Kate would complain all the time that she was sick and that she was going to die. My entire family found that surprising, because we knew her well. We lived with her off and on throughout her life. She was totally the opposite, very strong and independent, and not one to ever complain. She was a nurse. She worked in Wrentham State School in Massachusetts for years. She died in 1975, in her mid-70s."

"Nanette was right about the fact that the women in the family were stubborn and strong-willed. We still are. No one knows what happened to Uncle Ozzie. Monica and Margaret both worked in a candy factory for a while and lived just a couple blocks from each other in Arlington, Massachusetts. Monica did seamstress work for years, up until she died at the age of 93. Aunt Mary's husband might have worked in the fish factories, I don't know. But I do know that he owned the fish factory. His last name was Clark. Apparently they were considered well-off. In Anna's obituary, it says she is survived by four sisters, among them Mrs. Henry Clark of Eastport."

Soon after, Ms. Russo sent me copies of some photos of Anna and her family. Finally, a chance to see Anna as an adult.