Francis was the second child of DeForest and Mary McBride Olmstead. He was born the day after his sister Margaret died. Francis was baptized at St. Nicholas R.C. Church in Passaic, New Jersey on 23 December, 1900 with Dennis and Charlotte Noonan as his godparents.
At some point in his young life he developed seizures, and as a result had some delays in speech and developmental milestones. In October 1903, shortly before he turned 3, he underwent brain surgery at St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic, New Jersey by Dr. William H. Carroll. Surgery revealed a depressed skull fracture, probably from an old fall, and inflammation of the membrane, which was adhered to the skull. Francis was home in 6 days and his father shared this in a letter: "He takes more notice than he used to of everything and has not had a convulsion since he came home (seven hours), and prior to the operation he would have had a half dozen or more in that length of time. Of course it is going to take considerable time for him to learn and pick up knowledge for the past has been far worse than lost time to him mentally but his condition is now so encouraging. We feel we have good reason to hope that in time he will be all right in every way."
Sadly, in December 1903 he became ill and died. The cause of death was recorded as remittent fever and pulmonary congestion.
Six weeks after his death my father, his brother, was born.
He is buried in the John McBride family plot, along with his mother, McBride grandparents, several of his mother's siblings, and his sister Margaret. His name is not on the stone.
Francis was the second child of DeForest and Mary McBride Olmstead. He was born the day after his sister Margaret died. Francis was baptized at St. Nicholas R.C. Church in Passaic, New Jersey on 23 December, 1900 with Dennis and Charlotte Noonan as his godparents.
At some point in his young life he developed seizures, and as a result had some delays in speech and developmental milestones. In October 1903, shortly before he turned 3, he underwent brain surgery at St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic, New Jersey by Dr. William H. Carroll. Surgery revealed a depressed skull fracture, probably from an old fall, and inflammation of the membrane, which was adhered to the skull. Francis was home in 6 days and his father shared this in a letter: "He takes more notice than he used to of everything and has not had a convulsion since he came home (seven hours), and prior to the operation he would have had a half dozen or more in that length of time. Of course it is going to take considerable time for him to learn and pick up knowledge for the past has been far worse than lost time to him mentally but his condition is now so encouraging. We feel we have good reason to hope that in time he will be all right in every way."
Sadly, in December 1903 he became ill and died. The cause of death was recorded as remittent fever and pulmonary congestion.
Six weeks after his death my father, his brother, was born.
He is buried in the John McBride family plot, along with his mother, McBride grandparents, several of his mother's siblings, and his sister Margaret. His name is not on the stone.
