Bessie Olson, (1912-1922)

Headstone GPS Coordinates: 

Birth: 06 November 1912, Seabeck, Kitsap County, Washington

Death: 24 March 1922, Medical Lake (Spokane), Spokane County, Washington

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: None.

American Revolutionary War Patriots*: Hickman Hensley, (Virginia)  DAR# A215926

Disclaimer: These lines have not been officially proven by NSDAR standards.

On November 6, 1912, Bessie Olson was born in Seabeck, Washington to father Benjamin Olson from Sweden and mother Lillie Hensley from Arkansas. Bessie had an older sister named Annabell, and two half sisters named Zora and Lora White from her mother’s first marriage. Bessie’s half-sisters never lived in Washington, but stayed with other family members in Arkansas.

In 1920, Bessie was living on the family farm with her parents and older sister Annabelle. 

Around April 28th in 1921, Bessie was admitted to the State Custodial School at Medical Lake in Spokane, which was a “school” for children up to the age of twenty-one with mental disabilities. Almost a year after being admitted, Bessie died on March 24, 1922 from chronic endocarditis with mitral insufficiency (heart failure) caused by “mongolian idiocy” (down syndrome). Bessie was nine years old when she passed away. Her remains were sent to Seattle from Spokane, where her family claimed them. 

The Kitsap County Herald published about Bessie’s death and burial on April 14, 1922: 

“Little Bessie, the ten-year-old daughter of Mrs. Olson, passed away a few days ago.  The remains were laid to rest in the Seabeck cemetery, Tuesday of last week.”

Bessie’s grave is currently unmarked, but the late historian Fred Just recorded its location on his plot map.