Harry Whitney Searles, one of 19 children born to Edward and Rose Ellen Searles, was raised in northern Maine's rural Aroostook County — and along with several of his siblings, Harry in- herited his parents' genes for longevity.

In the fall of 1914 at age 23, Harry married a local girl, Viola P. Little, who was two months shy of her 18th birthday — and who happened to be a 2nd cousin. [Harry's grandmother, Su- san (Little) Levesque, and Viola's grandfather, Isaac W. Little, were brother and sister.]

Having grown up in an exceptionally large fam- ily, Harry was quite accustomed to living in a full house; and it comes as no surprise that he followed in his father's footsteps. Together, Harry and his wife Viola became the parents of 17 children — only one of whom died as an in- fant (their third-born child, Myrtle, in 1917). In the 1930s, the Searles couple relocated to southern Maine and all of their children even- tually married — showering them with dozens of grandchildren. Viola, however, wasn't des- tined to see her golden years — and died at age 57, in August of 1954.

Widowed at age 63, Harry Searles survived his wife by nearly 25 years — and passed away in the winter of 1978, just a month after observ- ing his 87th birthday. Like his mother, who had lived to the age of 97, he died of cancer; and following funeral services at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Springvale, Maine, Harry was laid to rest in Goodwins Mills Cemetery in Lyman — where he'd buried his wife in 1954.

HARRY SEARLES' FAMILY

Wife:
Viola P. (Little) Searles 1897-1954
married November 8, 1914 - Caribou, Maine

Children:
· Arnold E. Searles 1915-1994
· Irene E. (Searles) Harris 1916-2013
· Myrtle T. Searles 1917-1917
· Dorothy E. 'Dot' (Searles) Hartsgrove 1918-2001
· Theodore W. 'Ted' Searles 1919-2008
· John L. Searles 1922-1993
· Elsie M. (Searles) Emmons 1924-1996
· Lillian E. (Searles) Smith 1925-2006
· Norma K. (Searles) Milinski 1927-2013
· Harry M. 'Junior' Searles 1930-2001
· Pearl R. (Searles) Hubert
· Harvey E. Searles 1932-2008
· Raymond O. Searles 1934-2003
· Alberta C. 'Bobbi' Eaton 1935-2006
· Elva C. (Searles) Wing
· Rita S. (Searles) Richardson
· Robert Searles

Parents:
Edward W. Searles 1853-1941
and Rose Ellen (Levesque) Searles 1858-1955
married April 27, 1874
Moose Mountain [Wicklow Parish],
New Brunswick, Canada

Siblings:
· James C. Searles 1875-1970
· Elizabeth J. (Searles) [Little] Legge 1876-1947
· Catherine S. (Searles) [Leslie] Watson 1877-1949
· Matilda E. (Searles) [Drost] Thibodeau 1877-1933
· Susan E. Searles 1880-1881
· Jessey A. (Searles) Holmes 1882-1974
· Rose (Searles) Drake 1883-19xx [deceased]
· Mary E. (Searles) [Little] Brawn 1884-1980
· Robert P. Searles 1886-1973
· Susan M. (Searles) [Gee] [Russell] Gee 1888-1982
· Edward J. 'Jack' Searles 1890-1971
· Harriet V. 'Hattie' (Searles) Brawn 1891-1931
· Josephine R. (Searles) Curtis 1893-1929
· Marinda E. 'Minnie' Searles 1895-1897
· Bert S. Searles 1897-1976
· Julia D. (Searles) Patterson 1899-1946
· Herbert C. Searles 1902-1989
· Albert C. Searles 1902-1955

Grandparents:
· Robert Searles 1826-1904
and Matilda Charity (Cray) Searles 1828-1891
· Jean Pièrre Levesque 1809-1912
and Susan (Little) Levesque 1835-1909

CEMETERY INFORMATION

Type of Marker: Unknown