Melissa May was the daughter of William Freese and his wife Mary Collins. [Mary was the daughter of John Collins and his wife Christeen Teeter.]

FREESE siblings: Caroline (Freese) Cramer, more?

Melissa married Edmund Thomas Moseley on February 2, 1856.

4 MOSELEY children:

1. Mary Melissa Moseley Bachelor (1857-1913); m. Theodore Bachelor.
...BACHELOR children.
2. Otis Edmund Moseley (1859-1942); never married.
3. Estella A. "Ella" Moseley (1860-1933); m. Edwin Johnson.
... JOHNSON children.
4. William A. Moseley (1861-1919); m. Edwinna Louise Bloom (1863-1963).
...5 MOSELEY children.

Melissa's husband Edmund died while fighting in the Civil War and she never remarried. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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Reference:

earlier?

1850

1860

1875 Dryden, Tompkins, NY:
Melissa Mosley F 39 [Widow of Edmund T. Moseley]
Daughter Mary M. Mosley F 18
Son Otis E. Mosley M 16
Daughter Ella A. Mosley F 15
Son William A. Mosley M 14

1880

1890

1900 Dryden, Tompkins, NY:
Head Otis Mosley M 41 New York
Mother Melissa Mosley F 65 New York

1910 Dryden, Tompkins, NY:
Head Ottis E. Moseley M 51 New York [Otis]
Mother Melissa Moseley F 74 New York

Melissa Freese Moseley
Event Type: Pension
Relationship to Veteran: Widow
Veteran's Name: Edmund T Moseley
Veteran's Birth Year or Age:
Veteran's Birthplace:
Veteran's Military Unit: 2 New York Provisional Cavalry
Veteran's Military Company: I
Application Number: WC68635
Event Date: 1861 - 1934
Affiliate Publication Title: Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of Civil War Veterans, ca. 1861-ca. 1934
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Written by Russell L. Warner, 1976:
"The photo of Melissa (Freese) Moseley reminds us that the tragedies of war are not always just those who fall in battle or die of disease in the army. Melissa had married on 2 Feb. 1856 Edmund Thomas Moseley, her childhood sweetheart, at Varna, Tompkins Co., NY. By the time her husband enlisted in the Union Army they were the parents of two sons and two daughters.

"Edmund died of disease on 14 July 1865 during that War service and is buried in Arlington National cemetery. Melissa remained on their rocky farm near Varna in Dryden township, Tompkins Co., NY and proceeded to raise her orphaned children as best she could. A small war pension eked out by the proceeds gained from the rocky farm carried them through the lean years, no doubt helped by the clannish Moseley relatives and the Freese cousins, and they somehow got by. Melissa never re-married. The remainer of her long life was spent in that area and on that farm. She was a self-trained artist and enjoyed making portraits of her grandchildren. Additionally, she saved money enough to purchase an organ and taught herself to play it. When John C. Warner married Melissa's granddaughter, Minnie [May] Edith Johnson, on 17 Aug 1904 in Leroy township, Ingham Co., MI, their honeymoon trip included a visit in Melissa's home. Even seventy years later, in 1974, Minnie still loved to tell how Melissa would play that organ while John would sing along with her.

"Melissa died on 19 September 1918 and lies now in Willow Glen cemetery not far from Dryden, NY. Her son, Otis, who never married, is buried on the same lot. Her widowhood was of 53 years duration."
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NOTE: Rosemary E. Bachelor, a descendant of Melissa, has a self-portrait which Melissa, an accomplished artist, did in charcoal of herself. Hidden in its frame is Edmund's letter of marriage proposal.

Rosemary also has several family heirlooms, including Melissa's leather bound photo album, and the scalpel that Edmund used to shave himself. It was returned to Melissa, along with his other personal belongings, after his death fighting in the Civil War.
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Census search: Fraya Weiss, 2014.
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Research: Mary E. Warner, 2011.