Edna Mae Farr and Henry Ellsworth Sebring

Edna Mae Farr Sebring with baby Tom.

Edna Mae⁴ Farr (Francis Edward³ Farr, Edward Henry² Wildey, Thomas¹) was born 28 December 1907 at the family home at 5 Tremont St. in Rochester, Monroe Co. NY. [1] She told her sons that she left school before graduating high school because she was embarrassed by her poor clothes, although one suspects she may have other reasons. She was an accomplished dancer, and her son Dick recalls that before her marriage her dance partner tried to persuade her to join him and enter vaudeville. [2]

Edna found marriage more inviting, however, and on 4 August 1927 she married Henry Ellsworth Sebring in Liverpool, Onondaga Co. NY. Hank was born 31 January 1907 in Syracuse, Onondaga Co., the son of Wiley Sebring and Clara McIntyre. [3] He ran away from home at an early age to escape his father's violence and found work in a bicycle shop. [4]

Hank Sebring in the 1950's.

Hank started his own gas station in the Syracuse area and the couple, soon joined by their little sons Tom and Dick, lived upstairs. Their finances were tight and Edna felt that she needed more housekeeping money. She took to slipping downstairs at night and removing a few dollars from the till. Hank decided to cure her of this and one night wired the cash register to give her a slight shock when she opened it. The midnight raids ended. [5]

The gas station business ended as well with the coming of the depression. The family moved to Rochester, where Edna's brother Frank lived. Hank bought an old farmhouse in Charlotte and both parents worked to support their growing family. [6]

Hank was not the only member of the family capable of pranks; Edna played several on her husband. Once while he was sleeping she took a curling iron and and curled his hair. He never noticed until he next looked in the mirror. On another occasion she served hot dogs for dinner. Everyone in the family enjoyed them but Frank, who eventually discovered that his was made of rubber. [7]

Any happiness Edna enjoyed in her marriage ended when Hank left her to marry another woman. The two moved to Ohio, where Hank filed for divorce. Edna received $20 dollars a week to support her four sons. After Hank's death in 1953 the family had to buy the family home, which had remained in his name, from his estate. Strapped for cash, they let the already poorly-maintained home deteriorate further. When the furnace broke, they chose not to replace it. This calculated neglect brought the assessment of the house down and made it possible for Edna's sons to buy their mother's home for her. [8]

Dick and Tom Sebring.

Edna lived in the house until her death on 4 August 1957 in Rochester. She had gone into the hospital for a routine gallbladder operation and appeared to be making a good recovery. When her son Dick arrived at the hospital for a visit, he was told she had passed away. Another son was told that there had been a "surgical misadventure." [9] Her death certificate indicates that she had died of "acute necrotizing pancreatitis" due to peritonitis resulting from post-operative hepatitis. [10] It is likely that the surgeon nicked something during the operation and Edna died from the resulting infection. Her sons refused to pay the medical bill and the hospital never pursued it. [11]

Edna is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Rochester. [12] Her son Dick lies beside her. [13]

Edna Mae Farr and Henry Ellsworth Sebring had the following children:
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