Reflections on Angelina by Peggy Coughlin

Rev. A.M. Marks baptized Angelina at the house. Her sister Connie said that when she died her father called a cab to their house. They dressed the baby in white and took her to the Catholic Cemetery on Bladensburg Road and Florida Avenue. Her mother Maria was too heart broken to go. After Angelina died, there was not much of a relationship between Ramon and his wife. He worked a lot after this incident, and some say, this is the reason he died from a brain hemorrhage at his office.

Rosario remembered in much detail about the death of her sister. She was responsible for washing Angelina's diapers that were full of blood. It was a terrible job for a child that was only 9 years old. Aunt Rose said that whoever cut the umbilical cord, cut it too close to the baby's body, and it could not be tied off properly. Angelina literally bled to death. (Please note that cemetery records record the death as cholecystitis, which is an inflammation of the gall bladder.) Aunt Rose said that the baby was skin and bones when she finally died. She also said that her father was inconsolable with grief. She said it was the first time she had ever seen him cry and he couldn't seem to stop.