Zita May McIver^{[1, 2]}

1882 - 1918  (35 years)

• Name	Zita May McIver  [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]
  Christening	1882	St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church, Prince Edward Island, Canada
  Birth	25 Oct 1882	Prince Edward Island, Canada   [5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11]
  Gender	Female
  Death	4 May 1918	Caribou, Maine, USA   [1, 7]
  Burial	Caribou, Aroostook County, Maine, USA   [7]
  Person ID	P1571	The McIver Family Tree
  Last Modified	30 Jul 2021

  
  

  Father	Michael McKeever (McIver),   b. Jan 1837, Drumagelvin, Tyholland, Monaghan, Ireland d. 8 Feb 1910, Kelly's Cross, Prince Edward Island, Canada (Age 73 years)
  Mother	Susan McKenna,   b. 14 Apr 1854, Prince Edward Island, Canada d. 25 Jul 1909, Kinkora, Prince Edward Island, Canada (Age 55 years)
  Marriage	15 Jan 1875	Iona, Prince Edward Island, Canada   [10]
  Family ID	F330	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Michael Edward O'Regan,   b. 5 Mar 1869, Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Canada d. 4 May 1918, Caribou, Aroostook, Maine, USA (Age 49 years)
  Marriage	22 Oct 1901	Caribou, Aroostook, Maine, USA   [5]
  Children	1. Donald William Charles O'Regan,   b. 19 Nov 1902, Old Town, Maine, USA d. 24 Jul 1945, Washington, District of Columbia, USA (Age 42 years)   2. Hope Agatha O'Regan,   b. 5 Mar 1904, Berlin, New Hampshire, USA d. 2 Aug 1973, Woodstock, New York, USA (Age 69 years)   3. Harriet Cecelia O'Regan,   b. 20 Dec 1905, Caribou, Aroostook, Maine, USA d. 1 Aug 1981, Houlton, Maine, USA (Age 75 years)   4. John Douglas O'Regan,   b. 23 Feb 1907, Caribou, Maine, USA d. 1 Jul 1943, Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, USA (Age 36 years)   5. Pearl O'Regan,   b. 29 Apr 1908, Caribou, Aroostook, Maine, USA d. 21 Nov 1908, Caribou, Aroostook, Maine, USA (Age 0 years)   6. Myrtle Marie O’Regan,   b. 14 Apr 1909, Caribou, Aroostook, Maine, USA d. 6 May 1918, Caribou, Aroostook, Maine, USA (Age 9 years)
  Family ID	F342	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	13 Jun 2021

  
  

• Photos

  Photo - Zita McIver

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		Census - 1910 US Census - Caribou, Maine, USA
  		Baptismal Record - Zita McIver Baptized in 1882 by J.J. McDonald at St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Record book 1, page 57
  		Marriage Record - Zita McIver and Michael O'Regan Married by Father Eugene Gauthier on October 22, 1901 in Caribou, Maine.
  		Newspaper Article - O'Regan Fire Part 1 of article published in The Bangor Daily News on May 6, 1918, following the deadly fire that killed Zita McIver, her husband Michael O'Regan, and daughter Myrtle. Daughter Hope also suffered some burns.
  		Newspaper Article - O'Regan Fire Part 2 of article published in The Bangor Daily News on May 6, 1918, following the deadly fire that killed Zita McIver, her husband Michael O'Regan, and daughter Myrtle. Daughter Hope also suffered some burns.
  		Newspaper Article - Funeral information for Zita McIver and Michael O'Regan Article published in The Bangor Daily News on May 8, 1918, providing further information on Zita and Michael's funerals. This article noted that the youngest daughter Marie (Myrtle)'s life was hanging on, however she passed away on this day.
  		Death Record - Zita McIver
  		Census - 1901 Census of Canada - Lot 29, Prince Edward Island, Canada (Page 36)
  		Census - 1900 US Census - Caribou, Maine
  		Census - 1891 Census of Canada - Lot 29, Queen's County, Prince Edward Island
  		Newspaper Article - O'Regan Fire Article published in The Bangor Daily News on May 7, 1918, showing a picture of the O'Regan building, where the gas stove explosion caused the death of Zita, Michael and Marie.

  
  

• Notes

  Zita was the fifth of nine children born to Michael McKeever and Susan McKenna, in October 1882. Zita first travelled from PEI to Caribou, Maine, with her parents, as her father owned a farm there. In 1901, she was back living in PEI, however, she returned soon after, where she married Michael Edward O’Regan on October 22, 1901 in Caribou, Maine. Unfortunately, Zita’s story is a tragic one. After suffering the loss of her fifth child as an infant, Zita, her husband Michael, and their daughter Myrtle (Marie) all died as a result of a gas stove explosion that occurred on May 4, 1918. Zita and Michael died in hospital the same day, however Myrtle succumbed to her injuries two days later. Newspaper articles described the family as affectionate and happy, and both Michael and Zita were well known for lending a hand in the community. Their funeral was attended by the entire community, with the church overflowing, and local businesses closed. Unfortunately, this was not the only time that Michael and Zita had been affected by fire, and this was the fourth time in four years. They first lost a wooden building, where the new O’Regan building was constructed, which was the location of the tragic fire. This building had only been built in the last year. Michael also had purchased a sawmill which soon afterwards was destroyed by fire. He rebuilt the sawmill shortly thereafter, however this also burned. It is believed that the surviving children were taken in by Michael’s family who lived in the area, however we could only locate Douglas in the 1920 US Census records. At the time, he was staying with the family of Paul and Olive Gagnon, who also had a son, Thomas, about the same age. One newspaper article confirms that Douglas was later taken in by Mrs. Mabel Flora, noted as his aunt, however she was Michael’s niece (daughter of Julia (O’Regan) Powers). The children all appear to have stayed in Caribou, as they finished high school there before pursuing their careers.

  
  

• Sources

  [S238053230] Ancestry.com, Maine, Death Records, 1761-1922, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; 1908-1922 Vital Records; Roll Number: 41. [S218240922] Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=119634274&pid=1571 [S238053164] Ancestry.com, Maine, Marriage Index, 1670-1921, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S238053961] Ancestry.com, Maine, Birth Records, 1715-1922, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; 1892-1907 Vital Records; Roll Number: 43. [S238053985] Ancestry.com, Maine, Marriage Records, 1713-1922, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Maine State Archives; Cultural Building, 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0084; 1892-1907 Vital Records; Roll Number: 43. [S238065515] Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc), Year: 1910; Census Place: Caribou, Aroostook, Maine; Roll: T624_537; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0011; FHL microfilm: 1374550. [S238066276] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176781510 [S218274190] Ancestry.com, 1891 Census of Canada, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc), Year: 1891; Census Place: Lot 29, Queens, Prince Edward Island; Roll: T-6384; Family No: 62. [S218273996] Ancestry.com, 1901 Census of Canada, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc), Year: 1901; Census Place: Lot (township/canton) 29, Prince (east/est), Prince Edward Island; Page: 5; Family No: 49. [S227379023] Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc), Year: 1900; Census Place: Caribou, Aroostook, Maine; Page: 13; Enumeration District: 0009; FHL microfilm: 1240588. [S234224905] Ancestry.com, Web: Prince Edward Island, Baptism Index, 1788-1943, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.).