From Frederick to Martinsburg: The story of May Weller and her family
A faithful daughter, devoted wife, and mother of seven, May’s life unfolded across two towns and many quiet acts of resilience.
Clara “May” Cole was born in 1873 in Frederick, Maryland, the second child and first daughter in what would become a large family of seven siblings. Her father likely worked in the printing or publishing industry — perhaps on a newspaper press. The Cole family lived at 189 East Fifth Street, on the eastern edge of town, in a rowhouse near the heart of a growing, diverse city shaped by German, Black, and Irish communities.
The Coles were devout Lutherans, and May was christened into the faith at 2 months old. She spent her entire childhood in Frederick, growing up in a bustling home with younger brothers and sisters, surrounded by the rhythms of both church life and the industrial energy of her father’s trade.
In 1894, at the age of 21, May married Walter Weller, a 25-year-old Maryland native. The young couple settled in Frederick, where Walter worked as a manager at a stone quarry — grueling and dangerous work that supported their growing family. Over the next 17 years, they welcomed four daughters and three sons. Their home was filled with the lively sound of children, and May was a constant presence in their early years.
Tragedy struck early in May’s adulthood. When she was 27, her mother died. At the time, May was already a mother of three and six months pregnant with her fourth daughter. Just five years later, she lost her father as well. Neither of her parents lived to meet her sons, though she honored her father, Charles, by naming one of her sons after him. Their youngest child, Richard — affectionately called Dick — was born in 1911, completing their family of nine.
The following year, the Wellers relocated to Martinsburg, West Virginia. They moved into a house at 629 West King Street (below), and Walter took a new position as assistant superintendent. The family joined the Blairton United Brethren Church, continuing the religious life that had anchored them in Maryland.
By 1920, all seven Weller children were still living at home. The daughters — Nellie, Bessie, Catherine, and Margaret — were now young women, ages 18 to 23, each finding her way in the world. Bessie married in 1925 at the age of 26, and for a time, several family members lived with her and her husband, helping care for their young daughter. Heartbreak came later in her life: Bessie was widowed at 56 and lost her only child, her 30-year-old daughter Phyllis, the following year.
The eldest of the Weller siblings, Nellie, faced chronic illness. She developed endocarditis in her early 40s and was later diagnosed with breast cancer in both breasts at age 46. She never married and was unable to work due to her health. She died at home in 1944 at the age of 47, from a stroke.
May herself suffered from the same conditions — chronic endocarditis and breast cancer. Just six months after Nellie’s passing, May died at the age of 71. The cause was congestive myocarditis. The close timing of their deaths marked the end of an era for the Weller family matriarch and her eldest daughter, who had spent so many years together under the same roof.
After their passing, the once-busy household grew quieter. Walter remained in the home along with Catherine, a middle daughter, who never married. By 1950, Catherine was 51 and working as an officer for the Defense Production Administration, a federal agency created during the Cold War. She remained in Martinsburg for the rest of her life, passing away in 1982 at age 82.
Margaret, the youngest Weller daughter, married Raymond Albright and raised four sons at their home on West Virginia Avenue. She also suffered from cancer in her later years — breast and lung — and died at 57 from a heart blockage.
The three Weller sons took different paths. Charles remained in Martinsburg and worked as a bread salesman for a local baking company. Dick moved to Delaware, where he worked in grocery sales. Harvey, the oldest son, married young and moved to Chicago, where he pursued a creative career as an artist in the advertising industry. He and his wife had no children but spent more than two decades in the city before retiring to Florida. They died there and are buried in a quiet cemetery far from their roots.
A family remembered
The story of Clara “May” Cole Weller is one of resilience, devotion, and endurance through loss. Her life spanned an era of transformation — from the horse-drawn streets of 19th-century Frederick to the postwar America her children inherited. Though time carried her children across cities and states, the echoes of her steadfast love and strength shaped each of their paths. Her story, like that of so many quiet matriarchs of her generation, is stitched into the fabric of American life: humble, hardworking, and enduring.