Celina Elizabeth Wills, called “Lena” was the first of the nine children of Elizabeth Bissonnette and John Albert Wills, born on July 25th, 1904 at home at 42 Congress Street, Cohoes, New York.
Celina was baptized on September 19, 1904 at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Cohoes. Her godfather was her uncle, Joseph Bisnett, Libbie’s older brother. Her godmother was her grandmother, Celina Bissonnette.
Below, Lena with her siblings. Lena is seated holding Johnny.
In the 1910 census, Lena is 6 years old and not attending school. She lives with her parents and two younger sisters above her father’s photography studio on Broad Street in Schuylerville, Saratoga County, New York. Here is the building on Google map.
Her father, John Albert Wills, had a photography studio for a short period in the downstairs store front. The family continued to live in various locations in Schuylerville until 1917 when they returned to Cohoes.
Lena met Robert Francis Cranney, a young man raised in St. Vincent’s Male Orphan Asylum on Western Avenue in the city of Albany. He can be found there, 7 years old, in the 1910 census along with 240 other boys. Childhood in an orphanage must have been brutal for young Bob Cranney. This orphanage was founded in the mid 1800s by the Christian Brothers and changed its name to LaSalle in the 1920s. In 1910, it was a rough place to grow up.
Celena and Robert married October 2, 1923 at St Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church in Watervliet, New York. It was not a happy marriage by any standard. When I was growing up, I heard many stories about Bob Cranney – none were good. Bob Cranney was known to physically beat Lena and her sisters believed the physical abuse caused Lena to develop a seizure disorder and her premature death.
Lina and Bob Cranney had four children:
Gloria Jean Cranney 1925-1992
Robert Francis Cranney, Jr 1926-1997
Kenneth Cranney 1928-1978
Richard Cranney 1930-1992
Below are family photos of the Cranney children:
