I found this obit for Marion's last husband Stanley in the NY Times about a year or so ago , but never was able to gleam too much from it other than this was highly likely thee Stanley L. & Marion H. Conley that I was interested in and that Marion had already passed away. But I still didn't know when or where. I still have not found her obit. I think she may of died in Florida. A search for Stan's sister Adele M. Hall turned up blank, a search for Francisco Pla turned up very little. A recent e mail from Francisco's nephew tells me that the Plas were of Cuban elite high society and had sugar plantations and real estate but left when Castro took over.

Marion kept her Isle Of Palms place or at least stayed in Florida some of the time. Hey who wouldn't? Also the fact that the H. was still being favored over the E. gave more support that it was probably the first letter of her maiden name.

My searches into who Stanley L. Conley was, have led me to believe he may of been a commercial photographer with a studio on Madison Ave. NY city. I have seen photo credits on him. About six months ago while searching through the randomly updated SSDI (Social Security Death Index) I found a possible candidate for Marion. The death was in May of 1985, the zip code matched the last NYC address I had for the Conley's and so I kept it on my things to do list when I could afford it. Something must of been in the wind because I did send off my application for it along with the $28.00 a week or so before I had talked with Fred. My now peaked interest from Fred's amazing story, got tempered by a long 3 month wait from the Social Security Adminstration. However the day it arrived, it tied most everything together including the name Marion Elizabeth Hurd of New Haven Ct.

In the 1930 census for the Murdocks in Southaven, it lists Marion H's birthplace as New Haven, CT. Marion H Murdocks census age matches the one on Marion H. Conley's December 18, 1962 application for a Social Security card when she turned 57. 57!.... my soon to be age on May 11th BTW.... I applied for my card in 1962 also, but I was only 15 in '62, the age Marion was when she first got married to Milton Murdock in 1921. Of course for the many years that Marion was married to J. F. Knapp 193_ to 1952, she had no need for the Social Security , that her ex father in law Joseph P. Knapp is sometimes credited with coming up with the concept of, way back in 1915! Whew whadda an analogy.

I also cannot stress enough that my research into this entire Knapp story would be totally impossible, at least for me without the aid of the internet. When I first started this, a Google search would yield about three or four things when Joseph Knapp was searched. Check it out sometime..... now..By my publishing things as I go along the way, I have found some amazing stuff and it has found me....like The Joe Knapp Club Fox Gun , a 1880's portrait of Hannah N. Lawrence that now hangs again in her 19th century home in Mastic Beach the Knapps once owned and not the least a book of Marion H. Knapp's which started its journey to me in an e mail last March.

While "Googling" Marion H. Knapp a used book dealer in New Jersey found my website. He had recently come across a first edition book A Treasury Of American Prints edited by Thomas Craven from 1939 that had a bookplate in it. I guess we both were amazed and I am now the proud owner of the book which is awesome by itself for the 100 litho and etchings in it along with this bookplate pasted inside.