CAROLA LILLIE HARTLEY
Contributing Writer
A few months ago, a good friend gave me two antique photograph albums. Most of the photographs in the albums were from St. Landry Parish, with many from Washington. One of those was this featured photo, identified on the back as Mary Plonsky, who died as a young girl. Here is the story of poor Mary.
Mary Plonsky was born in 1864 in New York. She was adopted by Edward and Caroline Plonsky and raised in Washington, LA. She attended school in Washington. On the evening of March 13, 1877, an unfortunate accident at the Plonsky home had a tragic ending when an oil lamp was accidently overturned. The lamp exploded and Leopold Kaufman, a visitor, was severely burned. The Plonsky’s thirteen year old daughter Mary was also badly burned in that accident and died a short time later. She was buried in Hebrew Rest Cemetery in Washington, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana.
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