History Mystery: Where is the Body?

By Kent Hackmann

The body is that of Mary N. Chase (1863-1959), the subject of my essay that highlights her place as a distinguished resident of Andover, 1899-1948.

When she died, December 30, 1959, aged 96, she lived in a comfortable retirement home for indigent women in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. 

Boston newspapers on December 31 reported that burial took place in Andover, presumably near her half-brother John.  A Commonwealth of Massachusetts certificate of death states that she was buried in nearby Franklin on January 4, 1960. 

And here is a mystery: She was not buried in either place.  So, where is the body? 

Please help me solve the mystery with facts or speculation.  

Andover’s two libraries, the Historical Society, and the Lovejoy Library at Proctor have copies of my essay for all to read.