In 1988, we attended a Gorrell family reunion in Odessa, Missouri. It was a three-day affair, the first day was at the Senior Center in Odessa and the following days were held at my father-in-law's cousin, Linnie Oma Hackley's home.
Those invited were the descendants of Amos Gorrell and Catharine Shotts. They had six children, four who had offspring. It was the grandchildren who arranged the reunion. My husband and I flew in and stayed with Linnie Oma's son, John, and his wife.
Most of the family attended the first day, where they roasted a whole pig and had a group photo taken. There was a huge family tree on the wall and a booklet made for each of us to take. I really hadn't started doing genealogy at this time, so purely missed out on asking questions of family.
On Sunday of the three-day weekend, a group set out to Blackwater, Missouri, to look at the land that Amos Gorrell owned and farmed. There was some discussion about where it was exactly by a couple of the grandsons. After looking over the empty fields, we went on to the Old Laramie Cemetery to view the tombstones of Amos and Catharine.
Two years later, there was a follow-up reunion and we attended again, this time with our firstborn. It was smaller, with fewer attendees, and was held at Linnie Oma's farm. This time, it was just a big party, with no trips to homesteads or cemeteries.
Many years later in 1999 when my daughters and I attended a model railroad convention in Kansas City, we visited Linnie Oma and her sister, Louise. By now, I was doing some genealogy and she took us to Blackwater and to the cemetery. This time I made sure I took photos of the Gorrell relatives at the cemetery.
#52Ancestors-Week 22: At the Cemetery
This is my sixth year working on this year-long prompt,
hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/)
at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past.
I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.
Copyright © 2023 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.
Glad you were able to photo your ancestors' gravestone!
ReplyDeleteI love this tombstone. I've never seen one like it.
ReplyDelete