On this day [1] two of my husband’s aunts were born: Bertha Marie Gorrell on 4 Jan 1904 [2] and Claire Elizabeth Gorrell on 4 Jan 1917. [3] Bertha was the oldest child of Joseph Norman Gorrell and Matilda Pearl Davey. [4] Claire was the youngest. [5] With sisters having the same birthday, were there any troubles? Did Bertha get special treatment because she was the oldest, or did Claire because she was the youngest? They were thirteen years apart in age. My guess that because of the age difference, they did not celebrate together very long. Bertha graduated from high school in May 1922 when Claire was only five. [6] Then in the fall, she attended the normal school (teacher’s college) in Pittsburg, Kansas. [7] By the fall of 1924, Bertha was teaching third grade at West Side school in Webb City. [8] She also taught school in Fredonia, Kansas in 1926. [9] On 29 May 1928, Bertha married Francis Marion Smart in Webb City, Missouri. [10] They lived in Webb City, Okolona,...
Researching: Davey, Gleeson, Gorrell, Hork, Hutson, Johnston, Jones, Lundquist, Nilsen, Selman, Sievert, Sullivan, Tierney, & Wollenweber.