My Trails into the Past

It’s a new month and a new surname: Davey. Matilda Pearl Davey is my husband’s grandmother. He may have met her twice; the first time when just a toddler in 1954 with his brother, the sons of Matilda’s only son, George Gorrell. They visited again in 1957. Childhood Matilda was born on 18 April 1880 to Frederick Henry Davey and Matilda “Tillie” Wollenweber. She was their second-born child. [1] She had three brothers from Fred’s first wife, one brother from his second wife, and two step-brothers from the third wife. [2] Her mother died when she was five years old. [3] In the beginning, her mother’s sister, Julia Wollenweber, came to live with them and her father married her on 28 July 1887, however, the marriage did not last and they were divorced by 1892. [4] The story as told by her son, George, Matilda was sent to live with aunts and perhaps spent time in a children’s home. [5] One aunt may have been Catharine Rose (Davey) McFall, who lived in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and lat...

A value that my husband’s grandmother held was service. Throughout her adult life she valued providing a service to others. There is no documentation as to why she did this. Perhaps her unorthodox childhood had something to do with it. Matilda Pearl Davey was born on 18 April 1880 to Frederick Henry Davey and Matilda “Tillie” Wollenweber. She was their second-born child. [1] She had three brothers from Fred’s first wife, one brother from his second wife, and two step-brothers from the third wife. [2] Her mother died when she was five years old. [3] In the beginning, her mother’s sister, Julia Wollenweber, came to live with them and her father married her on 28 July 1887, however, the marriage did not last and they were divorced by 1892. [4] The story as told by her son, George, Matilda was sent to live with aunts and perhaps spent time in a children’s home. [5] She married Joseph Norman Gorrell on 19 December 1900. [6] He was a lineman for a telephone company. In their first ...

These items were given to us by my husband's cousin, Shirley. She likely got them from her mother, Bertha Gorrell Smart, who got them from her parents, Tillie and Joseph Gorrell. But the items were made by their son, George. Perhaps he gave the items as a gift.  What is most likely, they were made in high school shop class. But there is no date and we have no one to ask. Still, they are a treasure to have and they are now with us. I am currently using this table as a night stand where I have a homemade lamp my grandfather made. George continued doing woodworking as a hobby. He made his wife and me puzzle boards where we could put jigsaw puzzles together but are able to put it away when it is time to have a meal. He made a special table-top shelf to store the collection of Women's Day cookbook set. Someday, I need to get them out and take a photo of them. #52Ancestors: Week 43 – “Homemade ” This is my ninth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow ( htt...

This post will double as a 52 Ancestors and a 12 for ’26 post. This month, I’m studying the Shotts and Bishop families, beginning with Amos Gorrell’s wife, Catharine Elizabeth Shotts. Elizabeth was born on 18 February 1835 in Ross County, Ohio, to Daniel Shotts and Mary Ann Bishop. [1] She was the second child of six. The family lived in Huntington Township and Daniel was a farmer. Even though Daniel could not read and write, his children were all attending school in 1850. [2] When she was 22 years old, she married Lemuel J. Sayre on 14 January 1857. Rev. William Morris officiated. [3] Lemuel was a 21-year-old Virginia-born farmer, the son of Squire and Lydia Sayre. [4] They had three children. Mary Adela Sayre was born on 29 May 1857 and she died 11 November 1858. [5] She is buried in the Denver Cemetery, Ross County. Her death date was calculated from age at death: 1y 5m 13d. [6] George Sayre was born on 3 August 1859 and he died on the same day. He is also buried in the D...