My Trails into the Past

Amos Gorrell was born on 12 February 1837 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania to Amos Gorrell and Leah Wollam. He married Catherine Elizabeth (Shotts) Sayre, widow of Lemuel Sayre, on 6 February 1866 in Ross County, Ohio. They moved the next month to Missouri. Amos kept a diary he purchased yearly that fit in a pocket. His daily entries were short and somewhat cryptic. This year's diary was found in the effects of William Amos Netherton, grandson of Amos, through his daughter Linnie Sarah (Gorrell) Netherton. Karen Netherton and Carolyn (Netherton) Clark transcribed it in 1982. They had not yet moved to Cooper County and were living in Saline County. The nearest town was Arrow Rock. Examples from the 1868 diary are below. Misspellings are Amos'. Wednesday, Jan. 1s t. Weather clear and pleasent New years day (of ears). Mr. Collins and wife comes down to our house. We have an Egg Nog and dinner here. We are engaged Salting away our meat, rendering lard, making Sausage, etc. Mrs. Colli...

Amos Gorrell, my husband’s paternal great-grandfather, grew up on a farm in Ross County, Ohio. After his Civil War service and marriage to Elizabeth (Livy) Shotts Sayre, they moved to Cooper County, Missouri, where they lived the rest of their lives. See this post about their move. We know the details of that move and what it was like the first few years because Amos kept a yearly journal in a small notebook that fit in his pocket. He kept track of small things: the weather, who he saw, what he purchased, what he planted, and correspondence with friends and family. Many years later, the surviving journals were transcribed and copies of the transcriptions were given to descendants of the six children he and Livy raised. My father-in-law received one of the little books. The entries are short and somewhat cryptic, but reading the entries over a few days paints a picture. Here is weeks’ worth of what he wrote in late May of 1871. Spelling and punctuation is kept as written. Sabba...

This is my second year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow . I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past . I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. Amos Gorrell, Jr. served in Co. A of the 18th Regiment in the Ohio Infantry during the Civil War. He volunteered on 1 August 1861, about four months after the start of the war and served until 9 August 1864. [1] His pension files gives facts about his service: He was twenty-four years old and was five feet and eight and a half inches tall, with fair complexion, brown hair and eyes, and worked as a farmer. He was also wounded in battle at Chickamanga on 20 September 1863 and was in the hospital in Nashville, Tennessee in 30 April 1864. [2] However, Amos kept a journal during his service and from that we can see his state of mind as he decided to enlist. Below is a transcription: [3] July 29th 1861...