My Trails into the Past

This past week I attended a class at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy called “From Sea to Shining Sea: Researching Our Ancestors’ Migrations in America.” [1] We learned so much about migrating families in the United States these some 400 years. We have learned about trails, roads, canals, and railroads that took them to new places. We learned about possible economic and social reasons (and push and pull of migration) that prompt their moves. Moving to a new place often were due to seeking freedom, a better life, free land, or being with family. I started thinking about why my ancestors moved. Of course, any of the above reasons probably factored in their moves, depending on the time period and their circumstances. Specifically, what brought my Hork family to California in the early 1920s? Cyril’s Move Cyril Hork had married Anna Sullivan in Butte, Montana on Thanksgiving Day in 1922. [2] At the time of his marriage, he was working as a warehouseman with the Northern Pacific...

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. His parents did not approve of the marriage. Amos Gorrell, Jr. married the former Catherine Elizabeth (Shotts) Sayre on 6 February 1866. [1] They secretly traveled into Chillicothe (Ross County, Ohio), were married by the Methodist-Episcopal minister, Rev. Mr. Creighton, and then returned to their respective homes without telling anyone. [2] The reason is unknown. Perhaps it was because she was a Civil War widow with a six-year-old boy. The Shotts family lived in the same vicinity. Amos’ brother, Joseph married Catherine’s sister, Eliza Shotts two months later. [3] So the reason was unlikely that the Gorrell family did not care for the Shotts family. Anyway, by the end of the month, they decided...