“Where did your ancestors explore? Who moved around a lot? You could also share records, libraries, or archives that you’ve explored in. Remember, there’s no wrong way to interpret the theme! Feel free to post your links and stories in the comments.”
My grand Aunt Mary and her husband Orson were a very adventurous couple. Mary Smith Spurrier was born in Moingona, Iowa in 1897. She was the youngest child of Charles William Smith (1860-1936) and Melissa Alice Minson (1863-1932). Harold Orson Spurrier was born in 1898 in Ogden, Iowa. Orson was the son of Henry Clay Spurrier (1850-1938) and Sarah Alise Hainey (1861-1931). Orson and Mary married in secret on Christmas morning 1919. They returned to their respective parents houses and are each listed in their parents homes in the 1920 Census. In the 1925 Census Mary and Orson are living with Mary’s parents. By 1930 they have their own place, they are renting a farm outside of Boone, Iowa.
The photo above always makes me think of the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy’s house on the family farm. They camped outside the Iowa State Fair, my mom and her sister went with them. Camping wasn’t something I ever did growing up so it sounded exciting to me. I am sure my mom and her sister loved it all.
My mom told us about a trip she took with Mary and Orson and her mom (Mary’s sister, Nettie Myrtle (Smith) Kirkwood. They drove to California and back to Iowa. They ate using a campstove, not sure if they slept in tents along the way or not. My mom said she paid for herself and her mom and only spent $40. They went to visit Mary and Myrtle’s brother Vernon. Vernon lived in Napa for many years. The next pictures were probably from a different trip because Mary, Myrtle and Vernon’s parents are in these. They are in California with Vernon’s family.
So the apple doesn’t fall far from the family tree, I guess. That is Mary and Myrtle and Vernon’s parents above along with Vernon’s wife and their kids. You may remember I wrote about Charles Smith’s father Ira in an earlier post. He was the one who left home at fifteen to become a soldier in the Mexican American War and moved at least six times from Maine to Nebraska.
Mary and Orson traveled a lot to go and visit relatives in Oregon, California, Texas, Kansas and even back to Iowa after they moved to Arizona. Mary was excellent at writing names and dates below her photos and took photos of the relatives she visited. Her photo album was a big help in identifying relatives and where they lived. They really liked to travel in style, her photo album has many photos of their awesome classic cars. She even tells the colors, I might have to try my hand at coloring some of these.
There were many photos of farm equipment scattered throughout the album too. I don’t really remember all the cars but they were the kindest people and I loved when they came to visit. Now that I have seen the photos I think the cars are very impressive.
They celebrated their life together and with friends. Aunt Mary must have been in about 10 different social groups. There are a number of photos of all these friends and the many activities with them. They went fishing, boating, camping,, dinner parties
I like these photos of their farm. My mom spent a lot of time on their farm. When her grandmother came to stay with them before she passed away, mom stayed with Aunt Mary. She also spent time there when different illnesses were making the rounds. She said she had a pet pig who followed her everywhere, even into the house. I wonder if this is that pig.
I would say adventure is where you find it. Mary and Orson were people who were able to find adventure where ever they went. They had adventures with family, with friends, and most of all with each other. Mary passed away in 1974 in Mesa, Arizona. Mary had rheumatoid arthritis that didn’t slow her down most of the time. Orson remarried and stayed in Arizona. He and his new wife Florence came to visit us in Iowa. She was a sweet woman and before she left she hid little affirmations all around our house for us. It was really fun to find those notes. Orson passed away in 1989 in Mesa, Arizona.
Who was the adventurous spirit in your family? Where did their adventures lead? Did you inherit their spirit of adventure?
My Tree in the Forest 