EMMA MORRISON

Great grandmother, Sarah Emeline Morrison, preferred to be called Emma. She was born in 1855, on a farm, in Jackson Township, Crawford County, Ohio. She was the tenth and youngest child of her family of six brothers and three sisters. Her mother's parents lived on a farm nearby, too. 

She was only 17 when she married David Spitzer, and needed her father's signature and consent for the marriage to happen. Emma and David had eight children. Their first child was a worry to them because she had epilepsy and needed to be sent to an institution in Galiopolis, Ohio where people afflicted with this disease could be cared for and safely housed.

Emma was widowed  in 1896, when she was only 41 years old. She and her youngest children were living in Galion when David died. Some of her children were married and living in Akron, Ohio so Emma decided to join them there sometime around 1900. She found an office job on High Street in down town Akron and her young children found employment also.

The happiest part of Emma's story, for me, is that she visited her daughter, Alma Spitzer Mackey's family in New York City, when my dad was six years old, the year of 1914.  Dad had fond memories of her presence there and was pleased to share that story with me when I started to learn about our family history.

On the 19th of April, 1918, Emma died of lobar pneumonia, which may have started with her catching  the Spanish influenza (an epidemic that killed many Americans from 1917-1918). She is buried next to David at the Fairlawn Cemetery in Galion, Ohio.

Sarah Emeline Morrison
Born: 9 Jun 1855 Jackson Twp., Crawford, OH
Married: 5 Sep 1872 North Robinson, Crawford, OH
Died: 19 Apr 1918 Akron, Summit, OH
Buried: 23 Apr 1918 Fairview Cemetery, Galion, Crawford, OH

Sources: Census: 1860; 1870; 1880; 1900; 1910. Marriage certificate; "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-3013" of Alma Spitzer and Guy Mackey mentioning Emma Morrison, mother of Alma. FHL microfilm #388,686. Death certificate; Akron and Galion city directories-many years.