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2024 52 Ancestors: Colorful - Gertrude Wyoming White

It's ironic that the most colorful character in my family tree was born with the surname of White! Related to me only through marriage to a great granduncle, Gertrude was anything but plain, white bread.

"Grandma Dean, 1912"; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Nov 2024), user-submitted photo by Shannon Katz-Dean on 11 Feb 2018.

The images left behind of Gertrude clearly shine a light on this woman's wild and free spirit. She certainly didn't maintain societal norms for her day. 

"Gertrude White"; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Nov 2024), user-submitted photo by Shannon Katz-Dean on 29 Aug 2017.

Born in 1893 in Upshur County, West Virginia to farming parents of modest means, the U.S. censuses show her education spanned at least from age 7 through 17 reaching the 8th grade, which is already far superior to the majority of the men in my family tree who typically dropped out of school around the age of 12 or so to begin earning a paycheck.

"Gertrude White Dean (R) driving her mother, Catherine Marple White (L)"; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Nov 2024), user-submitted photo by Shannon Katz-Dean on 6 Mar 2019.


"Gertrude Wyoming White Dean"; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Nov 2024), user-submitted photo by Shannon Katz-Dean on 6 Mar 2019.

Her education didn't get in the way of earning her keep around the farm. And it certainly didn't slow down her extracurricular ambitions or diminish her prospects in finding a husband.

"William Dean SR & Gertrude White"; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Nov 2024), user-submitted photo by Shannon Katz-Dean on 29 Aug 2017.

My great granduncle, William Ralph Dean, a letter carrier for the postal service, who also had an 8th grade education, must have found himself captivated by Gertrude's unique personality. He locked her down on March 24, 1919 in Brooke County, West Virginia. 

"Gertrude and William Dean"; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Nov 2024), user-submitted photo by Shannon Katz-Dean on 3 Mar 2019.

While she may have been considered an "old maid" then at the age of 26, they wasted no time in growing their budding family. They went on to have 10 children over the next 15 years!

"Dean family (Ivan in uniform)"; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Nov 2024), user-submitted photo by Shannon Katz-Dean on 6 Mar 2019.

I have to assume her adventurous soul was the basis for her long life. She lived to be 97 years old, surviving her husband by more than 30 years, and sadly a few of her children. She passed away on 15 January 1991 and was buried alongside William at Stone Church Cemetery in Elm Grove, West Virginia. I'd love to learn more about all of her hobbies and what made her such a shining star.

"Gertie Dean"; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 Nov 2024), user-submitted photo by Shannon Katz-Dean on 22 Dec 2021.


















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