Maurice Henry Morrow was born on January 18, 1875 in Norwalk, Ohio. He was the firstborn son of Melville and Caroline (Simmermacher) Morrow. I have heard several stories about his childhood, and here is one of them.
My grandfather, Kenneth, is the youngest son of Maurice. He has told me about Maurice being involved in a Tornado when he was just a boy. A little research found the tornado occurred in August of 1884, when Maurice was nine.
As the story goes, Maurice's mother saw the storm coming, and got the family into the cellar. Being the oldest, Maurice was sent out to secure the barn to keep the animals in. As he ran to the barn, he saw the tornado was very close, and he would not have time to turn back. Reaching the barn, he locked the door and sheltered inside as the tornado hit.
Luckily, the tornado was only about an F2 on the fujita scale and only glanced the barn. In the middle of this maelstrom, a large board was hurtled through the wall and hit a bag of grain only a foot away from Maurice. The barn was moved several feet off of it's foundation. The tornado then went on to destroy an umbrella factory in Norwalk and kill a girl who worked there. Fifty people were injured in all.
Maurice met the daughter of Walter S. and Flora (Hackett) Abbey, Mable Abbey, and married her on February 3, 1899 in Huron County, Ohio. They had seven children, all boys.
The first was Harold Emerson Morrow, born on September 16, 1900. He died in 1918, never being married.
Second was Lynn Vernon Morrow, born on May 21, 1905. He married Grace Lucille Washburn on December 13, 1929 in Dennison, Ohio. They had three children, Gladys Viola in 1931, Alice Mae in 1933, and Norma Jean, born in 1935.
Third was Robert Melville Morrow, born on October 30, 1906 . He married Nellie Isabelle Lehman on October 5, 1935 in Norwalk, Ohio. They had six children, Mabel Louise in 1935, Robert Wilson in 1939, Nancy Lou in 1942, Ruth Ann in 1944, Betty Sue in 1945, and Dale Howard, born in 1949 .
Fourth was Herbert "Herb" Maurice Morrow, born on June 12, 1911. He married Harriet Christine Gray on August 24, 1936 in Fitchville, Ohio. They had four children, Carol Ann in 1938, Jack Ira (mentioned in the introduction) in 1943, Margaret Sue in 1944, and John Lee in 1946.
Fifth was Carl Edward Morrow, born on June 13, 1915. He married Virginia Theodosia Mickey (also mentioned in the introduction) on June 25, 1951. They had an only daughter, Ann Mayme in 1953. She died tragically in an airplane crash in Cusco, Peru in 1970.
Sixth was Wayne Alton Morrow, born on June 19, 1919. He married Clara Mae Barr on May 24, 1941. They had four children, Harold Dale in 1942, Barbara Jean in 1944, Mary Louise in 1945, and Marjorie Mae in 1946.
And last, but not least, Kenneth Howard Morrow, born on December 8, 1921. He married Ruth Rose Krisha on August 31, 1949 in Norwalk, Ohio. They had five children. Linda Ann, born in 1950, Janis Elaine in 1951, Eric Michael in 1952, Ronald Kieth in 1954, and Susan Kay in 1958.
He has been described to me as a very intelligent man who read to his grandchildren out of encyclopedias, and always had plenty of books around. He also had one heck of a good recipe for molasses cookies. He died on October 18, 1959 in Norwalk, Ohio.
I know very little about Mable.