Clara Myrtle GRAY-SADLER Bird (1900-1988)

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Clara Myrtle GRAY-SADLER Bird (1900-1988)

My “Grandma Bird”

page established October 2007

Clara Mytle Gray (1900-1988) photo taken in August 1917.

Margaret Eddie CURLING (1862-1925) & Annanias Nias SADLER (1859-1941) adopted Clara Mytle Gray in 1900 at the age of 4 months and raised her.

Clara Myrtle GRAY-SADLER Bird (1900-1988)

My “Grandma Bird”

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My “Grandma Bird” Clara Myrtle GRAY-SADLER Bird (1900-1988) always loved listening and taking part in my conversions about my ancestors with my Mom & Dad and Her.

In 1975, I visited her down in Haltom City, Fort Worth and handed her my first published book Linton Family History. She held it for a while without opening it up, walked into her bedroom went to her old Hope Chest took out an old document and handed to me and said, “this is all I have, see what you can do with it.” It was her adopted parents’ marriage certificate from Annanias Norris SADLER & Margaret Eddie CURLING (1862–1925) dated January 7, 1883. She knew they were related to her and wanted to know more.

She was the First paying Dues Member of Linton Research Fund Inc., in 1987.

Over the years I have taken her adopted parents (her actual father & mother in laws) back to Annanias SADLER (1795–1853) from Hyde County, North Carolina. Also, back to Edmond CURLING (1840–?) from Great Bridge, Princess Ann County, Virginia.

Grandma Bird’s parents were George Irving GRAY (1874–1905) & Lula Virginia "Jennie" WILLIAMS (1874–1935). Her WILLIAMS line has been documented to Ralphe WILLIAMS (1584–1695) of Camborne, Cornwall, England.

Her CAPPS line goes back to “Finn” King of the Frisians born in 130 in Frisian, Netherlands and his wife “Hildeburh” born circa 130 her 50^th great-grandparents.

I can now tell Clara Myrtle GRAY-SADLER Bird my “Grandma Bird” her direct ancestral line includes the Founder of Danville, Virginia; a governor of the Bahamas; some of the original Jamestown setters; numerous Sir Knights; a very famous English woman Pirate; numerous Vikings; hundreds of Kings & Queens not in one county but five different ones. Grandma Bird can be traced back 1,177 years from when she was born in 1900.

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Clara Myrtle GRAY-SADLER Bird (1900-1988)

Clara’s connections to the Sadlers & Curling

updated June 25, 2022

My Grandma Bird, Clara Myrtle GRAY (1900-1988) was born on June 14, 1900, in Seaboard, Princess Anne County, Virginia. Clara was the daughter of George Ivering GRAY (1874-1905) & Lula Virginia "Ginny" WILLIAMS ( 1874-1935). Clara’s father left home one day looking for work and never came home. Four months after Clara was born her mother put all of her children, except her oldest daughter Susan, for adoption in the Saint Mary's Infant Home, located on Chapel Street in Norfolk, Virginia. According adoption records, Clara was immediately adopted and raised by, her in-laws, Annas Norris SADLER (1859-1941) & Margaret Eddie CURLING (1862-1925) of Great Bridge, Norfolk County, Virginia.

Clara’s uncle Russell Greenville WILLIAMS (1880–1942) married Edith Olivia SADLER (1886–1978). Russell was the son of John Walker WILLIAMS (1840–1905) & Sarah "Salley" Frances CAPPS (1846–1943) the grandparents of Clara. Russell was born November 12, 1880 in Seaboard, Princess Anne County, Virginia and died on December 27, 1942 in Norfolk, Norfolk County, Virginia.

Edith Olivia SADLER (1886–1978) was the daughter of Ananias Norris SADLER (1859–1941) & Margaret Ellen "Eddy" CURLING (1862–1925). Edith was born on January 1886 in Pleasant Grove, Great Bridge, Princess Ann County, Virginia and died on June 11, 1978 in the Lafayette Villa Nursing Home, Norfolk, Virginia.

Russell & Edith had one child, Clarence Miller WILLIAMS (1912-1987). Clarence was born on December 31, 1912 in Norfolk, Norfolk County, Virginia and died on October 29, 1987 in Leigh Memorial Hospital, Norfolk, Norfolk County, Virginia. Clarence was a pressman for the Ledger Star, in Norfolk, Virginia. Clarence married Martha Grace TINSLEY (1911–2001) on September 19, 1938 in Norfolk, Virginia. Martha was born on September 16, 1911, in Gordon, Georgia and died on July 5, 2001, in Norfolk, Norfolk County, Virginia. They were divorced on May 3. 1963 in Norfolk, Virginia. They had one child, Emily Lucille WILLIAMS born on May 6, 1939 in Norfolk, Virginia

I can remember driving, in my 1962 Ford Galaxy, Grandma Bird and my mother down to Norfolk three different times so Grandma Bird could visit her “favorite aunt” Olivia which was four years older than she was. They grew up together and went to the dances on board the USS Louisiana were they both met their future husbands. I also remember driving my father and mother down see my brother in North Carolina. On the way we stopped in at cousin Clarence beach house on the “Sound” on the Outer Banks Peninsula, Kinnakeet, North Carolina to visit with him and Grandma Bird and aunt Olivia.

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1917 Wedding photo of Jeff Augustus Bird and Clara Myrtle Gray. They were married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 7, 1917.

Gus & Clara April 17, 1941

Gus & Clara Christmas 1953 on Widow Oaks Drive, Fort Worth

Clara in Spring 1960

Clara Myrtle GRAY-SADLER Bird (1900-1988) studio photo taken on April 3, 1978 in Hawthorne, California. (according to her son J. A. "Jeff Augustus" "Snookum" "Jimmie" BIRD (1923-2015) & his wife Marjorie Blanchard LAFOREST (1927-2010) they tricked her into going and getting this photo taken, they told her they were going to visit their son Jamie. They did, however, end up at Jamie’s house.)

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“We exist because of our ancestors, let’s try not to forget them”

"That’s a beautiful and profound statement. Our ancestors’ experiences, struggles, and achievements have shaped the world we live in today. It’s important to honor and remember them, as they are a part of our history and identity”

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