Lovina Durrant

1858 - 1926  (68 years)

• Name	Lovina Durrant
  Born	25 Mar 1858
  Gender	Female
  Died	25 May 1926
  Person ID	I29821	Family Tree
  Last Modified	13 May 2020

  
  

  Family	John Henry Gates,   b. 25 Sep 1833, Kingston, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 3 Jan 1915, Granite, Oklahoma, USA  (Age 81 years)
  Notes	his fortune panning gold on the California coast. Worked in Salt Lake in the mines near Morgan, Utah. It was there that he found his fortune. He met a lovely hazel-eyed beauty with dark brown hair, soft voice with a rich English accent, and a sweet smile. This fair lady was Lovina Durrant. She same to the US with her parents, a brother Lorenzo, sister Emma in 1871 at the age of 12. Other members of the family migrated to the US at earlier dates. They were married by Samuel Frances, Elder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Made their first home in Morgan. John Henry being an avid traveler thought they should move to more wide open spaces with more advantages and opportunities. He was eager to give up the mining business, and make a move someplace where he could make more money for his growing family. 1880 Morgan City, Morgan Co. Utah census p 511A: confirms place of birth. However he is listed as age 40 making born in 1840 in Canada About 1882 they moved to Neola, Pottawattamie Co, Iowa. There they raised cattle, corn and hogs, and the family kept growing. The family was healthy and happy. The work on the farm was hard and the winters were really cold, so John decided on another move. After much thought and consideration he bought 2 farms north west of Granite, Greer Co Oklahoma and in Oct 1902 they moved in chartered rail road cars to their new home. This was quite an experience for the family had never seen cotton growing, and it was cotton picking time. Lovina did not think biscuits were fit for her family to eat, so she continued baking light bread that was very delicious and would almost melt in your mouth. In Iowa they had a nice comfortable home with an upstairs and plenty of room. The farm we moved to in Oklahoma only had 2 rooms, so the first thing that had to be done was to build on more room, when completed the family was comfortable. Lovina was always thoughtful of others, and made time to call on the sick adn those in need, with no thought ofanything in return. Each child was taught to help with the many household duties and barnyard chores, and work in the fields. She used to say "anything worth doing is worth doing well" She spoke often of her parents and all her brothers and sisters and of her beloved homeland England, and the many interesting places in London. She was taught the lace making trade in England, the lace was sold to help provide funds for the family living. This was called pillow lace, it was made on a pad shaped like a pillow. It was very tedious to make and very bad fo ryour health, so she did not teach any of her six girls thie progession. The las she did, was made for a baby dress for Laura in 1899, and she has this dress in her possession today, and some of the bobbins used to weave the lace
  Last Modified	13 May 2020
  Family ID	F14490	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart