Joseph Brenchley OBRAY was born 15 April 1867 in Paradise, Cache, Utah. He is the son of Thomas Lorenzo OBRAY and his 3rd wife (2nd polygamous wife) Caroline BRENCHLEY. He married Elizabeth Christine OLSEN on 7 December 1887. He died on 14 February 1940 in Paradise, Cache, Utah. He is buried in the Paradise Cemetery.
The article is about Louisa Obray (Gibbs) [1855-1927] acting as a midwife in Paradise, Utah. My family history is rich in this little community of Paradise and the family lines mingle and intermingle. Louisa's half-brother (and my great-great grandfather), Joseph Brenchley Obray (1867 - 1940) might be the Joseph referred to in this story. Joseph's wife Margaret Oldham Tams (1869 - 1958) gave birth to a daughter, Melba Elizabeth Obray on 15 June 1903. Louisa's daughter Boston gave birth to her oldest son Orson Donald Miles on 17 Jun 1903 just two days later. If, in fact, Joseph is the same, Louisa still may have made it to deliver her grandson.When looking back on her life, Louisa Obray had a great deal of which to be proud. In 1890, at the age of 35, she attended the Columbia Hospital for training as a nurse. She had already trained in Utah as a midwife under Dr. Ellis Reynolds Shipp. During Louisa's career she delivered an estimated 800 babies. She charged just $3.00 for her services which included bathing both mother and child and nine days of post-natal care.
Her biography tells a story of how she handled herself under pressure. “She came home one day to find Joseph Obray waiting to tell her not to unhitch the horse as his wife was in labor with her first child. She had already been in attendance on other mothers for twenty-four hours. Just then her daughter, Boston, ran out of the house begging her not to leave as she was about to give birth to her first child. Louisa looked at her daughter and said, “be at ease—you will be all right.”She was
described as "dignified and queenly in her bearing." And many of the people in
Paradise sought out her wise counsel "for help with their personal problems."
Interestingly, my line does not continue through Margaret. Joseph was also married to Elizabeth Christina Olsen (1868 - 1899). My great-grandfather Hilary Olsen Obray was their son. Just to throw in a twist, Elizabeth & Joseph's son (Hilary)'s daughter Verda Bradley Obray (1911 - 1994) married Joseph's other wife (Margaret)'s younger brother (Josiah Oldham Tams, 1971 - 1941)'s son, Neil Richman Tams, (1908 - 1997). Neil and Verda are my grandparents, from Paradise, whom I know and love.
5 comments:
I'm glad you enjoyed my post on Louisa Obray Gibbs. And it is nice to learn more about Joseph. I would be very surprise if your Joseph was not the same person.
Hi, just a quick message from Coseley, near Wolverhampton in the UK ...my name is Alison Bryen (born Price), aged 31. My family has a rather detailed document in the form of a family tree. To cut a long story short; my family are decendents of the Tams family and direct decendents of of Elijah Tams sister Ann...she is my great great great grandmother! So Elijah is a 4th great uncle of mine...!
I Have been reading up on the founding/settling of Paradise, Utah, and a little of its history...what I gave found is very interesting...so I thought I'd leave a message to say hi to family (however distant! )
Manics1984 - I loved getting your message today! It's so nice to meet a cousin! I'd love to see that family-tree document that you have. Is that something that you can share? My dad (who was born and raised in Paradise) is actively working on the Tams line and trying to make connections back into England. There are some places that we lose track of the line. Sometimes those documents can give the clues that we need to figure things out. Plus, I'd love to see anything that shows family relationships.
Thanks again for your message!
Wendy
Wendy,
Yes I should be able to draw up a copy of the family tree...! It might take a little bit of time as our copy written up on cardboard at the moment which isn't ideal for scanning onto the computer unfortunately!
It contains a lot of names and dates. ...Some lines go back to at least the 16th Century!
The Homer's were quite a prominent family in the manor Sedgley (Staffordshire) and, as such, has a coat of arms which I think is still displayed in the parish church of Sedgley (All Saints)!
Our branch of the family didn't move very far at all...I live in a town called Coseley, which is just 2 mlies down the hill from Sedgley!!!!
Manics1984 - If it is too hard to scan, just snap several photos. I told my dad about your message and he was excited to hear about you - especially living so close to the places he is researching. I'll be sure to pass this one along as well. You can email me at iprepared5 at gmail dot com.
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