Chosen Families #32: The Story of Ann Elizabeth (Fysh) Gager and the Peek Family - RETURNED
Hello everyone!
I am so happy to be able to return back to this project! The past year has been both an exciting time full of learning experiences and new oppurtunities, so I had to take a step back from the project. This including having the pleasure of entering the world of genetic genealogy through Ramapo College of New Jersey and being able to solve a cold case, which has shown the direction of the field I plan to go into the in future. I alongside other genetic genealogists from the Ramapo College program also have developed a non-profit titled Wolf Pack DNA with our mission to work on unknown parentage, adoption, and eventually law enforcement agencies. You can find out more here: https://wolfpackdna.com/
Now this hasn’t stopped me the past year from thinking about my project. I have been collecting plenty of photographs and other family ephemera through this past year at antique stores. I am so happy to share that I have this story and another exciting story to follow of returned items to families. The photograph I recently found was so so lovely. The photograph itself shows a woman alongside her two grandchildren. The photograph was taken in Toledo, Ohio by photographer Van Loo & Trost. This studio was formed in William F Van Loo and Frederick J. Trost in 1888. The main clue that I had was on the back of the photograph, noting a Mrs. Steven Gager and two grandchildren by the last name of Southard. Through researching Steven Gager’s who resided in the Toledo area, I found a woman by the name of Ann Elizabeth (Fysh) Gager. Her step-daughter Ella Gager had married Frank Southard, and had two children at the time the photograph would’ve been taken and resided in Toledo, Ohio while Ann resided in Buffalo, New York. Once I identified Ann, I was able to locate a relative who’s great-grandfather, Harry Walter Peek, were 1st cousins with her, and was ecstatic to receive it!
Here is the story honoring the life of Anna Elizabeth (Fysh) Gager and her family.
Anna Elizabeth Fysh was born on the 7 Jan 1846 in Norfolk, England to parents Eldred Edmund Fysh (1811-1849) and Elizabeth Peek (1812-1872). Her parents were married on the 27 March 1846 in Downham, Norfolk, England. She was baptized on the 8th March 1846 in Watlington, Norfolk, England and resided with her widowed mother in 1851 (according to census) records. Her father was a surgeon aboard a whaling ship the Coronet between 1837-1839. This was according to the book (shared gratefully by the relative who I contacted) as Rough Medicine: Surgeons at Sea in the Age of Sail by Joan Druett. Her father, Eldred, died at the age of 38 in Watlington when Anna was only 3 years old. By 1856, only 5 years later, her mother Elizabeth and her daughters Anna and Lucy were residing in Buffalo, New York based on advertisement for Ornamental Leatherwork published in the Buffalo Courier Express in April of 1856. Elizabeth likely came to Buffalo because of her parents George Peek (1786-1869) and Ann (Whitstler) Peek (1791-1869), both from Norfolk, England. The couple is seen residing in Erie County, New York as early as 1850. Elizabeth was their eldest daughter and died only 3 years later after her parents deaths on the 17 Jun 1872 at the age of 59. Shown below are Elizabeth’s parents George and Ann.
Ann (Whitstler) Peek (1791-1869)
George Peek (1786-1869)
Buffalo Post Buffalo, New York • Wed, Aug 3, 1864 Page 2
Meanwhile, Anna married her husband Stephen N. Gager on the 1st August 1864 in Buffalo, New York. For Stephen, this was likely his second marriage. Prior census records indicate he was married to a woman Mariah E. Hale prior to his marriage to Anna. His three children Sarah, Fred, and Ella where born in 1852,1855, and 1858 consecutively, with Ella’s death record indicating her mother as Mariah. Their marraige was announced in the newspaper, with Anna’s father indicated. The couple was residing together with Anna’s three step children according to the 1875 New York State Census. Stephen worked as a real-estate broker.
Anna’s step-daughter Ella Marie Gager married on the 30 Apr 1890, in Buffalo, New York to Frank Edward Southard. The couple moved to Toledo, Ohio by 1893 after the birth of their second daughter, having four children, Dorothy (1891-1955), Sara (1893-1973), Frances (1895-1942), and Frank (1897-1965). Based on Sara’s birth on the 6 March 1893 in Buffalo, New York, the photograph of Anna and her two step-grandchildren, the photograph was likely taken in autumn of 1893. One other tidbit I wanted to share was that Stephen himself experienced a scare, where in 1897 he had thought someone had burglarized their home.
Anna passed away on the 28 Feb 1895 in Buffalo, New York at the age of 49. Her husband Stephen Nelson Gager passed away on the 9th of September, 1909 in Buffalo, New York at the age of 76 (although his obituary noted he died at 88).
I am so happy to be able to return this beloved heirloom back to a relative who truly will honor Anna’s legacy and was so happy to be able to return it to them! Although she never had any biological children of her own and came from a troubled early life, she was able to develop herself successfully with a loving family, evident of the photograph of her and her step-grandchildren. One thing I did want to share was the relative did share with me that despite Ella being a step-grandchild, the family had been invited and welcomed to the Peek family reunions, which is something I find truly special.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at thechosenfamiliesproject@gmail.com .
The Buffalo Times - Buffalo, New York · Monday, July 26, 1897
The Buffalo News Buffalo, New York · Friday, March 01, 1895
The Buffalo News Buffalo, New York · Friday, September 10, 1909
