Theodora (Sheaf) Morrison (1898 - 1990)

Born 23 Aug 1898 in Cow Honeybourne, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of Jay Walter Morrison — married 19 Sep 1936 in Newark, Essex, New Jersey, United States

Died 28 Sep 1990 at age 92 in Maplewood, Essex, New Jersey, United States

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Biography

This profile is part of the Sheaf Name Study.

Theodora (Sheaf) Morrison was born in Gloucestershire, England.

Theodora was born in 1898. She was the first child of George Sheaf and his second wife Louisa Sheaf. Theo was baptised at St James, Badsey, Worcestershire on 18 Sep 1898. ^[1]

The 1901 census has her recorded at the age of 2, visiting with her mother's dear friend Dorothea Elrington in Newport, Lincolnshire, England. ^[2]Then in 1911 she was recorded at a school in Great Malvern, Worcestershire which she attended with her younger sister Isabella. ^[3]

In 1921 Theo emigrated from England via Liverpool, Lancashire arriving on 24 Jan 1921 at St John, Newfoundland, Canada. ^[4] From St John she went to Toronto, Ontario to stay with her half sister Kitty. The 1921 Canadian census recorded her has a nurse.

By 1928 Theo was living in Montclair, New Jersey and working as a nurse at the Mountainside Hospital. ^[5]

Theo married Jay Morrison on19 Sep 1936. ^[6] After their marriage in Newark, Theo and Jay lived with his parents in Montclair, NJ.

Although Theo and Jay had no children, throughout her life Theo stayed in close contact with her nieces and nephews, the children of her sister Isabella. She was a prodigious correspondent and always remembered birthdays and Christmas; adding to her list as great nieces and nephews arrived. As well as newsy letters, she would also send postcards of her travels, with beautifully written descriptions of what they had done and seen.

We are sitting in a boat under a tree on the rocky side, just above us is a great boulder, the top of which is covered with polypody and lady ferns; and in the crevices are growing maiden hair spleen wort, the daintiest little ferns you can imagine, and walking ferns which are like miniature harts tongue with very long tapering points from the end of which grow the tiny new plants and from whence it gets its name. Postcard to her sister Isabella from The Pines, Branchville, New Jersey.

Aunty Theo, as she was known in the family, died at Maplewood, Essex, NJ on 28 Sep 1990

Sources

1. ↑ Parish Records, St James, Badsey (Baptisms). Parents: George Cornelius Sheaf and Louisa Sheaf, farmer, of Cow Honeybourne.
2. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XSDW-8QB : 21 May 2019), Theodora Sheaf in household of Alfred N Rowe, Lincoln St Nicholas with St John, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Lincoln Home subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
3. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7B9-2WR : 15 July 2019), Theodora Sheaf, Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
4. ↑ Ancestry.com. Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Series: RG 76-C; Roll: T-14842 Ancestry Record 1263 #1481801
5. ↑ 1928 Directory: "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995"
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 2469 #708291274 (accessed 9 December 2021)
   Name: Theodore Sheaf; Residence Year: 1928; Street Address: Do; Residence Place: Montclair;Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA; Occupation: Nurse; Publication Title: Montclair, New Jersey, City Directory, 1928.
6. ↑ "New Jersey, Bride Index, 1930-1938," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPWP-4235 : 21 August 2019), Theodora Sheaf and Jay W Morrison, 1936; records extracted Reclaim the Records, images digitized by FamilySearch; citing Marriage, New Jersey, United States, citing New Jersey Bride Index, 1930-1938, Reclaim the Records, Mill Valley, CA.