Notes for Julia Mary SNOW

Thurtell and Related Families Thurtell and Related Families

Notes for Julia Mary SNOW

The family Bible kept by Julia Mary, "Mate," Snow Thurtell's mother is in the possession of Susan Persia Thurtell Miller. It shows Julia M. Snow was born January 16, 1871, in Dallas County, Iowa, and that she married Henry Thurtell on August 5, 1896, in Pacific Grove, California. It shows her parents were Charles B. Snow, who was born March 29, 1833, in Pennsylvania, and Maria P. Morrison Snow, who was born in Groton, Vermont, on April 24, 1842. It also shows that her parents were married on January 2, 1861, in Dallas County, Iowa. The Bible shows it was given to Maria P. Snow by B. W. and M. A. Morrison on December 25, 1864. Bradley W. Morrison (born December 25, 1836) and his wife, Marian Ann Whitehill Morrison (born January 26, 1840) were Maria Morrison Snow's brother and sister-in-law. The Bible lists the birth dates of Maria Morrison Snow's three children and her three grandchildren as well as the deaths of her husband, father, and two sons.

The U.S. Census for 1880 for Nevada (Nye County, Grantsville Precinct, NV 030, Page 17, Supervisor's District 81, E.D. 37) shows Charles B. Snow as a white male age 47, born in Pennsylvania, whose occupation was Justice of the Peace, with a health problem of asthma. It shows both his parents were born in Pennsylvania. He is living with his wife, Maria P, age 38, a dress maker, who was born in Vermont, as were both her parents. It shows their three children, all of whom were born in "Ioway," were living with them. Charles W., age 15, was a carpenter and had also attended school in the prior year. George F., age 12, and Mary J., age 9, were both in school. The census was ennumerated on the 21st and 22nd of June, 1880, with information as of June 1, 1880.

An index of the Nevada State Journal newspaper, 1870-1900, found on the internet in October 2000 in the Ancestry.com library, shows that H. Thurtell (Prof.) and Mattie Snow were married August 4, 1896, at Pacific Grove, California.

She is listed as Mary Thurtell, white, age 39, born in Iowa, married for 13 years and living with her husband, three children, mother, and stepdaughter in the U.S. Census for Reno City, Washoe County, Nevada, for 1910 (Supervisor's District 171, Enumeration District 71, Sheet 7A). This shows they were living at 761 North Centre Street, Reno, Nevada. The census was enumerated on April 10, 1910.

Her marriage certificate shows Julia Mary Snow was a resident of Pacific Grove, California, at the time of her marriage. She had been a teacher. She and her husband lived in Reno, Nevada, until 1911, when they moved to Washington, DC, and purchased a home at 1217 Delafield Place NW, Washington, DC, where they lived the rest of their lives. Her name was officially Julia Mary, but she sometimes used Mary Julia, and she often used the nickname Mate.

Their marriage announcement appeared in the "Nevada State Journal" on August 5, 1896, as "Married - Thurtell-Snow - At Pacific Grove, Cal., August 4, 1896, H. Thurtell to Miss Matie Snow, both of Reno." The actual marriage date was August 5, 1896, according to both the marriage certificate and the family Bible.

The 1954 Washington, DC, city directory, on page 1226, shows her as Mrs. Henry Thurtell, with a residence at 3900 16th NW, Apt. 139. This is the address where her daughter, Frances Thurtell McGregor, resided for over 20 years until her death in 1975. Julia Snow Thurtell had been visited by her son, Henry Leroy Thurtell, and his wife and daughters in the fall of 1953, when their daughter, Susan Persia Thurtell, was four years old. She was still living in the house on Delafield at that time as far as Susan can remember.

In a 1997 telephone conversation her grandson, RobRoy (Sandy) McGregor recalled that Mate Snow's hobbies had been reading, playing cribbage, and writing poetry. She was very well read with an excellent memory. She had been a teacher in Nevada, possibly Carson City or Reno, probably at the grammar school level. She was very well respected throughout her social strata. In her later years she had severe arthritis and used a cane. She had kept a scrapbook of the Thurtell family for many years that was still in his possession.

The 1963 and 1968 Thurtell family histories showed that Julia Mary (Mate) Snow Thurtell died in 1956 in Washington, DC, and Sandy McGregor also thought that she had died about that time in or near Washington, DC. Although he had lived with his grandmother and mother in Washington, DC, from shortly after his grandfather's death until he was an adult, he could not recall ever visiting a cemetery where family members had been buried.

No record of the death of Julia Mary (Mate) Snow Thurtell was found in Washington, DC, however, in a search done for the years 1954 through 1957. No record of her death was found in Maryland in a search of the indexes for the 23 counties except for the city of Baltimore for the years 1945 through 1958. No Social Security number was located for her in a search of the Social Security Administration's alpha index, nor was she listed in the Social Security death index.

| HOME | EMAIL | SURNAMES |
Footer Additions and corrections are always appreciated!