| Florence Gertrude Grace Florence Gertrude "Gert" Grace was born to Thomas Mathew McKee and Amelia Hewitson in Birmingham, England. Although several family stories tell of the family traveling back and forth between the U.S. and Great Brittan several times, we've only found documentation on one trip so far: When Gert was five years old, she was a steerage passenger on the SS Peruvian. The Allan Line steamship departed from Liverpool and docked in Baltimore, MD on 20 Sep 1872. The family settled in Memphis, Tennessee, where her father Thomas worked as a clerk. Six years later, when Gert was only 11, tragedy struck in the form of a devastating yellow fever epidemic. Family legend has it that young Gertrude was "sent to share the bed of a black woman to escape the pestilence" (Patrick D. Grace). Although the black population of Memphis was not untouched by the plague, it did fare far better than the white population. According to The American Plague, "During the 1878 epidemic in Memphis, the morality among whites was 70 percent and among blacks 8 percent." Whatever the cause, the trick worked. Miraculously, the entire McKee family survived. When she was 23, Gert married Edward F. Grace and immediately began a family; their first child was born barely one month after their first anniversary. Although they went on to have four more children, Gert and Edward's relationship crumbled and he eventually abandoned them (they never officially divorced). Ever the survivor, Gert pressed on, running her household with staunch efficiency. In addition to scheduled chores, her own tool kit, and an unshakable Catholic faith, many of her grandchildren remember the warning rap of Gert's heavy gold wedding band banging against the window to snap rowdy children to attention. When she wasn't tending to her home, her children, or her siblings (who all fondly called her "Sister" or "Sis"), Gert could be found crocheting, embroidering, or brewing her own recipe of homemade beer. Gertrude passed away in 1947 at the age of 80. She was carried to her final resting place by six of her adoring grandsons. |
Sources: The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic That Shaped Our History, Molly Caldwell Crosby, 2006. A Pushy Dame, by Patrick D. Grace National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, DC; Records of the US Customs Service, RG36; Series: M255; Roll: 20. |
| Personal Data | Tombstone Data | ||
| Birth: | 16 May 1867 | City: | Memphis, TN |
| Marriage: | 5 Nov 1890 to Edward F. Grace | Cemetery: | Calvary |
| Death: | 17 May 1947 | Section: | |
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