Emma Demory Link & Harry Demory
Status: looking for family!
Nestled in the panhandle of West Virginia just south of both the Maryland and Pennsylvania state lines is the town of Berkeley Springs, WV. Some call it 'America's first spa' for the natural springs that even George Washington frequented; others, like me, call it a haven for those on the hunt for some good antiques.
I, for one, am over tidy antique malls awash with tired crochet and piles of Pyrex. Give me the dust. Give me the dirt still crusted on the old tools, the musty old books, the haphazard piles of letters and photos. Give me the thrill of the hunt.
That is exactly what Appalachian Antiques offered in Berkeley Springs, along with this Civil War era photo of two Demory siblings.
I say siblings because you'll notice Emma has two surnames: Demory and Link. After women were married, the maiden name came first, followed by their married name. Thus, Emma and Harry must have been siblings.
And it wasn't hard to find them at all, particularly considering that the photo came along with one of those old 2001 Ancestry.com family history printouts explaining exactly who they were.
Harry and Emma were two of 10 or so children born to Mahlon and Sophia Demory in Loudoun County, Virginia. They are found together in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses until they, ostensibly, go their separate ways into adulthood.
Harry Demory
Harry Demory, born William Henry Harrison Demory, was born about 1840 in Loudoun County, VA. In 1874, he married Virginia Apsy and the couple settled in Battletown (now Berryville) Virginia. By 1880, Harry and Virginia had three children: John (b. 1875), Louisa (b. 1877), and WW, which I can only assume stands for William, born 1879. They would have another son, Charles, born 1883. By 1900, the whole family remains living together in Lovettsville, VA.
Surprisingly, not that much exists about Harry, even in the form of newspaper articles. Harry died. on January 18, 1915.
Interestingly, his younger sister Emma with whom he is photographed is more readily found online.
Emma Demory Link
Emma Kazier Demory was Harry's younger sister by about 10 years. She married Daniel Link, a widower 20 years her senior, on February 25, 1884. By the time of their marriage, Daniel already had at least 6 children from his previous marriage with Maria Osbourn. A number of them had died young, like these two little ones:
Emma had a number of children by Daniel but, similarly, many of them died in or relatively soon after birth. Their son Elbert (Vaughn) seems to have been the only child who survived into adulthood.
Of course, we don't have the 1890 census to consult, but Newspapers.com did give us this handy tidbit of information as to what Emma's life was like before the turn of the 20th century:
By the 1900 census, Emma and Daniel have made their home in Uvilla, WV near Shepherdstown, just north of Harper's Ferry and across the Potomac from the infamous Antietam battle grounds. Anna and John, two of Daniel's children from his previous marriage, resided in the house, along with Elbert, Emma's son.
Daniel died in 1907, leaving Emma as a widow for 11 years. She remained around Uvilla for the remainder of her life. She died on July 10, 1918 in Uvilla. She was survived by her only son, Elbert Vaughn.
