The Family of Merle THORPE Sr (1879-1955)

First Generation

William Thorpe of Glossop, Derbyshire, England, was born December 31, 1792, and married Betty Bowden Moss (daughter of _ Moss & Mary Bowden) on 18 April 1813 in Glossop. They had the following children:

James Thorpe
Joseph Thorpe
George Thorpe
William Thorpe
Mary Moss Thorpe
Mary Ann Thorpe
John Thorpe
Betsy Thorpe
Thomas Thorpe

Second Generation

Angelina Houghton and Thomas Thorpe

Joseph Thorpe
Fred F. Thorpe
Emma Louise Thorpe
Herbert Lincoln Thorpe
Herbert Charles Thorpe
Florence May Thorpe
Allen Von Wagner Johnson Thorpe

After marrying Angelina Houghton, "the young couple set sail for Australia, but before reaching there, cholera broke out on board the ship and as the authorities would not let the ship dock, it was forced to return to England with all on board. Soon thereafter, they sailed for America to make their future home, arriving in Peoria, Illnois in June 1857, where Thomas's brothers George and William already lived. Shortly thereafter, he made a trip to New York City and brought his sister Mary Ann Thorpe Waterhouse and children to Peoria where they also made their home. (George Frederick Waterhouse, the husband and father, had recently died and was buried in New York.) The couple settled in Brimfield, Illnois where for many years Thomas was engaged in the butcher business selling meat not only to the townspeople but also running a wagon through the countryside supplying th farmers with fresh meat." [from the affadvit of Mayday Smith Thorpe, 1940]

Third Generation

Joseph Thorpe, Lois, baby Clyde, Merle, and Mayday Smith

Joseph Thorpe, was born 24 July 1857 in Brimfield, Peoria County, Illinois, and died 11 February 1910 in Jetmore, Kansas. He is buried in Ellsworth Cemetery, Ellsworth, Kansas. Occupation: butcher.

Joseph married Mayday E. Smith, daughter of Zenas J. Smith and Martha C. Dounce, on 29 May 1879 in Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois. Mayday was born 16 May 1858 in Sterling, Cayuga County, New York and died 30 May 1942 in Ellsworth, Kansas, where she is buried.

Mayday Smith's grandmother,
Emeline Dutcher, circa 1866

Merle Thorpe
Lois Thorpe
Clyde Thorpe
Blanche Marie Thorpe
Ray Vernon Thorpe

Baby Lois Thorpe

Fourth Generation

Merle Thorpe was born 1 November 1879 in Brimfield, Illinois and died 31 October 1955 in Washington, D. C. Occupation: journalist. Education Stanford University.

He married Lilian Isabella Day, daughter of George Jones Day and Martha Eleanor Turner, in 1908 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lilian was born 8 August 1883 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and died in August 1965 in Washington, D. C. She is buried in Washington, D.C. Education: University of Minnesota. They had two sons:

George Day Thorpe
Merle Thorpe Jr.

Fifth Generation

George Day Thorpe was born 16 May 1913 in Lawrence, Kansas, and died 16 March 1982 in Bangor, Maine. He is buried in Seaside Cemetery, Blue Hill, Maine. Occupation: journalist (book critic and music critic for the Washington Star). Education Yale, A.B. 1936 English.

Day married Barbara Genevieve ("B. G.") Corrigan, daughter of Emmett Thomas Corrigan and Barbara Antoinette Koehl, on 7 October 1950 in Flushing, New York. B. G. was born 8 January 1929 in Long Island, New York, and attended Manhattanville College, A.B. 1950 English. They had three children:

Anna Livia Plurabelle Thorpe
Merle Thorpe III
George Day Thorpe Jr.

Sixth Generation

Anna Livia Plurabelle ("Liffey") Thorpe. Born 2 September 1951 in Washington, D. C. Occupation: Professor of Classics, Earlham College, 1978-. Education Stanford University B.A.1973 Greek; Ph.D. 1989 Classics.

Liffey first married Alan Roth Plutzik, 13 June 1972 in Rockville, Maryland. They were divorced in October 1974.

She then married Peter Dain Suber, son of Charles Harry Suber and Grace Mary Dain, 6 July 1985 in Richmond, Indiana. Peter was born 8 November 1951 in Evanston, Illinois. Occupation: Professor of Philosophy, Earlham College 1983-. Education Earlham B.A. Philosophy; Northwestern LLB; Ph.D. Philosophy. They have two daughters:

Mallory ("Molly") Dain Suber Thorpe and Lilian Day Suber Thorpe