Tunis Garard and Frances Spurlin

Tunis and Frances exchanged their Shelby county property for a Hamilton county farm in 1881. The entire family except son William & daughter Fannie moved to Jackson County Indiana in the fall of 1901.

Two of Tunis and Frances' children, that I know, changed the spelling of their surname when they left home. They were Samuel Gerrard and Jesse Gerard. I remember my father telling me about his brothers changing the spelling of their names, but if he told me the reason, I do not recall it. I have asked Jesse's daughter Genevieve about this, but she said she didn't know why and neither have any of the other descendants of these two that we have talked to.

In 1929 Frances related, to her daughter-in-law Edna and typed by Edna's daughter Genevieve, some of the family history concerning the Garard, Gosnell, King and Spurlin families. It was then passed to Norma Grace (Barton) Davisson, who added some current information and shared it with other family members. That is how I became interested in family history. It is only a little over 12 pages and is a little hard to follow as several of the tidbits refer to people by their nick name and may just have a line or two relating to a person with no way to connect them into the family. Anyway bless my grandmother, whom I never knew, for leaving some of her knowledge of the family for me to read.

William & Phyllis E. Alvey Garard