Childhood

Marion Gorham was born 4 Oct 1883 to Henry Beecher Gorham and Emily Brinsmade Grannis, the third of four daughters. (The three Gorham sons would come later.)

Ella (on left) was the oldest sister. She would play an important role in our family, raising James Gorham Armstead after Marion (on right) died early.

School

Marion Gorham and George Brooks Armstead both attended the same grammar school and high school, so they knew each other for most of their lives. I have no information on exactly when they became more than friends.

After school

At some point, Henry Gorham moved his family to Brooklyn, as he often worked out of a New York office. We can see from the 1900 census that Marion had found work as a stenographer, still lliving with her parents --

-- and in 1904 we find that she was teaching classes at Browne's Brooklyn Business College:

Marion the writer?

I do not know if Marion had interests in writing when young. However, the letters left by George include several poems written by Marion. Most were romantic sonnets written to George (and will be quoted on other pages), but one was a whimsical ode to the groundhog:
 
"Rutland, Mass, March 11, 1911
The Ground Hog
 
You've all heard about the ground hog
Who comes out the second day
Of the month of February.
If it's cloudy, he will stay.
But, if he can see his shadow,
He knows winter is not o'er,
And he goes back into his hole
To sleep for six weeks more.
 
Now, this year 'twas just as usual,
Everybody watched the sky
On the second of February,
All prepared to say goodbye
To the cold and snowy winter
If the sun did not appear,
And each watcher's wish was granted
For 'twas cloudy, cold, and drear.
 
But, alas, 'tis nearly mid-March,
And the snow lies inches deep
And no doubt that wise old ground hog
Is still buried, fast asleep.
And I think, when he awakens,
He'll be laughing up his sleeve
At the superstitious people
Who such nonsense will believe.
 
MGA"
 
The story continues here.

References

Source material for the above

• The Armsteads Look Back in 1940 (unpublished), by Geroge Broks Armstead
• Letters handed down to James Gorham Armstead