February 2004                                                           The Megaphone                                                                    Page 4

Faith In the Human Spirit

by Deborah (Bozell) Donahue

Many of you have seen my postings regarding the research my husband and I have completed on all our families’ history for over ten years.

We have donated family research to many libraries, museums, and historical societies throughout the country where these family members lived, hoping our research would benefit others searching the same families.

One of the local libraries other than Elwood is the Tipton County Library, and the Tipton County Historical Society. We have also given history to the Tipton County Genealogical website coordinated by Russell Bauer. This site allows researchers to connect on the Internet and obtain history on present and past residents of Tipton County in solving their families’ ancestry.

My great great grandfather, Reverend George Bozell, migrated to Tipton County, Indiana, alon with two of his brothers, Zachariah and Isaac Bozell, in 1850. These men were early pioneers of this county. My great great grand father founded the New Hope Christian Church, south of Tipton, Indiana, and was instrumental in advancing Christianity throughout Tipton County and the surrounding counties.

My great grandfather, Thomas Bozell, was raised in this county along with my grandfather, William Jennings Bozell, and my father, Denzil H. Bozell.

Shortly after Pat and I returned from our Christmas vacation in Tennessee, I received an email from Russell Bauer, the Coordinator of the website for Tipton County. He asked me to contact a woman from Albuquerque, New Mexico, regarding a dish she had purchased at an antique store with the name Irene Bozell written on the back. Besides Irene’s name appearing in gold lettering, the year 1913 along with the city of Tipton, Indiana, appeared with the same script on the porcelain.

I immediately contacted Cathy Dahms in Albuquerque and advised her I was a Bozell descendant writing regarding the dish she had discovered at the antique store. She asked if I was a direct descendant of Irene, and if so, could I share some family history. I explained that Irene Bozell was the grand daughter to my great great grand father, Reverend George Bozell, and the daughter to his son, George Bozell II, and wife, Laura Simmons Bozell. Other than knowing her family connection, I had no other history on Irene nor did I have a clue how the dish ended up in New Mexico.

Cathy explained in her email she was captured by the dish at first sight after discovering it in the shop. When she turned it over to find the family information, she immediately felt she wanted to return it to a Bozell family member. Her belief is that all heirlooms should be kept in the family of origin.

Cathy was determined to locate a Bozell family member, so she looked up Tipton, Indiana, on the Internet to discover there was a genealogical website. It was then she wrote the coordinator to contact a descendant of the Bozell family. If it had not been for Cathy’s compassion and Russell’s kindness, our family would not have known the dish ever existed.

The family history we donated and felt would be beneficial to others in their research ended up benefiting us, and for that, I am profoundly grateful!

Both Cathy and Russell have reassured me the human spirit is truly special and kind. After being separated all these years, arriving this week in the mail was the dish that has been returned to the original family. It is people like Cathy and Russell that reinforce your faith in the human spirit!

A Heartfelt thanks to you both!

Submitted by . . . 

Deborah (Bozell) Donahue '64