Emma Rowena (Caldwell) Gatewood (1887 - 1973)

Born 25 Oct 1887 in Crown City, Guyan Township, Gallia, Ohio, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Perry Clayton Gatewood — married 5 May 1907 in Ohio, United States

Descendants

Died 4 Jun 1973 at age 85 in Gallipolis, Gallia, Ohio, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Appalachia Project WikiTree [send private message] and Dona Buckmann [send private message]

Emma (Caldwell) Gatewood was associated with Appalachia. Join: Appalachia Project Discuss: Appalachia

Biography

Emma (Caldwell) Gatewood is Notable.

Emma Rowena Caldwell was born on 25 October 1887 in Crown City, Guyan township, Gallia County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Hugh Caldwell and Esther Trobridge[sic]^[1] At age 19, she and 28 year old Perry C Gatewood, a teacher from her hometown, were married on 5 May 1907 in Gallia County, Ohio.^[2] The couple had at least eleven children.^[3][4][5]

Between 1935 and 1940, they moved to Cabell County, West Virginia, where Perry worked as a carpenter.^[6]

Emma Gatewood hiked the entire 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail (from Georgia to Maine) in her late 60s and 70s, completing it three times. She is the first woman to complete the whole Trail alone, also the first woman to do so in one continuous hike. Remembered as "Grandma Gatewood," she is a legend within the Appalachian Trail hiking community and the most famous person to have completed this arduous but beautiful Trail.^[7][8]

Emma died in 1973 in Ohio^[9] and is buried in the Ohio Valley Memory Gardens, Gallia County, Ohio^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ "Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X6QN-P56 : accessed 18 Sep 2014), E. R. Caldwell, 25 Oct 1887; citing v 2 p 31, Guyan, Gallia, Ohio; FHL microfilm 317661. [This Birth Register Index was created after the fact as the page headings all reference the year 19 with space to fill in specifics. The name of her birth city is found on her Marriage record.]
2. ↑ "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XD4N-T4P : 26 August 2019), P.C. Gatewood and Emma Caldwell, 05 May 1907; citing Marriage, Gallia, Ohio, United States, CN# 2482, Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society, Columbus; FHL microfilm.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLD9-HQH : accessed 12 November 2019), Emma R Gatewood in household of Perry C Gatewood, Ohio, Gallia, Ohio, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 43, sheet 11B, family 221, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1184; FHL microfilm 1,375,197.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDBV-DSX : accessed 12 November 2019), Ravenna Gatewood in household of Perry C Gatewood, Ohio, Gallia, Ohio, United States; citing ED 61, sheet 12B, line 87, family 256, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1385; FHL microfilm 1,821,385.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X47D-45T : accessed 12 November 2019), Emma R Gatewood in household of Perry C Gatewood, Ohio, Gallia, Ohio, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 19, sheet 10A, line 41, family 208, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1803; FHL microfilm 2,341,537.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7H1-H7G : 28 July 2019), Emma R Gatewood in household of Perry C Gatewood, Union Magisterial District, Cabell, West Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 6-80, sheet 4A, line 18, family 64, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4399.
7. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Grandma Gatewood," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grandma_Gatewood&oldid=916978278 (accessed November 12, 2019)
8. ↑ Montgomery, Ben. 2014. Grandma Gatewood's walk: the inspiring story of the woman who saved the Appalachian Trail. WorldCat link.
9. ↑ "Ohio Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VKVN-CBY : 11 November 2019), Emma Gatewood, 1973.
10. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 12 November 2019), memorial page for Emma Rowena Caldwell Gatewood (25 Oct 1887–4 Jun 1973), Find A Grave: Memorial #17980976, citing Ohio Valley Memory Gardens, Green Township, Gallia County, Ohio, USA ; Maintained by Marjorie Wood (contributor 46892078). [The memorial page has a picture of the gravestone as well as several others pictures.]

See Also:

• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMDC-3NK : accessed 12 November 2019), Amy Caldwell in household of Hugh Caldwell, Rome Township, Millers precinct Athalia village, Lawrence, Ohio, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 75, sheet 18A, family 333, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,292.
• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 24 August 2018, 17:42), entry for Emma Rowena Caldwell(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:KCCY-RSQ); contributed by various users.
• "Ohio’s Most Famous Hiker––Emma “Grandma” Gatewood" By David Dyer; Ohio History Connection, formerly Ohio Historical Society. (History Blog, April 28,2020)