A FAMILY TALE
By Pam Reinig
Register Editor
A well-documented family history needn’t be a dry read with limited audience appeal. In fact, as former Elkader resident Larry Gamble has proven, a collection of family stories can read like a page-turning novel with unexpected twist, turns and tidbits—especially if the writer is as candid and forthcoming as Gamble. He doesn’t flinch from sharing stories that others might be reluctant to disclose, which makes his book all the more readable by people not even related to him.
For example, Gamble’s great-uncle was a well-respected pharmacist in Maxwell, IA, a small town in Story County where Gamble’s father, Adrian Ward Gamble, was also raised. The great-uncle was a mover in several civic organizations and like many members of the Gamble family he was active in the Presbyterian church. But he had a secret, which came to light only after his death.
“After he died in 1955, his family found eight Ku Klux Khan robes hidden in the attic of his home on Main Street,” Gamble said.
A long-time resident of Clovis, CA, Larry Gamble lived in Elkader from 1948-1953 while his father was a farm bureau agent and extension director for Iowa State University. Those years made such an impressive on the younger Gamble that he never totally left Clayton County behind. He stayed in contact with several people and years later even bought property here, including a brick house that backed up to the yard of his boyhood home. Gamble returns to Elkader every year for several weeks. He visits friends—new and old—and also does a bit of exploring across the Midwest in general and Northeast Iowa, more specifically. Last summer, he was instrumental in organizing a reunion of his former Central elementary school classmates.
“Our fourth grade teacher still lives in Strawberry Point,” he said. “About 25 of us were able to get together with her. It was a wonderful afternoon.”
Clearly, keeping connections means a great deal to Gamble, who started writing his family history after he retired in 2005 as a way to preserve and lend credibility to the stories, myths and legends that have become part of the Gamble family fabric.
“This isn’t a traditional ‘genie’ book of names and birthdates,” he explained. “It’s more anecdotal in nature. These are the stories that have been passed from generation to generation. I just added in a few facts.”
One of the most treasured findings of his research is the tombstone of his great-great-great-grandfather’s daughter, Nancy Ann Gamble. Just 17 when she married Christian Olinger, a boy from a neighboring farm in north central Indiana, she died a few months later of “flux,” a form of dysentery from polluted water. Gamble writes movingly of searching for—and ultimately finding—her grave marker. That excerpt from his book follows:
“On a warm day in September of 2012, I drove through the rusty cemetery gates of Nebo. The majority of the tombstones were from the 1880s and many of them were worn beyond recognition. But I was optimistic that I would find the burial site of this little girl. I walked up and down the rows and searched for about an hour. I finally assumed I would never find her and sat down in frustration. As I pondered the peace and serenity of her final resting place, I felt as though my trip was in vain. I glanced at the west side fence near the timber. I saw tombstones stacked against an old elm tree. I quickly ran over to these very old monuments. Many were broken. But one by one, I pulled them away from the tree. Then suddenly, there she was. ‘Hello. I’ve been looking all over for you,’ I said. I was elated and ran my fingers over the lovingly carved letters in the stone. I held the monument tightly to my heart as we, together, shared a few moments of eternity.”
Gamble printed only a limited number of books. He left copies at historical societies in each state or region his family lived in. The Gambles emigrated from Ireland in the closing decade of the 18th century. They first settled in Virginia, moving next to Tennessee, Indiana and Iowa. So, copies of the “Gamble Family Genealogy” have been left in each of those states. In Northeast Iowa, you can find one at the Becker Center, Main Street, Elkader.
Like most family histories, Gamble’s work was a labor of love. It took significant research, lots of thought and, of course, plenty of writing time. But Gamble, with characteristic good humor and candidness, encourages anyone interested in genealogy to pursue their family stories.
“It’s a great way to learn about our families, the lives they led, their loves and tragedies,” he said. “Sometimes you discover important medical information. But at the end of the day, it’s just a very fun, challenging and wonderful thing to do. You can’t go wrong preserving history, even one family’s history.”
