Gertrude Bell Medaris

Alvin, Gertrude, and Helen McCall Family Alvin and Gertrudes 50th Wedding Anniversary Gertrude and Helene Medaris Family

Gertrude was born on August 17th, 1878 in Catarac, Indiana.  Gertrude's father was James Henderson Medaris and her mother was Samilda Dorcas Davis.  Her paternal grandparents were Stephen Cyrus Medaris and Millie Coble; her maternal grandparents were Alexander Davis and Jane Buskirk. She had a brother and four sisters, named James, Loura, Ada, Metta and Una.  She was the second oldest of the six children.  She died at the age of 81 on January 19th, 1960 in Enid, Oklahoma.

• General Notes

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  Gertrude Bell Medaris was born August 18, 1878 in Owens County, Indiana. In 1885 she moved with her family to Bross, Kansas and later to Helena, Oklahoma.
  
  The Medaris family loved music. Each one of the sisters and Vernon all played different instruments. The young fold looked to visit them.
  
  Gertrude was dating Fred Johnson and they were engaged to be married. Fred took real sick T.B. [tuberculosis], and in those days they had no antibiotics so Fred died.
  
  Gertrude mourned for several months, so Dr. Medaris, her father, talked her into going to medical college in Kansas City, MO. She finally decided to go to school. She had to go several years before she could become a doctor.
  
  One time when she came home on vacation she met a new fellow. His name was Alvin McCall. They corresponded for several years.
  
  Finally it was time for Gertrude to come home and do her practicing with her medicine case. It was quite different for her with the buggy. After a few months she did not care for that type of life.
  
  There is no telling how many babies she brought into the world. When people would call for her to come for the sick, she would tell them if they would come after her and bring her home she would be glad to come. She practiced several years that way.
  
  When Alvin and Gertrude were living on a farm northeast of Helena, Harold was born. In that day the woman had to stay in bed fourteen days after childbirth.
  
  One day while Gertrude was in bed she noticed something moving by the window. She set up in bed and noticed it was a large rattlesnake.
  
  In those days they did not let a rattlesnake get away. So she got up and went to the kitchen and got the rifle from the rack and shot the snake, then went back to bed.
  
  Gertrude had quite a reputation for her angel cakes. Gertrude was a lovely seamstress. She knitted a tablecloth and two bed spreads. She also knit Helene a dress, her two granddaughters beautiful suits apiece. Beside that she knit so many, many sweaters for the Red Cross.
  
  Gertrude never sat down but what she had her knitting in her hands -- until her last year. She died January 19, 1960.
  
  by Helen (McCall) Bachman
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  Gertrude followed her father in the study of medicine. She studied for three years in Medical School in Kansas City. However, on one of her vacation visits to Helena, she met the young bachelor, Alvin McCall. Romance had its way, the young farmer persuaded the young student to forsake her medical career to become his wife and homemaker. Alvin McCall and Gertrude Medaris were married in the year 1901. Alvin had traveled 40 miles on horseback to Alva, O. T. for the marriage license.
  
  Soon the excitement of Mining Exploration led the Alvin McCall family to Cripple Creek, Colorado. But after a brief stay they returned to their farm NE of Helena. On this farm, I, Harold McCall, was born. Now there was a need for more land, so Alvin traded for 160 acres S of Helena and built a home there. Their third child, Dortha, was born on this farm. This place became "HOME" to all of us. It was here the A. McCall family lived and associated with neighbors, friends, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents on both the Medaris and McCall sides of the family. My parents lived on this place until 1948 when they moved to Helena.
  
  During A. McCall's active years he engaged in wheat farming, custom threshing, cattle raising, and in the buying and selling of cattle. As he grew older, my father enjoyed recalling times past when hauling wheat by wagon to Enid was a two day trip which required an overnight stay in the wagon yard. He often entertained the family with his store of good Irish "Pat and Mike" stories. My mother was busy as a farmer's wife, but she was also active in the Highland Art Club, the Helena Study Club, and the Garden Club. My parents were members of the Good Hope Church of Christ and in later years of the Helena Church of Christ. Their resting place is in the Good Hope Cemetery. To recall the pioneering spirit that pervaded their lives and the lives of other Alfalfa Co. pioneers is an inspiring and worthwhile experience.
  
  Harold E. McCall, Son,
  "Our Alfalfa County Heritage"
  
  

Details of Gertrude's family with Alvin McCall