8B.  Hannah C. Gilbert was born in Ohio in 1856, and died in Michigan in 1934. She was buried in Winchester Cemetery, Kent County, Michigan. Ozro LaVerne Winchester was born in Michigan on Monday, May 7, 1860, and died in Michigan in 1928. He was buried in Winchester Cemetery, Byron Center, Kent County, Michigan. They were married _____. She took the name Hannah Gilbert Winchester. She is the daughter of Truman and Henrietta P. (Robbins) Gilbert. He is the son of Calvin Winston and Cleona (Terrell) Winchester. They had nine children:

i. Blanche Winchester [#8BA]: She was born in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, on July 3, 1879, and died in Middleville, Michigan, in November, 1935.
ii. Clyde Henry Winchester [#8BB]: He was born in Grand Rapids on January 14, 1881, and died in Plainwell, Michigan, on May 14, 1953.
iii. Percy Winchester was born in Grand Rapids on December 21, 1882, and died in Grand Rapids on June 2, 1891. Percy died of typhoid fever.
Sources: Walter Joshua Gilbert; Donald Winchester, February, 2000; and his tombstone in Winchester Cemetery.
iv. Bert Elton Winchester [#8BD]: He was born in Grand Rapids on April 12, 1885, and died in Kent County, Michigan, on March 4, 1945.
v. Lulu Winchester was born in Grand Rapids on January 2, 1888, and died in Grand Rapids on June 10, 1891. Lulu died of typhoid fever.
Sources: Walter Joshua Gilbert; Donald Winchester, February, 2000; and her tombstone in Winchester Cemetery.
vi. Adelette Winchester [#8BF]: She was born in Grand Rapids on December 15, 1889, and died in Plainwell in 1977.
vii. Orra LaVerne Winchester [#8BG]: He was born in Grand Rapids on December 15, 1891, and died in Shelbyville, Allegan County, Michigan, in December, 1974.
viii. Calvin Walter Winchester [#8BH]: He was born in Grand Rapids on December 21, 1893, and died in Central Lake, Michigan, in July, 1970.
ix. Gladys Winchester was born in Grand Rapids on July 28, 1896, and died in Dorr, Allegan County, Michigan, on July 14, 1910.

Gladys Winchester
Donald Winchester relates that his mother told him that Gladys had always been in ill health due to a serious respiratory ailment. Ozro and Hannah bought the farm at Dorr to get her out of the foul air of Grand Rapids and to the fresher country air. This attempt to save her failed and she died in 1910, at nearly 14 years of age. "I don't know what year the farm was acquired, but Dad and Mom sold the farm and moved not long after Calvin's accident."
Sources: Walter Joshua Gilbert; Donald Winchester, February, 2000; and her tombstone in Winchester Cemetery.


Hannah (Gilbert) Winchester
Left: Henrietta (Robbins) Gilbert; Right: Hannah (Gilbert) Winchester; Back: Blanch (Winchester) Groothoff; Front: Isla Groothoff

Five generation of Winchesters:
Clyde, Ozro, Calvin—Buddy and Mildred
Ozro was a "string butcher" (disassembly line?) for the Grand Rapids Packing Company. He also had a slaughterhouse on his farm. Since there was no refrigeration, the slaughtering had to be done very early in the morning while it was still cool. He would take his meat to the packing company.

Ozro and Hannah and their family lived on the farm until the early 1920s when they sold it to their sons Walter and Orra.

Ozro died of a rare disorder where his heart grew to the pericardium (the sac around the heart) which inhibited its pumping action.

Hannah had very long hair. Donald Winchester (son of Calvin Walter) recalls: "Grandma would come to stay with us time to time. I remember her sitting in a rocker, her long hair reaching the floor, and letting little Tom and me comb it."

The Winchester family came to Michigan in the 1850s. They originally immigrated to Boston between 1634 and 1639.

Grandson LaVerne (Tom) wrote: Grandma Hannah often visited our home or, in some cases, spent some time with my family. My recollection of her was as a quiet, old and serene woman who also liked a little adventure—she was especially fond of going for airplane rides. In the summer of 1932 she was staying at our house helping to care for my younger brother Bob who was less than a year old at that time when my Dad came home to tell us a barnstormer was giving rides in a hay-field a couple of miles up the road near the little village of Burnips. My brother Don and I had our first airplane rides that day and Grandma Hannah also flew that day.

The following biographical sketch of the parents of Ozro was taken from History of Kent County.

Calvin Winchester was born in Chester, Geauga Co., O., June 20, 1837. His father, Layden Winchester, of English descent, was born in Connecticut, Jan. 23, 1798. He is a hale old man of 83, seeing as well as ever without the use of spectacles. He lives with his son. Mr. Winchester's mother was born in a small town called Jericho, in Chenango Co., N.Y., Feb. 4, 1796. She is Scotch by descent and exhibits the tenacity of life of her ancestral race, being still remarkably active although 85 years old. When Mr. W. was 17 his father purchased 80 acres of land in sec. 10, to which 50 more were afterward added; 40 of this comprises the estate occupied by Mr. W. of this sketch. He was married in Dorr, Allegan Co., July 31, 1859, to Cleona, daughter of Alonzo P. and Caroline M. (Blakeslee) Terrell, who was born at Ridgeville, Warren Co., O., May 29, 1844. They have five children, born in Byron, as follows: Orzo L., May 7, 1860; Dora A., Aug. 30, 1866; Inis A., July 30, 1868; Roye A., April 13, 1878; and Lera C., Sept. 19, 1880. Mr. W. has held the office of magistrate. He is a Greenbacker, and himself, wife and two daughters are members of the Christian Church.

Sources: