GAINERS
ARE LITERALLY EVERYWHERE!!!
Introduction
I have been attempting to locate and tie into our family tree Gainers wherever they may be. I have had many very pleasant conversations, these past four years or so, with Gainers from across our great country. I might add I have not had any unpleasant contacts at all. My research has been both enjoyable and informative. The contacts have emanated from a variety of sources, including leafing through the phone books in whatever town I find myself in. I have also received many phone calls from Gainers, or descendants of Gainers, all with an interest in our ancestors. I have attempted to share information with them, and more often than not, received more than I gave. The exchange of information in search of your roots is beyond value! Hopefully this newsletter will serve to facilitate an exchange mechanism that will help many of you who have a similar interest in our family tree. Later in this newsletter I will share a few of my meetings with Gainer kinfolk over the past few years and some of the interesting tidbits that I have picked up.
Family Tree research
is much more than gathering
numerical data on dates of
birth, death, marriage, and
other occurrences. It is also
about the personal
accomplishments, amusing
anecdotes, and other
information that makes our
ancestors more than a name
and a date of birth.
Information about their
personalities,
accomplishments, and how
they made a difference to
their children and their
communities adds much to
understanding our family's
past. After all, we Gainers
have been a moving force, in
this great State of West
Virginia, as well as in many
other states for more than two
hundred years! So I ask each
and every one of you to take
the time to call, write, or
otherwise convey to me
stories and information about
our Gainer ancestors and
descendants. I will try my
very best to put them in a
newsletter and share them
with all. The address to send
them to appears at the end of
this newsletter. In addition
we can have a monthly
section of those searching for
information on various
ancestors and for those with
information to contact you. I
am open to all suggestions
concerning the content of this
newsletter. Without further
ado let me share with you
some of people I have met in
my search and some of what
they have told me:
Mr. Dee Bee Gainer
Nashville, Tennessee
12/8/1899 - 2/21/1997
In 1992 I was in
Nashville attending a seminar
on Outlaw Gangs, (If you're
wondering, I am a Deputy
U.S. Marshal, I'll tell you a
little about myself later) my
mind however, was thinking
of checking the phone book
to see if any Gainers might
live in Nashville. Once back
at the hotel a quick check of
the telephone book did reveal
a few Gainers. The first one I
saw that caught my eye was
"DEE B. GAINER" who was
located in the local area at a
small town close to Nashville
named Madison, Tennessee.
A call to Dee Bee's number
was answered very quickly. I
advised Dee Bee who I was
and where I was from. I told
Dee Bee that I was searching
for Gainers in an effort to
compile a comprehensive
family tree to determine if we
all had a common ancestor.
Dee Bee sounded very
interested in Gainer Family
history. In fact Dee Bee
quickly informed me he and
his family were originally from
Montrose, West Virginia, near
the town of Elkins. It became
apparent that Dee Bee was
very interested in talking with
me further. I asked Dee Bee
if I could come over to see
him or if he would like to
come over to my hotel room.
Dee Bee checked with his
son, Tyrus "Ty", and advised
me that Ty would bring him
over to my room for a visit.
Dee Bee was a very
vigorous and sturdy man
approximately 6 feet tall. He
was well built and walked
well. In fact, Dee Bee
advised he walked four or five
miles each and every day!
Not bad for a man of 92!
When I asked Dee Bee what
was the secret to his long life
and good health, he replied
that he ate oats and had a
banana for breakfast each
morning, drank eight glasses
of water a day, and walked
four or five miles each day.
Dellas "Del" Gainer
11/10/1886 - 1/29/1947
As Dee Bee and I
talked about his earlier years
and work in the Randolph
County, West Virginia area I
was amazed at his memory
and his mental alertness! No
one would have guessed Dee
Bee to be 92 years old. He
could easily have passed for
75 or so. Dee talked about his
15 or 16 years as a Deputy
Sheriff in Randolph County
and also mentioned that he
had a brother, "Del", Dellas
Clinton Gainer, who had
played baseball in the Major
Leagues. Dee went on to
relate that Del had played on
the Detroit Tigers and Boston
Red Sox teams with the likes
of relatively unknowns such
as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb!
A Gainer in professional
baseball who had played with
Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb!? I
was really excited to hear
more. Dee went on to explain
that Del had played in the
Majors for about 10 years.
Del finished his career with
St. Louis in 1922. Del was
the 2nd oldest of eight
children and was 13 years
older than the baby of the
family, Dee Bee. I could tell
that Dee Bee was very proud
of his big brother Del. I
remember being amazed that
such an important and
interesting Gainer had never
been known to me.
When Del finished his major league baseball career, he returned to West Virginia. In need of a job, his brother Dee told him of an opening for a Deputy U.S. Marshals job in Judge Bakers court in Wheeling. Dee had actually been offered the job, but having a good job in Randolph County as a deputy sheriff, and not wanting to move, he recommended his brother Del. Del served as a Deputy U.S. Marshal in Wheeling from 1935 to 1947. Del not only found a job in Wheeling with Judge Baker, he also married Pauline Alberta Edwards, Judge Baker's secretary. Del and Pauline had one daughter, Barbara Ellen "Bobbi" Gainer. Bobbi Gainer Lindquist resides in Fort Collins, Colorado.
I'm very proud to say
that Dee and Del were my
fourth cousins.
Look for more on these
two very interesting Gainers
in future issues.
DEE & Del LINEAGE
Bryan K. Gainer, Sr.
Bryan K. Gainer, Jr.
George Washington Gainer
Daniel S. Gainer
Matthew Luther Gainer
Dee Bee and Dellas "Del"
Clinton
In Search of:
Youtha Jean Maxwell Dunlap, of Houston, Texas is trying to locate information on John Davidson born circa 1837 and married to Nancy Henrietta Robinson, 1834 - Apr. 18, 1911. John and Nancy had two children, Elzara Jane and Sarah. Elzara was mine and Jean's Grandmother. Nancy Henrietta Robinson later married Francis C. Gainer on August 15, 1869. Francis and Nancy had two children, Lloyd and Myrtle. But Jean does not know what happened to John Davidson. Jean would like to know how, when and where he died.
Anyone with information can write or call Jean. Her telephone number is 281-876-0927. Jean's address is 13110 Kuykendahl #503, Houston, Texas 77090.
Gainer Reunion
Starting at 9:00 a.m.
Saturday, August 16, 1997
at "THE BARN" located at the Barbour County Fairgrounds between Belington and Philippi, WVA
I, along with Clarence Frederick "Fred'" Gainer, had the pleasure of attending this reunion last year on the same date and at the same location. Folks, it was great!! There was probably close to 200 Gainer relatives and descendants in attendance last year! The reunion was extremely well organized with games, cake walks, raffles, etc. The food upheld the best traditions of the Gainer Family! Fred and I were most honored to have been able to attend and meet lots of new Gainer relatives. I would strongly encourage those able to work it into their schedule to mark "August 16, 1997" on their calendar! Please bring a covered dish and any crafts you would like to donate for the raffles or prizes. For more information you can contact Raenel Gainer Forsythe at 757-934-2957 or Rena Gainer Booth Fekete at 412-221-6318.
John David Gainer
I would like to tell you a little about myself. I was born on October 5, 1950 in Glenville, West Virginia, the son of Francis Ivan "Frank" Gainer and Della Paugh Gainer. I graduated from Glenville High School in 1968 and briefly attended Glenville State College in the fall of 1968. I joined the U.S. Navy in 1970 and spent six years in the Navy. Upon my discharge in 1976 I became a deputy sheriff in Wood County, WVA. In 1977 I joined the WVA State Police and was a State Trooper until 1983 when I became a deputy U.S. marshal. I am divorced and have three daughters; Julianna "Julie" age 16, Melissa "Missy" age 14, and Heather age 10. I work and live in Charleston, WVA.
You may contact me at
the following telephone
numbers and address: 138
Candlewyck Drive, Hurricane,
WVA 25526-8811. My work
number is 304-347-5136 and
my home number is 304-757-1380. For those of you with
computers and Internet
access my E-mail address is Marshaljon@aol.com.
If there are enough interested people who have computers and are online, we may be able to start a Gainer Homepage on the Internet. This would be one of the easiest ways to share information and keep everyone updated on reunions and other family news. If you have E-mail addresses please let me know and we will have a section in each newsletter for them.
Again, write or call and let me know of important dates. If you're interested in receiving this newsletter send me your name and address. Eventually there will be a nominal charge to help defray the cost of paper and postage. I will try and keep the cost as low as possible as I am not interested in turning a profit. Feel free to copy this newsletter and distribute it to anyone interested.
Please send your articles, suggestions, and questions.
HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL
John D. Gainer