Descendants of Samuel Gorby - b.ca 1700: Fourth Generation

27. Eli⁴ Gorby (Job³, Thomas², Samuel¹) was born in Greene Co, PA. October 20, 1800. Eli died June 30, 1894 in Clark Co, MO., at 93 years of age.

He married Olive Fowler. Olive was born October 11, 1809. Olive died 22 AUG. (1936) Eli Gorby moved with his parents to Noble Co, OH on September 23, 1816. He served during the Mexican War, in Texas but not in Mexico as was his cousin Col A W Doniphan. Eli, too, was a Colonel and as he was an especially good drill master, he drilled many soldiers for the Mexican War, also for the Civil War, though he was too old for active service then, except for drilling the raw recruits.

In 1852 he moved to Near, Clark Co, MO. His brother Thomas lived in the adjoining county of Knox, and as he and his three sons fought with the Confederate Army, Eli probably drilled southern soldiers. He was a carpenter, living on a farm and farming when not busy at his trade.

A nephew - Sylvester Scott Gorby, son of Thomas - often told the following stories of him: He once lived in a part of the country where they had learned that the tomato was not poison as was generally supposed, but really a very good food. On a visit to one of his brothers, Eli took with him some of the tomatoes he had grown. He told them they were very good indeed and the Mother prepared them according to his directions.

At the table they were all anxious to taste the new food which had been so highly praised. One little fellow, after tasting his, began to cry, and when his Mother asked him the trouble he quite shocked them all by crying: "Uncle Eli lied, he did, they're not good."

When Eli Gorby himself was a small lad they lived near a stream in Virginia, possibly on Fish Creek or Wheeling Waters. One favorite sport of the brothers was to gather in the pasture along the creek and catch the cows by the tail to make them run. One day, when the water was unusually high, the boys resumed their favorite sport. Eli caught one of the cows, and to the horror of the whole group she tore down the hill and plunged into the swollen stream.

The brothers, panic stricken, for Eli could not swim in the rapid water, yelled frantically - "Hold tight to the tail, Eli, hold tight to the tail, Eli." Now Eli had no intention whatever of letting loose of that tail, for he knew that tail to be his only hope, so he held on like grim death until the cow landed him safely on the opposite bank of the stream - let us hope a wiser boy.

October 1893 newspaper clipping, Near, MO, Editor's Review by Jonathon Johnson: "There resides with the family of J F and Mattie (Gorby) Taylor, her father, the venerable Mr Eli Gorby, who has been blind for the past 25 years. He was born October 20, 1800, in Washington Co, PA, moving with his parents to West Virginia, then to Ohio in 1816. He went to Indiana in 1840, from there to Illinois in 1845, to Iowa in 1851, and to Missouri in 1853, where he still resides. He was married in Ohio to Miss Olive Fowler, who died August 22, 1887, at the ripe old age of 77. To this union were born 8 girls and 2 boys, 6 girls and one boy still living.

Last Friday, October 20, 1893, being the 93rd birthday of the hero of this sketch, relatives, neighbors and friends, to the number of 41, met in honor of the occasion and had a sumptuous dinner at the residence of J F Taylor and wife, among them one son and four of his daughters, viz: Mr G D Gorby of Bowen, IL; Mrs Mattie Taylor of Near, MO; Mrs Melissa Prall of Near, MO; Mrs Caroline Bennett of Prospect Grove, MO, and Mrs Margaret Lancaster, Mt Sterling, IA. Twelve grand children and six great-grand-children were present."

Eli Gorby and Olive Fowler had the following children:

child 146 i. Henry Richmond⁵ Gorby was born ABT. 1829. Henry died 1876. Ref: CEN1850-8.16.99 - Was living in El Dorado Co, CA, age 21 born OH.