Person:Mary Sherwood (27)

Personal History

Mary Virginia "Nano" (Sherwood) Murdock (1910-2005)

Both of Mary Virginia "Nano's" parents died in April at the start of the 1918 flu pandemic at the ages of 43 and 47. Their deaths were typical of that pandemic which affected young adults most severely because it is thought their immune systems are most active. They lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota when they died.

When they died, their children were young; George, 12, Mary Virginia, 8, and Josephine, 2. The older two children, George and Mary Virginia, were taken-in and raised by her mother's brother and sister in Ames, Iowa. The youngest, Josie, was taken-in and raised by her father's mother, Grandma Sherwood. The older two did not see their young sister Josie "for years."

Virginia's mother, Mary Bruster Allen Sherwood, was quite a good artist and many of her paintings were displayed at Virginia's cottage/home on Indian Lake near Dowagiac, Michigan.

Even though her parents, George Sherwood and Mary Bruster Allen, met while attending Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Virginia was only able to attend Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa for two years starting about 1928 until the depression started and "the money gave out."

She married Joseph Kepler Murdock in 1933 after he had been widowed for four years and had two young daughters, Joellen, 7, and Margot, 4. His first wife, Elanor Barbara Smith, tragically died of strep throat in 1929 while at Indian Lake, just one year after penicillin was discovered but was not widely available yet.

Her mother's family, Mary Bruster Allen, may go back to Mayflower.

Daughters of the American Revolution [1] Virginia Sherwood Murdock, DAR # 415777

WikiTree.com Page [2]
Family Search ID: M4M1-PM6

Joe, Virginia with Joellen, Margot, and dog Jinx, about 1933

Virginia with Shirley Smith Gibbs, "Muggs" Smith, Tweedy, and Joellen, 1953

Home in Beverly Hills section of Chicago, 8814 S. Hamilton

Joe and Virginia 1953

Joe and Virginia 1953

2006 Memorial for Joe at Indian Lake

Virginia with Stan and "Muggs" (Margaret Jones) Smith with Shirley (Smith) and Don Gibbs

Virginia and Josie Sherwood

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source)
   "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 02 June 2020, 15:24), entry for Mary Virginia Sherwood(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:M4M1-PM6); contributed by various users. PersonID M4M1-PM6.

   Mary Virginia Sherwood _LINK: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:M4M1-PM6

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source)
   "Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1968," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q21K-RT1B : 28 November 2018), Joseph K Murdock and Virginia Sherwood, 08 Apr 1933; citing Marriage, Cook, Illinois, United States, citing Cook County Clerk. Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 102321250.

   Virginia Sherwood, "Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1968" _LINK: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q21K-RT1B

3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source)
   "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVK2-51HT : 6 March 2021), Mary Virginia Sherwood Murdock, ; Burial, Dowagiac, Cass, Michigan, United States of America, Indian Lake Cemetery; citing record ID 50655004, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

   Mary Virginia Sherwood Murdock, "Find A Grave Index" _LINK: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVK2-51HT

4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source)
   "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGCF-ZBRH : 18 March 2018), Mary Virginia Sherwood in entry for Helen Jane Murdock, 16 May 1936; Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, reference/certificate 17234, Cook County Clerk, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm .

   Mary Virginia Sherwood in entry for Helen Jane Murdock, "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949" _LINK: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGCF-ZBRH

5. ↑ Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source)
   "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV57-QN5Y : accessed 7 March 2021), Virginia in entry for Mr Joseph Kepler Murdock, Illinois, United States, 30 Aug 1985; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing , born-digital text.

   Virginia in entry for Mr Joseph Kepler Murdock, "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014" _LINK: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV57-QN5Y

6. ↑ ^6.0 6.1 Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source)
   "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWB8-4NP : 9 January 2021), Virginia Murdock in household of Joseph Murdock, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 103-1271, sheet 1B, line 71, family 17, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 959.

   Virginia Murdock in household of Joseph Murdock, "United States Census, 1940" _LINK: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWB8-4NP

7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source)
   "Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK1S-WV8J : 1 April 2020), Mary Virginia Sherwood, 22 Apr 1910; citing Blairstown, Benton, Iowa, United States; county district courts, Iowa; FHL microfilm 1,870,644.

   Mary Virginia Sherwood, "Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935" _LINK: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK1S-WV8J

8. ↑ ^8.0 8.1 Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source)
   "Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK1S-W6T5 : 1 April 2020), Mary Virginia Sherwood, 22 Apr 1910; citing Blairstown, Benton, Iowa, United States; county district courts, Iowa; FHL microfilm 1,870,644.

   Mary Virginia Sherwood, "Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935" _LINK: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK1S-W6T5

9. ↑ Find A Grave
   Joseph Kepler Murdock.

   _LINK: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50655029/joseph-kepler-murdock

10. ↑ Find A Grave
    Mary Virginia Sherwood Murdock 7 Oct 2005.

    _LINK: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50655004/mary-virginia-murdock