Pearl
known as The Innocent, Beautiful Angel
also written The Innocent, Beautiful Angel in the book
Biography
One of Olive's five children born before she met Dan Guild. Floyd's full sibling. Died of diphtheria. Said to look like Barbara Guild Miller. The nicknames were used after her death. Death date also recorded as “A year before the inheritance, which was perhaps about 1918” (History of the Guild Family). Floyd’s other natural sister; died from diphtheria at age 16.
Timeline
1901
Birth of Pearl
History of the Guild FamilyAt age sixteen
Pearl dies of diphtheria
Afterward called 'The Innocent' or 'Beautiful Angel.'
History of the Guild FamilyA year before the inheritance, which was perhaps about 1918
Pearl dies of diphtheria
Floyd’s natural sister died at age 16.
History of the Guild Family
Stories mentioning Pearl
- Merlin Remembers the Older GenerationMerlin recalled disliking his grandmother Olive, who stuck her tongue out at him and prompted his mother to switch him. He related that Olive had five children before meeting Dan Guild and moved in with him after Clarence Vosberg died. Olive and Dan married quickly because Bessie was expected, a revelation that still disturbed Merlin. Dan was remembered as quiet, mechanical, and a poor dirt farmer. The account says Olive had eight children by three husbands and Daddy had five half and three full siblings; it separately calls Gertie Dad's stepsister.
- Dad's Beginnings and Family ResemblancesThe family recounts Floyd Raymond Guild's farm birth, parents, inherited appearance, and full and half-siblings. They remember the infant death of Harold Herman and state that eight of Olive's ten children lived well into old age. The passage contains conflicting ages and dates for Olive and calls the Vosburg children both half-siblings and stepsiblings.
- A Snowstorm, an Open Door, and a Growing FamilyDrawing partly on Floyd’s accounts, the family recounts Dan and Bernal’s rented farm and Olive’s desperate appeal after Clarence Vosburg’s accidental death. Dan offered shelter in exchange for cooking and housekeeping, initially unaware of her two oldest daughters. Olive and Dan married in 1899 and had five children, two of whom died young. The account also recalls Carrie’s devout household and Bernal’s departure after Newton’s death to sell sewing machines, including his meeting with Belle Woodley.
- Hard Work, Strong Tempers, and Lasting Family TiesThe family describes poverty, shared winter coats, uncertain meals, Dan’s mechanical ingenuity and repair shop, and the heavy household work borne by Olive and her daughters. Severe arthritis and unproved suspicions of infidelity colored Olive’s marriage and behavior. Recollections differ sharply: some emphasize harsh discipline and complaints, while grandchildren recall kindness and others see a devoted couple with stubborn tempers. Dan’s brief 1925 departure ended in his return, and they never divorced. The narrative also remembers affectionate sibling bonds, Floyd’s signature practice, and Olive’s willingness to shelter daughters between marriages. Sweeping judgments about the Vosburg and Guild children are presented as family opinions rather than independently established facts.
- An Unexpected Inheritance and a Granary HomeAn elderly bachelor left his wooded 160-acre property and operating sawmill to the poorest family in St. Mathias Township. The township elders chose the Dan Guild family. Floyd and Clarence saw a hopeful future, while Olive feared Dan would ruin their good fortune. Dan, Olive, Floyd, and Clarence made the windowless granary livable by sealing its open slat-work. Bessie had already left home to marry Ira Ringering, recently returned from World War I, and Pearl had died of diphtheria at 16 a year earlier.
Referenced in
Family corrections
Notes sent in by the family and approved on review. They sit alongside the original record — the book's wording is never changed.
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