The Travelling Man


My maternal grandfather, Eddie Earl Donaldson, was born to David Scott and Mary Cordelia Lamb Donaldson in Elwood, Indiana on May 30, 1897.


My grandmother, Mary Jane Dudley Donaldson, said that while she was married to him, she never lived in one place for too long. By 1910, his family had moved to Missouri and they then moved on to Oklahoma. We don't know if he actually moved to Oklahoma with them. By 1915, he was living and working in Cincinnati, Ohio. We aren't sure why he chose to move to Ohio. One of my grandmother's brothers, Charlie, worked with my grandfather. Charlie brought him home for a visit and introduced him to my grandmother. They were married December 7, 1915.


Throughout their marriage, my grandparents lived in numerous locations in the Cincinnati area and Clinton and Highland Counties, Ohio. They also lived briefly in Oklahoma, where his World War I draft registration was completed.


Throughout their marriage, my grandparents often lived apart, my grandmother in the country with the children and my grandfather in the city to work. My mom remembers when she was four or five years old and the family visited her dad who was living and working in Oakley (a Cincinnati neighborhood). He gave my mom a gift of three new dresses, the same style in three different colors.


My grandfather was raised in a Pilgrim of Holiness church, his best friend was a minister, and he was married to a Christian woman. However, grandpa was far from a saint. His lifestyle choices likely resulted in his early death at the age of 46 on October 25, 1943.


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