Anna Marion Fairfield

     Anna Marion Fairfield was born on 6 August 1863 in Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana.^1,2 She was the daughter of James Monroe Fairfield and Jane Elizabeth Thurber. She married Asa A. Pevoto on 7 September 1910 at New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana.³ She died on 19 January 1955 in Monterey County, California, at age 91.²
     
     Anna taught in Fort Wayne public schools, and in Pacific Grove, California, she taught "private pupils." Her grandniece and namesake, Ruth Anna Horn Munson (the writer's mother), says she also taught public school in Orange, Texas, but doesn't recall hearing when or why she was there. Ruth Anna never met her Aunt Anna, but as a child, wrote to her often. She remembers that her letters were graded and returned for correction. This was not perceived as an unkindness, as Anna was a revered member of the family.

     I remember as a child, sometime before 1951, my mother receiving a large box from Aunt Anna. I can't recall all that was in it, but I remember books with pressed flowers between the pages, photographs, and a very large Fairfield bible. I can't say I was all that impressed at the time with the bible as I was no older than eight, but in the years that followed, I often took the bible out and looked at the family record. At about age 16, I copied those pages by hand, preserving the formatting and imitating, to the best of my ability, the handwriting. I still have those pages, important only because the bible burned in a house fire in 1971. Unfortunately, however, I didn't understand at the time I made the copy, the importance of publication data, so that information is lost.

     I also remember other things from Aunt Anna; an abalone shell, a child's stool (handmade by her grandfather Asa Fairfield who carved her name and birthdate on the underside), those things lost in the fire, and several sterling spoons with a letter of explanation and brief family history. The latter was sent to Ruth Fairfield Horn, Anna's niece, to be passed on to her daughter, Ruth Anna. Mamma gave me the spoons and letter before the house burned, and I still have them.

     Anna was in her late forties when she married, and she and Asa moved before 1920 to Pacific Grove, California, where they lived the remainder of their lives. Asa died first, and Lillian Fairfield Bell, Anna's niece, believes he is buried in Gonzales, Texas, where his family lived. Lillian tells an interesting story. She says Asa's family didn't approve of his marriage to Anna. He was married before, so "family" probably means children, though I have no record of any. In any case, there was no room for Anna to be buried beside Asa, so she left instructions that her body was to be cremated and her ashes buried at his feet.

Ann Fairfield appeared on the 1 June 1870 Federal Census of Lake township, Allen County, Indiana, in the household of her parents, J.M. and Jane Fairfield.⁴

Anna Fairfield appeared on the 1 June 1880 Federal Census of Lake township, Allen County, Indiana, in the household of her parents, James and Jane Fairfield.⁵

Anne M. Fairfield appeared on the 1 June 1900 Federal Census of Wayne township, Allen County, Indiana, in the household of Edith O. Fairfield, her sister, with her brother James E. Fairfield.⁶

Anna Marion Fairfield appeared on the 15 April 1910 Federal Census of Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana, enumerated 28 April 1910.⁷

Anna M. and Asa A. Pevoto appeared on the 1 January 1920 Federal Census of Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California, enumerated 2 January 1920. Anna was the census taker.⁸

Anna M. and Asa A. Pevoto appeared on the 1 April 1930 Federal Census of Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California, enumerated 14 April 1930. Anna was the census taker.⁹