Our ancestor's gun

Doing Family history research online is great; but the most fun part of genealogy is connecting with people who have a shared past and want to explore it together. 

Soon after we launched the Burren Girl project, our filmmaker Kevin announced that one of his friends had the same ancestor we did - William Q. Davoren, who settled in Minnesota in 1850.

How could this be? A cousin we did not know? We arranged to meet Ryan and his mother, Lori. Here is the story they told, about finding a piece of our past at a garage sale.

The Gun Story

    By Lori Lins 

My dad, William Sattler, grandson of William Q. Davern, was a great hunter. In the 1960’s he found the gun pictured below at a garage sale,  brought it home and took it apart. Then, we heard him exclaim, “Come here! Look at this!"

Inside the butt end of the bolt action rifle, hidden under a metal plate, was carved “Davern W.” All excited, Bill went to show his mother, Mary Gertrude, daughter of Wm Q. she said it was her dad’s hunting rifle that always hung over the fireplace  at the farmhouse. 

Lori’s nephew, Bill, did some research using the serial number on the gun. It was made in 1918, 5 years after William Q. died. It may have belonged to William Q’s oldest son, William A. Davern (Rita’s grandfather).

A mystery solved! 

    (Holding gun: Ryan Lins)

Please send your stories…and photos to this blog about the Davorens/Daverns. 

   A Davoren genealogy project is also being launched. More to come on that!