Esther Bowman Snavely, GW #213 

Esther was born on 8 April 1900 in New Danville, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (according to her passport application) to Rohrer and Emma (Bowman) Snavely.  Esther’s father was a farmer.  In 1916, the family moved to Hershey, Pennsylvania.  In the 1920 census her father reported that he was retired.  Twenty-year-old Esther and her mother are listed as not having an occupation, and Esther’s uncle Stoner Snavely was listed as a farmer.  On 13 August 1924 Esther set sail for Europe to study.  The destinations listed on her passport application are: England, Italy, Scotland, Switzerland, France, and Holland.  Her occupation is listed as artist.  Also from her passport application we learn she was 5’3” tall, and had brown hair and blue eyes, and freckles.  She returned to the United States on 26 June 1925 on the SS Patria, sailing from Marseilles, France.  In the 1930 census Esther is boarding with the Benjamin Williams family in Derry, Dauphin County, where she was a teacher in the public school.  In 1940 double tragedy struck the family.  Both of Esther’s parents died; her mother in February and her father in June.  By 1950 Esther had joined the Gospel Worker Society.  Her occupation is listed as Artist, Information Clerk, in a missionary home.  She may have lived in Cleveland with the Gospel Worker Society for the rest of her life.  However, her brother’s 1957 obituary reports her home as being in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Was this an error?  Esther died on 3 January 1971 and is buried in Cleveland with other Gospel Workers.  The signed photograph was her passport photo.