Amos Shue (1853-1925) & Catherine Elnora Sanders (1869-1940)

A Life of Perseverance and Family in Mason County

Amos Shue was born on October 29, 1853, in York County, Pennsylvania. His home was near the Gettysburg Battlefield and he heard the cannons boom during the battle.

From a young age, Amos faced challenges at home. Amos later told his children that he had a wonderful mother but he couldn’t give the same compliment to his father. He said his father would collect his earnings until he was 21 years old. Amos never had any money until he became of age. This sense of injustice and a desire for independence motivated him to set out on his own as a young man, seeking opportunities where he could build his own life.

Many times as he was working on the roads, he had no shoes and sometimes had only frozen sandwiches for his dinner. After a while, when he was on his own and had saved train fare to Michigan, he left home for Michigan, where he had heard there was work. Michigan was considered then a new country with opportunities for work. Pioneers were clearing the forests and opening up new farm lands.

Amos’s first job was on a farm. The farmer who hired him said he would have to wait until fall when the crops were harvested to receive his wages for the summer. He worked from daylight until dark, from spring until fall, expecting to receive his wages. He needed clothes. The farmer refused to pay him one penny. A whole summer he had worked for nothing. 

By 1870, Amos was living with the William and Annie Meads family in Windsor Township, York County, working as a farm laborer. By 1880, he had moved to White Pigeon, St. Joseph County, Michigan, where he continued as a laborer in the household of Samuel Wolgamwood. Around 1885, Amos relocated to Mason County, Michigan, where he would establish his own household and career as a laborer and farmer.

Catherine Elnora Sanders, known to family and friends as Norie or Nora, was born on February 6, 1869, in Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland. Her early years included time with her parents and grandmother in Carroll County, and by 1880, she had moved with her family to Liberty Township, Henry County, Indiana. In September 1882, the Sanders family relocated to Mason County, Michigan, where Catherine would meet Amos.

Amos and Catherine were married on July 4, 1885, at the Church of the Brethren in Custer, Mason County, with William Kreigh officiating. Before any babies had arrived in their home, a woman gave her little baby Catherine. She just handed it to her and said, ‘You can have it.’ They named her Ollie. People said she was very intelligent and could predict and foretell things that were to happen. She could tell when Catherine’s sisters were expecting a baby. She could tell what they had purchased for Christmas, and she knew two weeks before she became sick that she was going to die. She had asked everyone to forgive her and asked if they would cry if she died. Ollie died at the age of five years from typhoid fever.

Amos and Catherine waited thirteen years before any biological children came to their home. Then one came, a stillborn, which must have been a disappointment. In time, they gave birth to three sons who were Chauncey Joseph Shue (born April 1, 1900), Chester Sherman Shue (born October 14, 1903), and Charles Alvin Shue (born September 6, 1907).

The Shue family remained active in their community, with Amos working in a sawmill and contributing to the local farming economy. Catherine managed their household with dedication, ensuring the well-being of their children and the smooth running of family life.

Amos passed away on February 2, 1925, at his home in Custer, Michigan, due to valvular heart disease, which was connected to a fall he had suffered two years prior that left him severely injured. He was laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery in Custer. Catherine continued to live in Custer after his death, and she passed away on September 2, 1940, from chronic nephritis and hypertensive heart disease. She, too, was buried at Riverside Cemetery alongside her husband.

Amos and Catherine’s story is one of perseverance, devotion, and family. Amos’s early struggles for independence, their dedication to raising children, including their brief but impactful time with Ollie, and their life together in Mason County illustrate a legacy of hard work, love, and enduring family bonds.

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