Biography

   David was born 5 Mar 1955, the oldest of Sumner Torrey and Roberta (Kuerth) Torrey's 2 children. Where both David and his sister Janet were gifted academics, Janet focused her expertise on political causes and David's path followed a different path. 

West Lafeyette High School:
Top picture: caption reads "powerfully muscled David Torrey"

   Being a competitive runner began in High School. The picture chosen for his Senior Year Book dated 1973 is posted as the top picture at full stride on p 54. On p. 55, he's standing with his Cross Country Team top row, 3rd from left. He's also published in a group picture with the Lettermen of his class on a later page as well as one for being co-captain of his Track Team. 

David ran Marathons until he met Amanda
David ran marathons until he married Amanda.

   1978 Northwestern University entered into the Chemical Engineering program, but switched to a journalism major in his Senior Year. He would graduate with an ad-hoc degree chemistry and scientific writing and then advance to his Masters from Medill in Technical Journalism. David pledged to Kappa Sigma in 1974 which though generally speaking, a prestigious Fraternity founded in Charlotte North Carolina, the chapter at Northwestern went dormant in 2014 [4] and the trophy case that housed David's running trophy is gone. 

After his divorce, David would focus his energy on Marathons, his last being the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon in April, 1980 where he ended with a 2:34. He stopped when he married and adopted Amanda (Moyer) Torrey's two children, Elizabeth and Rachel.
Home and Family

   Heritage: Sumner was a native of Marblehead Massachusetts who became an engineer from MIT and would move regularly so neither David nor his sister Janet grew any strong roots to a specific place. Instead their identity anchored primarily into the name Torrey which found their beginnings in the Norman Invasion of 1066 and Dunster Castle in Combe St. Nicholas, situated in Somerset England. Therefore, as of 6 Feb 2021, we will use his profile to anchor the passage of his father's name to the time of the Norman invasion that sparked the Torrey lineage, which is the point of the castle illustrated in his primary photo. 

Real Life Partner:
Enraptured and Engaged.

   In 1977 David married Kathleen Turner. Their marriage would last 4 years after which he decided marriage was not the permanent foundation his parents had always taught. He had completed his Masters from Medill in Technical Journalism while married but then believed after his divorce in 1981 that marriage had lost its meaning in our present day and time. He found a small apartment in Rogers Park, a community on the northern border of Chicago by the lake. Here he met his his future wife Amanda. She had 2 children who were at the time 6 and 8 years of age. They moved their family into a 3 bedroom apartment 5 blocks north, 3d building from the lake. 

Lizzie at Mime Camp.
Rachel's Cutist Kitty Shot Ever.

   They were married Halloween, 31 Oct 1984. 

David and Amanda married 31 Oct 1984

   The minister was Northwestern University's campus minister that married David and Kathleen. He came to their home to officiate their vows. They found Amanda's dress and matching hat both from the 1930s prominently displayed on the top of a tall shelf at a vintage clothes store. The proprietor said she didn't believe they'd ever find anybody able to fit the dress so used it as decoration. Amanda tried it on with the hat and it fit perfectly. 

1989 Walgreens Pharmacies were aggressively promoting their company to Northwestern graduates offering them fast tracks to managerial positions in their Chicago retail stores which is how David became employed at the Walgreens company as a manager. Retail is a lot of routine supply and demand, especially in Chicago's downtown section. He would find the illogical approach to store politics difficult and the process emotionally overwhelming. After 10 years, David used the benefits he earned and retired early when his father died suddenly of a stroke in 1996. [1]
Amanda worked clerical until she broke into legal secretarial positions in large downtown legal firms in 1987. Both David and Amanda's jobs were time intensive, but salary and benefits were good enough to support a building just a block away from their beloved beaches. 1989 was a productive year for the family.
They bought what David dubbed "Elmslie" in 1989 where they spent the next 27 years of their lives.
Elmslie, home of Terra Incognita

Elizabeth was 15 and Rachel, 13 in 1991 when David and Amanda's son Robert Sumner Torrey was born. The 2nd floor tenant who'd lived there for over 10 years moved out New Years Day of 2000 to a condo. At this point the Torreys decided they were not cut out to be landlords and made the whole building their home.

And his music like Joy Division and the Velvet Underground: [2] [3] He had over 2,000 albums in his record collection.

The girls moved on and had their own families.
Family Christmas at Elmslie.
Our son Robert
Robert used his uncle's inheritance and moved to Seattle, back to Chicago on the other side of town and then with his life partner, 3 blocks away.

Terra Incognita (TI) 1998 - Present

Terra Incognita 2011
David wrote the following for Babylon Rising to promote T/I's participation in their Magkical Festival in 2011: Terra Incognita is a Temple of Sumerian Magick founded in Chicago that has slowly evolved from a small gathering of friends hosted by Amanda and David Torrey almost twelve years ago, to a larger collection of karmically interconnected people. TI has attempted to integrate spirituality with an erotic paradigm using ancient Mesopotamian models that we have found adapts to a variety of religious and magickal beliefs. While the Temples of Sumer and Babylon have inspired our mindset, we also feel a connection to the European mariners who were brave enough to sail to the "unknown lands" they called Terra Incognita on their maps.

Mabon 2019 at Lyn and Julian's Farmhouse.
Though the old Mariners took those scary, shadow-filled places of Monsters and Magick near The Edge of the World, very seriously, we believe that breaking fear-generated barriers is an important part of personal growth. TI also feels the power of loving energy can help heal most emotional wounds as well as unite those participating in the Process of Transcendence. In our perspective, symbolic acts can only bring symbolic rewards, so both deity and divine energy exchanges should be real. TI's High Priestess Amanda recently completed a Religious Studies degree at DePaul University with the hope of melding her metaphysical academic interests with our edgy Temple work.[4]

And Beyond...

   Each floor of Elmslie measured 2000 sq ft per living space. When the family left, Kristin and Elle each moved into the 2nd floor while working on their degrees, Kristin in Performance Arts and Elle in Social Work. In time they each became a part of the magick of the temple. Every year Terra Incognita hosted what was called a Gathering mostly around Marde Gras to honor my mother who grew up in New Orleans. Typically both floors would be available for 80-100 people to attend a costumed affair which would go in the early hours of the following dawn. Elle and David would also attend some of the conventions held as Amanda was aging and became less suited for road trips. As she moved into her 60s she preferred instead to stay home and sleep in her own bed. They hosted photoshoots with beautiful models using the arts and crafts 1912 venue as a backdrop for all of their purposes. Elmslie was well suited for T/I's many uses, but then all things, good and bad, come to an end. On November 13, 2016, they moved from Elmslie and all its activities only a few blocks away to a condo which though still 2000 sq ft per unit, the 2nd floor community space disappeared. 

The Local Mage.

   Elmslie was sold for enough cash the day the For Sale sign was posted on the front lawn to turn over to a mortgage free condominium. Their unit is on a 3d floor unit in a 6 flat. Amanda loves that she up so high. She said she feels she lives in a Tree House. As Amanda approaches ever closer to 70, she is very happy being away from everybody who doesn't want to climb 49 stairs to see her. Amanda writes her family's biographies on Wikitree and they converted the back sunporch into a studio she can paint. She loves using water colors. 

Vlad helping trim the Torrey's tree.

   The Torreys adopted Vlad last November. He lives a half block north and has a doctorate from the University of Chicago in Theoretical Mathematics. He loves chess so he and David play every Friday. 

As President of the Condo Board David manages all the building's problems; and if all that isn't enough, ever the athlete, he hopes to run marathons again someday, but for now he power walks up to 50-55 miles a week in all the Chicago weather. One time he was even caught on the front end of a tornado. Even just walking, he scares Amanda as she thinks about life up in her ivory tower if something should happen to him.

Research Notes

Possible Connections to Gateway Ancestors [5]
Sources

   ↑ See Sumner Torrey profile

   ↑ "Joy Division [1]"

   ↑ "Velvet Underground [2]"

   ↑ "David is not interested in encouraging anyone to share his ideology"

   ↑ DNA Connections [3] CHRISTOPHER BATT

Passport

   Marriage License e

   Photograph of Terra Incognita's community 2011 was taken at Babalon Rising Festival

   Family Records [5]

   First Hand Information as shared by David Torrey with his wife Amanda (Moyer) Torrey