Saturday, January 24, 2015

Southern Roots of Family History

I'm writing today from very sunny but windy southern California.  We have had some high temps but the Santa Ana winds have kicked up and they are doing their job.  I've had such a great time this week meeting new friends via their blogs.  I feel as though I have taken a trip across the USA, over to the UK, and ended my journey in Australia!  And, I have gotten so many new ideas for things I would love to create (one day....).

But, today I'm not going to share anything crafty.  Instead, I thought I would go down memory lane and tell you a little bit about the other side of my family tree.  I have shared in the past about my father's side of the family, which is Danish.  Today, I'm going to tell you a little bit about my Mother's family.
 
 This is a photo of my dear mother, Ferby.  She was born in Weiser, Idaho.  I think this photo was taken sometime in the 1940's.   I always thought she looked like a movie star in this photo.  My Mom's name was very unique.  She had an odd name in the days when it wasn't fashionable as it is now.

My mom's father, Russell*,  came from Chillicothe, Missouri.  His father, Daniel, my great-grandfather, was an attorney and a botanist.  Daniel came out west from the midwest and taught school.

Here's a picture of my great grandfather, Daniel.  Doesn't he look like a very stately man?  I never got to meet him but I think it would have been fascinating to know him.

Since my great grandfather was a botanist, he too loved art.  Here are two of his botanical pen and ink drawings that I am lucky enough to have....

My Grandpa's mother, Eleanor, also was from Chillicothe.  Her parents owned a mercantile business and I think they were a middle class merchant family with a home in town.  Here's is a picture of my great grandma who is known by the name of "Grandma Duty".
 
This photo was taken in 1897.  Supposedly she had her hair done by a French woman. (This photograph was made from an old photo my aunt had found hence the blurred image). Grandma Duty was quite the lady and I believe she ended marrying five different times (the last time to a John Duty).  I don't think she was pretty.  Unfortunately, my poor Grandpa and his siblings suffered due to her inadequate mothering skills.

My Grandpa ventured out west too and settled near Nez Perce, Idaho.  He met my Grandma and they had six children (one being my dear Mom) and lived until a wonderful old age.  Here's a picture of my dear Grandma....
She was a wonderful, warm, kind, woman.  She would never say a bad word about anyone.  She truly lived her life according to her faith.  I had a wonderful Mother, but my Grandma made such an impression on my life that I remember her teachings to this day.

My Mother had two brothers and three sisters so I grew up with lots of cousins.  All my aunts and uncles have passed away now.  And I've lost track of many of my cousins.  But, a couple of years ago, I was in Ft. Worth, Texas.  I knew I had some relatives down there - my Grandpa's brother, Mac, had settled in Texas.  In the early 1960's, Uncle Mac was visiting his son in Seattle.  He passed away unexpectedly and his casket was transported back to Texas on the train.  I remember as a young girl standing outside the train station in our town in Idaho with my grandparents as the train that had his body passed through.  It's an odd memory to have...

Through a cousin, I contacted these Texas relatives and had the pleasure to meet them.   One of these relatives was very much into family genealogy.  We chatted and I gave her some info on our family.  In fact, she had a hand written letter from "Grandma Duty".  It was so fun to go through her records.  As we were talking, she said, "here's something you might like", and she handed me a hand written letter to her Grandfather Mac (my Grandpa's brother) from my Mother!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw and held this letter.  It was from my dear Mom!  Written in 1946, way before I was even thought of.  She was kind enough to give me this letter and it's the only letter I have from my Mom.  Isn't it a small world.  That letter had been sitting in a drawer in Texas for over 60 years!  Amazing....

So, that's a snapshot into my other side of the family.  There's still more I can add (my Grandma's Hancock family who are true southerners) but I'll leave that until another time.

Lilly sends her wishes to each of you.  She thanks you for your kind comments.

Enjoy your day!
Pat

*I tried to find a photo of my Grandpa Russell but I have misplaced it somewhere.....









27 comments:

  1. What a lovely post, and how wonderful to have so many pictures and treasures! I love the formal portrait photos that everyone used to have taken - I have pictures of my Mum and Dad when they were both in their twenties. It's something that doesn't seem to happen so much now, especially in the UK, although of course everyone has cameras and phones and there are so many selfies that I suppose it is the same thing in a modern setting xx

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    1. Yes, I think our modern age has changed the customs a lot when it comes to pictures. It's so nice to have old family photos that you can pass down the generations. Thank you for visiting.

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  2. Pat, How exciting reading about your family, about her story .... You have a very beautiful mother .... There are a small coincidence :) I also wrote hardly hardly about their ancestors in the blog, and was really surprised when I saw your post: ) I wish you a good weekend ...

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    1. Hi Maria, thank you so much for your comments. I love history and learning about old things. I am popping over to your blog now and see you. Have a good day :)

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  3. Such an interesting read, I always have found family history to be the most exciting thing because its about real people that are connected to you in some way. Thanks for sharing and joining in the new Handmade Monday.

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    1. Hi Lucy, it's nice to hear from you. I hope you're having a great week.

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  4. It's so nice that you know something about your ancestory. Although I have a few photos I don't know an awful lot about some of them, but I do have one of my mum taken in the 30's and she was beautiful as is your mum.

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    1. Thank you so much. It's nice to have old things like photos to cherish and pass down.

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  5. It's fascinating to find out so much information about your family. Your mum is beautiful and really does look like a Hollywood movie star and you can see from the photo of your grandma what a kind lady she was. Hopefully your Grandpa's life improved greatly after he met her.

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    1. Oh, you are so kind. I only wish my Mother was still here so I could share these things with her. And, yes, my Grandpa lived a good life and was a great father to his children. Thank you so much.

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  6. I think you're right about your mother looking like a film star in that photo, she has a little air of Judy Garland about her.

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    1. My Mom would have loved hearing that. My Mother had a beautiful voice and she used to love to sing.

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  7. What a lovely story. I think it's fascinating to delve into family history xx

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for visiting.

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  8. What an interesting family history. The photos are really fascinating. I do think that faces grow to reflect personality. Your granny looks so kind. How lovely to have the botanical drawing done by your great grandfather.

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    1. Yes, my grandma was such a kind, sweet lady. I hope your week is going well. Many thanks for visiting.

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  9. I love to read about family history and thank you for sharing yours. Family is important as it is what has shaped us today

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    1. Thank you so much for taking time to visit my site. I'm happy you enjoyed this little story about my family tree.

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  10. How lovely to have all those photos and momentos from your families past, thank you for sharing! x

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    1. You are most welcome - thank you for visiting my blog.

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  11. Awesome post! I love reading about your Family history. Thanks for sharing! Have a great week. :)

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  12. That was really interesting - isn't it remarkable how much shows in a person's picture as your Grandma really looks like a kind and homely soul. I have many similar pictures of my family and intend to do something similar. xx

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    1. Yes my grandma was very special. It would be great if you share your family stories and pictures. Thank you for your visit.

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  13. A lovely post :) I adore your family photo's, I wonder if 'real' photo's are on the decline with the popularity of digital. I love to have real pics in an album.
    Jan x

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    1. I agree that photos are so different now. We now have custom made photo albums all done digitially. Thank you.

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  14. That is such a beautiful post! My Grandmother was also a warm woman of faith who made a big impression on me. We were blessed to have her with us and of sound mind until she was 95.

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