This Mother's Day, homage is due to two women who will not show up in anyone’s direct ancestry line. Paulina Smith and Theodosia Harris both entered my family’s lineage as stepmothers to my Grandmothers. Both of my Grandmothers being the youngest child in their families, I can only imagine that Paulina and Theodosia may have …
250ish year round trip
500 miles apart at birth. 175 miles apart when they raised children. Ida Smith Reynolds and Lorena Susan Dickens were 6th cousins, once removed. Each was my grandmother. Ida was my Grandmother Kyzer, my maternal grandmother. She was born and raised in Dooly County, Georgia. A school teacher, she met my Grandaddy through teaching and …
Pen Pals….1940’s social media
A small handful of letters written by two Columbian pen pals, Jose and German, to my mother in 1945, say a lot about how our world has changed. The letters are fairly benign. The boys speak of their age and physical description. Mentions of the family farms that produce coffee. Classes they were taking and …
Sideways glances……
Walking through cold, damp European cathedrals as a teenager, I became intrigued that hundreds of years ago people were buried in the floor, in the walls and in the crypts of these magnificent structures. Chartres, Reims, and Notre Dame in France. Salisbury and St Paul's in England. All of these cathedrals with their beauty and …
Valentine’s Day 1922, or not
Hallmark produced their first Valentine's Day card in 1913. Apparently expressions of love were being professed annually as far back as the 15th century in Europe. In 18th century England it was becoming a common practice to send cards and letters as expressions of love. 1922, in South Georgia...squat! Literally several hundred love letters …
Dear Mr. Miller, Thank you and I am truly sorry.
A while back, I was searching through turn of the century Georgia newspapers in hopes of finding an obituary or two for my Georgia progenitors. I did find an obituary or two along with societal happenings, postal reminders, legal proceedings, etc. A search of my Grandfather's name brought me to a September 13, 1908, front page …
Continue reading Dear Mr. Miller, Thank you and I am truly sorry.
