Fearless Females- Shining Star

Continuing to follow the series of blogs posted by Lisa Alzo of the "Accidental Genealogist," today she asks if you had a female ancestor who had a special talent.

This one took me some time to think about, because I happen to think that all of our women had special talents, but the first one who came to mind was my maternal grandmother, Jettie Weaver Raley. Her talents continue to amaze me.

She was a terrific cook, and although she had her own cookbook full of recipes she had written down, I believe that much of cooking skills came from her time learning from her mother, Caroline Susan Martin, and the German influences she had all around her. I have written about her Christmas specialties, but my older brother and sister often speak of all the day to day meals that she put together.

The other talents, though are the ones that really touch my life. She was a scrapbooker, and a very good one at that. She was a talented writer, and could transport you with her words. She wrote a spiritual song that was published. I am blessed to own her sewing machine, the one she had "electified" that I know belonged to her mother and even though I cannot sew, just knowing her hands worked so diligently at that desk gives me inspiration. My grandmother crocheted many blankets, painted, and she dreamed of learning the ancestry of her family.

I have often told my daughter that I believe our personalities skip generations. When I look at my family, my daughter is very much like her grandparents in temperment and personality and interests. Mine follow my grandparents, and so forth as I look at several generations in our family.

Without knowing it, through the years, as I have learned more about my grandmother I have to laugh inside as I find my grandmother in my life over and over again. These are the stories that bring our history to life, the ones to give breadth to names on a pedigree chart, and why genealogy is more.... more to all of us.

Fearless Women

I have missed my blog, and I have missed my newly found blogging community!!!  The community and Blogger has drawn me like a flower has drawn in a hummingbird with its nectar, and I already find myself feeling a better sense of calm as I write this. Maybe its the untapped writer within me clammoring to be sprung again, or its the million words that are zipping around in my head along with the voices of my ancestors, but it just feels good to be back on the keyboard and to be looking at all the great recent posts from all of you. Whatever it is, I am glad. Hard to believe that there was a time I thought that blogging was a foreign word and too "out there" for me. However, I have found many other "out there" (big smile) individuals in these past several months and you all have helped immensely. Your ideas have given me insight for further research on my family, your connections have led me to new cousins, and your writing prompts have given me the impetus to stay focused on my ancestry and forwardly (not a word, but it works for me) marching in the process.

Given all that, I think its time to get back to one of newfound loves- blogging, and with that I am going to start mid stream on the series of posts designed by Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist http://www.theaccidentalgenealogist.com/ titled "Fearless Females."  She has a different post for each day this month in honor of Women's History Month, and for today we are asked to write a six-word memoir for one of our female ancestors.

I chose 2 women in my life:

Jettie Weaver Raley (my maternal grandmother)  Fantastic Cook. Devoted to Family, Church.

Flora Maude McDaniel (my paternal grandmother)  Lively. Hard worker, Harder life.