Fearless Females: Day #6

Describe an heirloom you may have inherited from a female ancestor (wedding ring or other jewelry, china, clothing, etc.) If you don’t have any, then write about a specific object you remember from your mother or grandmother, or aunt (a scarf, a hat, cooking utensil, furniture, etc.)

I have two very special heirlooms that have been handed down to me. Let me give a little back history here. My mother was my grandmother's only child, so me, my sister, and my brother are her only grandchildren. Since I was the first one born, I have always been special to my grandma. Since I'm not a grandparent, I don't understand this, but my mom confirms that although you don't love them any more than the others, that your first grandchild is very special.

The two heirlooms that I have were both given to me by my grandmother. The first one is the pin pictured below. This pin was given to my great great great grandmother on the day she gave birth to my great great grandmother Lilly. Lilly was born on 30 March 1870 in DeQueen, Arkansas. When Lilly gave birth to her first daughter in 1891, my ggg grandmother gave it to her. Lilly wore it often, and on the day that my great grandmother Maude gave birth to her first child in 1913, grandma Lilly gave the pin to her. It was given to my great aunt when she had her first daughter. Now, it never passed to that child as my great aunt Lorene wore it until she became sick with leukemia. When it was apparent that she was going to lose her fight, she gave it to my grandma, who was the youngest daughter. A few years ago when my grandfather passed away and I went out to help with the final arrangements, my grammy gave me the pin and told me about the special significance of it.

I adore this pin because it represents five generations of mother/daughter love. The mothers in my family have handed down this pin to their daughters since 1870.



The second heirloom is the ring pictured below. This ring isn't as old as the pin, but it has a special significance. When my great grandparents were married, they didn't have much money. My great grandpa couldn't afford a ring at the time. But, as they started to have children, raise children, and save money, he bought her the ring below. It's a small eternity band and it doesn't even fit any of my fingers. But, this ring signifies the love that they shared with each other. My great grandma was lost when her husband died unexpectedly. She didn't know how much money they had, and she didn't even know how to write a check. He literally took care of all that. I love this ring because it is a tangible piece of their lives together.



The last one is the bracelet pictured below. This one was given to me by my paternal grandmother. I don't know if you can read it, but it says Graham Ausmus, which is my father's name. This is a baby bracelet that my dad wore when he was a baby. I just love it because I can't imagine my daddy ever being that small to wear it. I cherish this also because it is something that my grandmother made for my dad, her firstborn son.

I cherish all the heirlooms that I have received, but the three above are extra special to me mainly because I know about their histories. I know where they came from, why they are in the family, and how they came about being in the family. They are tangible pieces to the past, and each of them represents love.



Now, did you all see Who Do You Think You Are? last night? Lionel Richie was on it and all I can say is wow. He wanted to find out more information about his great grandparents, and boy did he find out! He found out that his great great great grandmother was a slave and that upon her masters passing, he freed her and her unborn baby as well as provided two years of schooling for the baby. How cool is that? The baby ended up growing up and being a pioneer in the civil rights movement. I always enjoy seeing success stories of African Americans. In my years as a professional genealogist, there have been many African American people who came to me for help, and I was only able to do so much. So, when I see stories like Lionel Richie's or Vanessa Williams', it makes me so happy that they were able to find out about their ancestors.

I didn't catch who was going to be on the show next week, but I am sure it will be just as good as the rest of the stories have been this season.

Fearless Females: Day #2

Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select this photo?



I love this photo because it contains three of my direct line ancestors. The lady on the front row is Mirrietta Walker Wooten, my great great great grandmother. The lady sitting beside her is her mother, my 4th great grandmother, Martha Luticia Portis Walker and the young lady standing between the old man and the woman with the baby on her lap is my great grandmother Gladys Ruth Wooten Graham.

We believe this photo was taken circa 1910-12. My great grandmother was born in 1900 and she looks to be between 10 and 12 in this photo. I love this photo because it shows a line of my family that I have worked very hard on. It really brings faces to the names that I've researched for so long. I chose this photo because it represents three of my direct line ancestors and I just love it.


In other news, it's been two weeks since I last spoke about the show Who Do you Think You Are? and we've seen the journeys of Rosie O'Donnell and Kim Cattrall. At first, I didn't really care to see Rosie O'Donnell's episode. She's too far left for me, but since the show is about genealogy, I decided to watch it. It was very neat because it focused on her Irish ancestors who were affected by the potato famine. I have ancestors that were also affected by that, and it really brought home to me what my ancestors may have gone through. She was also united with distant relatives that she didn't know she had, which was very cool. I enjoyed that episode very much.

Then Kim Cattrall's episode was last Friday. Wow! That's all I can say. She had a grandfather that left her grandmother and his three daughters and never contacted them again. It was sad to find Kim Cattrall finding out that her grandfather was really a jerk. I really was affected by this because my grandfather supposedly left my grandmother and mother as well. Only to find out years later that he never left her that it was actually my grandmother who did the leaving, which made huge impacts on my mom her whole life. At the end of the show, Kim decided not to contact her grandfather's four children, but her mother and two sisters did. That made me feel so good. Perhaps I should contact my mother's two surviving half brothers and meet them.

This week is Lionel Richie and that one looks like it's going to be good. I also found out that there will be a third season of this show. I am so happy because I really love it.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great day! Now that I'm feeling alive again, I need to scrap what I didn't get done last week and add this week on top of it.

52 weeks of genealogy: week 7

Week 7: Toys. What was your favorite childhood toy? Is it still being made in some form today?

My favorite childhood toy was Hot Wheels cars. Yes, I know I am a girl, but I really loved playing with Hot Wheels cars. I had a ton of them and played with every single one of them. Then, one fall, my two uncles came to visit. They came every fall to go deer hunting with my dad. My uncle Bob always gave each of us kids $10 to spend on what we wanted. I thought that was the coolest thing! So, when I was six, I got my yearly $10 from my uncle and we went to the local TG&Y store and I bought a Drowsy doll. I totally loved that dolly. She spoke little things and had the cutest little pink and white polka dot pajamas on. I still have that dolly today. I love her.

On another note, has anyone been watching this season's Who do you think you are? I have and have been enjoying it immensely. The first week was Vanessa Williams and I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to her. I have a friend in the entertainment business and he said that she's a real snot to work with and that she has that attitude that she's better than everyone else. So, going into it with those preconceived notions about her, I wasn't too thrilled about it. But, I have to say, that it was wonderful to see her find so much on her ancestry. She even found a photo of one of her ancestors in his military records in Washington D.C. which is amazing. It was neat to learn about her and her ancestry.

This past week was Tim McGraw and I have to admit, I was totally looking forward to this one! He's one of my favorite country singers, and I thought it would be neat to see his journey and I was NOT disappointed. He chose to research his dad's side, which I can totally understand since he didn't even meet his dad until he was 11. He had some amazing links to some pretty amazing Americans - George Washington (a brother to one of my ancestors) and Elvis Presley. It was also neat to see his link to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia since I had ancestors that lived there as well at the same time as his. I wonder if they knew each other? It was awesome and I enjoyed it.

This next week is going to be Rosie O'Donnell and I have to admit, I don't really care to see it. But, the genealogist in me can't not watch it. It's just what I do. I love anything related to genealogy, so I'll watch it, but Rosie is too left wing for me. It will be interesting to see her journey though.