Doing this Genealogy has brought me more than pleasure, it has put me in touch with some pretty neat experiences. Oh, I haven't found all the folks I have been eager to find, but it has put me in touch with some I would have never guessed were part of the Lines that I am working on. At times I feel myself back in the early Colonies with those Pilgrims who were so eager to find a place, much as the Latter-day Saints, for a place to Worship and Recognize their God in the fashion they had longed so to do in their Native Land.
Finding the names of those people, and realizing that some of them are part of my Heritage. They sailed on the Mayflower, and signed the Mayflower Compact. They were the ones who were at the first Thanksgiving, and who learned from the Indians how to do so many things here in the New World they had never dreamed of before. Times were hard, and their supplies limited when they first came. They had to build and make themselves safe in a vast wilderness.
No conviences, water had to be hauled, shelters needed to be put up, crude as they may have been, they were made better for the change in the climate that was found here, in the New Land.
Taking care of the washing, the ironing, the cooking, the mending and the family. There were always babies being born, and injuries too varied to even prepare for. When the work was hard and the conditions most rustic, well, it was hard for everyone. I suppose the children had their way of making due, but I am sure they found the work filtered down to them as well.
I see the women with their blue dresses and white aprons bustling around the shelter making it as comfortable as possible. I see them striving to put something on the table that will be nourishing and good for all the family. The men have to rise early and get to the duties of the day. Then nights I am sure are filled with meetings to keep the Colony running smoothly. All the work is shared, and the prayers attended to, most properly.
How do you do when there are no stores to buy things from? If there is no Doctor around how do you take care of the illnesses that surely must have plagued them? Well, I guess you get up and do what ever you can. Hoping all along the way you will be successful in keeping things under control.
I am sure the Indians were helpful, once they were aware the Colonists didn't want to hurt them. The Indians had their own remedies. They had learned about all the good things that are around in Nature than can help keep you clean and well. They knew how to take care of the land so that it would yield food, and it would regenerate for future use. They didn't stay in one place long. Moving so that the land could repair from the use they had put upon it. Things the Pilgrims had never thought of as they left their city dwellings, though those weren't all that posh either.
As I work up the ladder of time and get closer to the times in which we live, I find myself wondering just how couples courted, who they met, what they did to entertain themselves, or make themselves attractive to one another. One has to remember that times were hard even in the 1700's and 1800's.
I recall visiting an Aunts farm and going into the "cooler" to get some buttermilk after they had churned. Just a room with screens at the bottom and the top to let the cool air in and the hot air out. This was the way they kept their things close to the house. Then they had "root cellars" where they kept the things that needed to be stored for use in the winter months. This was dug under the house, or a short distance from the back door. There were shelves ladened with all kinds of bottled goods. There were bushels of apples and pears. There were dried fruits that would keep better that way, and of course the root vegetables that had to be stored in straw beds. So many things that we don't have to do today. So much extra work.
The Laundry was done by hand, carefully hung on the lines for the sun to bleach them white. To help keep them white, especially the aprons, they were starched, so the dirt would not penetrate the fabric and leave stains. If they were doing real durty work, they used grey or black aprons. This was a way to keep their dresses from taking too much of the daily wear of the many projects that had to be done.
Mornings started early. The bread had to be made and put to set. Hot cakes or bisquets were made for eating at breakfast. Hot cereal, that usually had to be hand prepared before cooking. In many cases set out at night to soak up so it could be cooked in the morning. When it was possible they had meat and eggs. Breakfast was a big meal and needed to fortify the family for the duties that needed to be done. The main mean was started as soon as the breakfast dishes were cleared away. There would be a lot of cooking done before the Dinner Bell was rung around noon time. What ever was left from the Main Meal was stored carefully to be used for the supper meal that would be laid out for the family when the men came in from the fields.
Mother of course had to be busy with the handwork needed to keep the family dressed and warm in the winter. Where possible the wool was carded and then spun into thread for the weaving or knitting. There was always something to do, and far to few hands to keep it all done up and tidy.
I set here and push these keys so gently and pull up the names of my progenitors and have to loveingly press my mind into their daily routines. When I find another baby that has been born, I think of the care it will need, and the mother who will fit that extra duty into an already pressing daily routine. When the family is large, then the Mother has a few extra hands to see to the new little one. The chores are never ending.
Who makes the clothes? Who mends the shoes? Who cares for them during the night when they are not well? I shudder to think of how hard the times must have been for them. Could I have done it? I guess if I had of had the background they had. Would I want too? Not really.
I find the times in which I have lived has brought a number of hardships - or seeming hardships into my life. Nothing like anything they had endured, but then I think every time has its' on trials and tribulations.
When the men went away to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars it was really hard times. The women had to do the farming, and all the other things as well. When the First World War was being fought, our homeland was not under fire, and the population was quick to step up and mobilize. Women were able to work and help out. The families were able to assist with the children and housing.
When the Korean War came along, things had not altogether settled down from the Second World War, so there wasn't really that much of a change. Still War is War and when the men have to go, the women seem to make due and worry while they work.
I am so greatful for those who have gone before. Those who were willing to make the big change and settle this vast continent we live on. It started with such a small group, but look what it has become. When the Colonists saw that England was making things unbearable for them, they took up arms and fought for the things they knew were right. The costs were high, the chances they took many, but they put their shoulders to the wheel and did what had to be done.
I remember so well how the County rallied when the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941.
Only those of us who lived during those times know just how remarkable it was to see men go to the recruiting offices and sign up to serve. How the women were quick to fill the vancancies of the many plants that retooled to do War Work. Women became machanics, welders, riviters and so many other things. There were those who learned to fly and faried planes all over the country, even overseas to the men who needed them to fight in the Pacific and Europe.
I guess we could say the wonderful spirit of any generation can rise to the call when they hear it loud and clear.
Doing Genealogy makes for an interesting time spent at this "big eyed" monster. How I hope the things I am finding will be of inspiration to all those who look upon it, and remember the love and faith that went into all we have today, because of those great family members who stived to put things in proper order for those of us who enjoy the blessings today.
I never felt so much a part of something so BIG. "No man is an island". None of us can say we got here by ourselves, and that we don't owe a great deal of gratatude to the Mothers and Fathers, Uncles, Aunts and Grandpa and Grandma's who went on before we got here. We love each other, because we know each other now. We need to know those who have made it possible for us to be here now. Sometimes I think I can smell them. The warmth of the kitchens, the laundry freshly washed and folded. The tables ladened with good things, plain, but wholesome put upon the table. Bread baking, cookies made with course grain and molasses. Johnny Cake that is far from cake, but was well received when placed on the table.
I love my refridgerator, but wonder how they managed to cut large pieces of ice for storage in the "root cellar" for use later, or when they could salvage some small piece for use in making a meal more special. Well these are but a few things that have passed through my mind. I hope I haven't bored you. I just wanted to share with you the wonderment of things that come from seeking and finding those who are my ancestors. I love them each one. I appreciate them to no end. I look forward to the day when I can meet them and thank them for all they did to make my home what it is. Without them, I don't honestly believe I would have what I have today.
So many did so much for so few. It is amazing to me. I thank God for the insight into bringing them here, and helping them get through what they had to endure so I can enjoy it today.
Written this 10 day of August 2009
by: Eileen Rosenberg
No comments:
Post a Comment