Excuse me, great-great-grandpappy Everson…
September 11th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
I was born in August of 1978. My parents were born in the 1940s. My grandparents in the 1910s. My great-grandparents, roughly, in the 1880s. And my great-great grandparents in the 1850s.
These relatively (get it? get it?) recent ancestors are complete strangers to me. They were probably Yankees and living in the United States. But I have no idea if they were poor or wealthy; educated or illiterate; engaged citizens or disaffected workers. As such, the prompt would read the same if it said what questions would you ask a random person from the latter half of the 19th century.
What is your favorite part of the day?
OK, so no xbox, tv, music, or industry centered around entertainment. Where did they find joy? In work? Or was work something that just beat them down? From relaxing in nature? Or was there no time for that? Mealtime? Church or prayers? Splitting wood? Some other mundane chore that provided time for contemplation?
Did you hear Abe Lincoln speak?
My family seems to have roots in the North, despite currently living in Florida. I assume a great-great grandfather might have fought in the Union Army. I wonder if he managed to get out of fighting, or if Lincoln’s words moved him. Or was the war nothing but a horror, as wars tend to be for the poor who don’t give a rot for the warring ideologies?
Is life better for you than it was for your parents?
Are you making a better life for your children?
