Category: Smith
Storytelling: Use vintage greeting cards
Hello. I've been gone for quite a while. Some of you know that my husband was diagnosed with brain cancer a while back. He passed in December. It's a journey I never dreamed either one of us would experience, me as caregiver or he with such a diagnosis. As he often said, "It just happened. ...
The Women Who Created Our World–Part 2
The Smith Family Women Building character The women in the Smith family were outstanding in the courage with which they faced life. They relied heavily on faith, honesty, love, and each other. In PART 1 of this post, we talked about Sylvia Bixby and her daughter, Maria Bixby Smith. Maria had six daughters who survived to ...
A journey from 1891-Post 5
Personal update I'm here Most of you know our family was hit with a devastating diagnosis this past year. My husband was diagnosed with brain cancer. That said, after two craniotomies, radiation together with low dose chemo, and now cycles of the highest dose of chemo, he is doing remarkably well. For this cancer, there ...
Storytelling: What might our ancestors’ health status reveal?
Great grandma, not such a mystery Proof is in the pudding I'd heard the stories. Most weren't wonderful. Orah was unkind, and while I wish dad was here to tell me more, he doesn't have to be. I have at my disposal the very best proof: great grandma's own words. What follows are excerpts from ...
The Women Who Created Our World, Part 1
A woman is like a tea bag — you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt Credit where credit is due A legacy to be proud of In the end, I think we don’t give enough credit to the women who made us who we are, not ...
A journey from 1891-Post 4
Signature number four A fly on the wall My mom has two, gold trunks in her apartment, and both are filled with genealogical treasures. In late August, she found something in the bottom of the smaller trunk. It was an autograph book once belonging to my great, great, great grandparents Charles and Maria Smith. To ...
The Art of Successful Letter Writing
A Letter from an Ancestor By Susan Phelps “In an age like ours, which is not given to letter-writing, we forget what an important part it used to play in people’s lives.” ~ Anatole Broyard On May 9, 1887, the Reverend Charles Smith sat down in his home in Plover, Wisconsin, to write a ...
Storytelling: Painting a main character
“Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here.” ~ Sue Monk Kidd Storytelling is an important part of family history. Passing down stories about our lives and the lives of our ancestors makes history real. Characters make stories come to life. ...
Letter #7: December 27, 1889
The series continues A letter from Josiah INTO IRONWOOD My mother found letters authored 129 years ago by my great, great grandfather, letters, in fact, partly responsible for the start of this blog. The author's daughter is our malevolent matriarch. Alfred Josiah "Si" Smith was his name and his family lived in Ironwood, Michigan. As ...
A journey from 1891-Post 3
Installment number three A true gem. A few weeks ago my mother handed me an autograph book. It originated on my father's maternal side, the Smith family, who lived in Stevens Point, Wisconsin at the time of these writings. The book belonged to the Reverend Charles Smith and his wife Maria Polly Bixby Smith (below). ...
The Malevolent Matriarch 