My Thoughts

I am truly enjoying reading the novels of Willa Cather recently.  Set in the Plains states during the late 1800s, I am getting an opportunity to experience what would've been the life of my Swedish ancestors.  Many of Cather's main characters are of Swedish descent, and the reasons for their migration across the Great Plains was often financial opportunity and the promise of carving out a life.  Although fictional, much of Cather's life is recorded in these stories.  I did not select the Cather novels because of these factors.  In fact, I had no idea what she wrote.  I just knew her name. Imagine my great surprise when the topics of her novels allowed me to connect with my Swedish ancestry.  To date, I have completed "My Antonia" and "O Pioneers".  I have started "Song of the Lark"; I am not sure what to think about it yet. My other trip through history comes with "Downton Abbey".  It only offers a glimpse of history related to th...

Like a memory from my own past, I sense her story so vividly that my breath catches.  As the sun slips slowly beyond the horizon casting a mythical shadow around everything, Sings the Wind sighs and the trees replay her sorrow. Haunting.................the pain and anguish wash over me and tears well in my pale blue eyes, the same eyes I see staring at me through time and distance. The first time I heard Taylor Swift's song "Safe and Sound", I swear that Sings the Wind was screaming through the warm evening air.  I could picture her on a grassy knoll, her hair blowing behind her as she sang into the wind.  This exact scene exists in the Disney cartoon Pocahontas.  My breath caught the first time I saw that movie, too. I know the spirit of consciousness of our ancestors lives inside each of us.  Recently, I came across a helpful hints guide to search for Native American ancestors, and one of the suggestions is to actually pay attention to whispered ...

Family Genealogy often focuses on male lines.  Even in 2012, the male is considered the head of the household.  In an attempt to more fully develop the often obscure and forgotten female lines, I will share information about my great-great grandmothers. Mary Jane Williams was born November 20, 1851 in Tennessee as verified by her marriage license to Abel Wilson Slayton and her 1880, 1890 and 1900 census records for Lawrence County, Arkansas.  The verification of her parents still eludes me. my mother,  ne'ne'yum ... Potawatami  On December 15, 1869 when she was barely 18 years old, Mary Jane married Abel Wilson Slayton who was 22.  Their marriage certificate is in Lawrence County, Arkansas.  Abel and Mary Slayton lived the entirety of their lives in Lawrence County.  Together, they had 11 children. The history of Lawrence County in this time frame follows: People were living in the area that is now Powhatan as early as 1816, though it w...

~Vacation Day 4~ I slept in today, not getting out of bed until after 10 am (9 am CST). It has been a long time since I slept this late. It's another beautiful day here in Austin, cool and somewhat cloudy. As I get up and going, a John Wayne movie is on TCM, and the sounds of life hum in the background. Kaitlyn and I are planning a trip to Brenham and the Blue Bell Creamery. So, Melanie went along as well, and we went to Washington on the Brazos, the birthplace of Texas. It is, after all, the 175th Anniversary of Texas Independence. It is a beautiful place, very serene. Standing in the shade of very old and majestic oak trees, it is easy to see why so many were willing to fight for it. Nothing of the original Washington exists save a few posts and the original Independence Hall. Most of the buildings, including the homestead of Anson Jones, were moved to their current locations after the area was designated as historically significant. The trip to Brenham is truly worth the vi...

A Texas Song The heart of a woman,,,,,,hidden, deep, full of passion and desire. Known to so very few.....the Myth of the Texas Beauty and of her songs that fill the Texas air are well known. What follows is the beginning of one man's search for the woman who sings A Texas Song........ Veiled, guarded, the heart of a woman beats with a passion as hot as the Texas sun. The depth of her soul blazes brightly in her hypnotic eyes, but few have seen her soul; she guards it as tightly as her heart. Many have tried; all have failed. Tightly guarded?? Sounds like a challenge, but worthy of a challenge for sure. Oh, definitely worthy of a challenge, a very dangerous challenge. Hmmm,,a dangerous challenge...a challenge that makes the prize that much more sacred when you risk all to acquire it. Oh, but caution...often, a prize is not what you believe to be...or,.. you forget its value too quickly and blindly discard it.   Doubtful,,,for see, I know the value of the prize. Once won, I wo...