Image from page 86 of "The diary of a birthday doll" (1908); Internet Archive Book Images; public domain Lies my Grandmother told me My Grandmother Billie was a character. She spoke her mind and had a Scot-Irish brogue and heritage. Born Wilhelmina Marian Gamble, after her father William. She always went by Billie. The following statements were not necessarily made directly to me. Some I found while researching our family tree. Though not surprised that stories are not altogether truthful, I was really surprised that some were made to government officials. Graduated from High School. In our family, it was understood that Grandma Billie “finished” high school. Though she lost a year to illness, she graduated early. She did have a severe illness at a young age, which may have led to her missing school and resulted in a mitral valve problem later in life. 1 However, it looks like her “graduating early” was due to marrying Oct 1926 2 , at the age of 17-3⁄4. Her first chi...

Courtesy of https://clipartix.com As Mother's Day approaches, many of us wonder how best to honor our moms, especially those of us whose mothers have passed. We want to more fully know their lives, and tell stories about them to our families. We have some great examples of such stories in past years here on the SKCGS Blog: Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History Thank You Mothers and Aunties An Unusual Story Brick Wall -- Dissolved? Wonderful Women: Grandma Lolas Brick Wall broken! A WOMAN AHEAD OF HER TIME Westward Expansion--Women Shape the West Women in Our History--Revolutionary War Celebrating March--Women's History Month Recently Wikitree offered a creative way to honor our whole maternal line, the  2023 WikiTree Challenge 8 .  Registration has started to help research for mitoYDNA: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1572660/wikitree-challenge-registration-started-research-mitoydna . To participate, answer this post and say you want to be part of it. And then list your mit...

Dogwood tree in bloom in the rain Mother's Day The first week of May is always lovely, and a fitting time to honor mothers. Especially we genealogists and family historians appreciate the place of mothers in our lineage, and in the traditions and stories we so eagerly seek. What Was Her Maiden Name? In patriarchal societies where most women in the past gave up their birth surnames when marrying, sometime we cuss a bit when trying to find them. It is said that it takes a village to raise a child, and that means that it takes a village -- or a FAN club -- to support a mother. Often we find older women, especially widows, living with their children or perhaps siblings. or lodging with neighbors. So it is always useful to check out the FAN club. Investigate the FAN Club If we're fortunate enough to find a marriage record for our woman of interest, sometimes there are others mentioned in the record who might be friends, family, associates, or neighbors. Sometimes we resist researchi...