A Window Into The Past

I'd like to share with you my latest discovery in my ancestry search. This, my friends, is my great-great-great grandmother, Weltha Decker Kirkbride.

She lived from 31 Jan 1837 to 17 Jan 1917.  She and my grandfather William had 11 children, her first that I know of when she was 18 years old, her last when she was 40. Can you imagine? I suppose that was what life was like for women back then, they started young so they could build their large families before they were considered too old for childbearing. Though 40 was probably "too old" at the time anyway.

I can't find a larger photo of William, but that's him above. He lived from 22 Jun 1835 to 24 Mar 1910. The two of them are buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Findlay, Ohio. I plan on visiting their memorials in my ancestry quest.

All of this ancestry research has me thinking in a different time. It's almost an adventure to imagine how they lived back then. It kind of speaks to me now in particular. I am feeling almost like parts of myself disappear in my role as a mother every day. I need some time to go and be myself without worrying about what Aidan's doing. I can't imagine how women used to live. I suppose that was part of why they had so many kids, because they eventually could help out.

Things were still a lot harder back then. I can't imagine many of the differences in our lives. Of course no air conditioning, and when they went to cook dinner, which took all day, they were in front of a fire. They were moving heavy cast iron. They were harvesting and making things from complete scratch.

Laundry is a different story. Today, I enjoy hanging sheets and the occasional piece of clothing on the line. Back then if it was raining, the laundry didn't dry. They had no choice to use a dryer for it. Then, there's the ironing. They'd fill the bottom or their iron with hot coals to keep it hot, and they ironed everything. Most young women these days don't have an iron.

It's been hot, hot, hot here and we've had no rain. My poor crops are devastated. I haven't been diligent about watering them. I'm...sort of...growing butternut squash, cilantro, and bell peppers. The peppers aren't growing, but they got hit by a truck and knocked over, so I'm not surprised.

I've been inspired to begin more crocheting lately. There are so many things I'd like to make and do with my time, but as always not enough time to do it. Crocheting is something I can take with me when Aidan wants to play outside and I can work on quick projects. I'm working on a dishcloth. I'm around beginner-intermediate in my skills. I can make things much bigger and more ornate than dishcloths, but I've never made a dishcloth. If I have it wasn't made well and not put to use.

For some reason the camera just can't capture the brilliance of the multi-colored yarn. It's beautiful, in my opinion, in person. I've had it for a while, too, and needed to do something with it.

I leave you with a picture of Aidan. I have started cleaning out 20 years of things stored in our attic. I am making great progress. This desk is for my American Girl doll, and it's much too small for Aidan, but he wanted to sit in it anyway.