Mother’s Day – 10 Years Ago

I dipped into Mom’s notebook for 2009 to see what kind of Mother’s Day she had a decade ago. She usually put in a few notes about her neighbors, the weather, or how she was feeling.

A few days before, she noted that Cindy and Karen came by for a long visit and brought plants for her patio pots.

Here’s Gail Lee Martin’s journal for Sunday, May 11, 2009:

“Great Mother’s Day – Susan brought Owen over and a big crockpot full of a roast lunch and strawberry shortcake. KK came by with a lovely carry bag for my camera plus a heating pad. Paul stopped by.”

The next day, she noted that she was “feeling sluggish” after staying up late watching baseball on TV.

Four Generations of Mothers

Researching family history becomes more meaningful when you can see the faces that go with the names and dates. For Mother’s Day, I pulled together my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother. Beyond that, I have just the names and information, but no photos.

Ruth McGhee

Pencilled on the back of the photo: “(Babcock?)”, then “Ezra Nancy” and “Grandpa Grandma”

I like seeing them all lined up like this. Looks like that high forehead and the nose came down through the generations. I must have gotten my nose and blonde hair from the Martin side, but I do have the forehead.

Here are their names and dates (left to right):

• • Gail Lee McGhee Martin 1924-2013
  • Ruth Vining McGhee 1897-1960
  • Nancy Jane Babcock Vining 1851–1924
  • Ellenor Nancy Jane Wright Babcock 1820–1882

These four women had 36 children and that doesn’t count the miscarriages or ones that died at birth. Nancy Jane remarried not long after her first husband died. In 1873 Kansas, a woman with children didn’t have the luxury of a long mourning period.

They were part of the migration westward in the U.S. as the family moved from Indiana to Illinois, then to Iowa, and finally to Kansas. Pregnancy and raising children must have been difficult in those times; feeding a large family while cooking over an open fire, washing unending diapers with water brought from a stream or well or cistern, and tending a sick child with no doctor nearby.

Many thanks to these women for persevering through hard times while caring for their children.