Everyday Women, Everyday Lives

In celebration of Women’s History Month, March’s 12 Ancestors in 12 Months writing prompt is Females.

For more than 12 years, I have written about hundreds of women in our combined family trees, many of them found in the pages of history books. In this post, I wanted to focus on everyday women—ten to them to be exact—who died in March. Although these women lived simpler lives than our more famous forebearers, their lives were important nonetheless, especially to those of us who proudly call them ”family.“

Mathias Noel

On this day, 10 March 1906, Mathias Noel passed away. He was my 3rd great-grandfather.

Mathias Noel was born on 4 May 1824, in Adams County, Pennsylvania. His parents were Samuel Noel and Margaret Felix. He joined older sister Matilda Noel, who was born two years earlier.

Jane (Shook) Ardinger

On this day, 14 December 1886, Jane (Shook) Ardinger (my 4th great-grandmother) passed away.

Jane Shook (Shuck) was born on 31 August 1819, in Berkeley County, Virginia (which is in modern-day West Virginia). Her parents were John Shuck and Rachel Keesecker, who were married on 3 February 1817, in Berkeley County, Virginia.

ABCs & Our Family Trees: Letters N & O

I have always been fascinated by language, specifically where it originates and how it adapts, mutates, and relates to other languages. That is why I found the recent series of blogs by Andrew’s Kindred so intriguing. It combined my love of etymology with my love of genealogy. I was so inspired, in fact, that I decided to try my hand at chronicling the origins of our families’ surnames.

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This is the thirteenth installment of a series of posts documenting the etymology of many of our families’ surnames (recent and distant, direct and indirect.)

Well, since I already covered the M names, let’s now address the letters N and O:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Tombstone

It is week 21 in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge. For this week, the writing prompt is Tombstone.

Marking the places where the dead are buried is a human practice older than recorded history with some of the oldest known stone markers dating back to 3,000 to 4,000 B.C. Known as dolmens or chamber tombs, they were megalithic monuments. The earliest tombstones, like the dolmen, were a stone or stones covering the entire grave. Unlike earlier tombstones, today’s headstones are much smaller, serving as memorials for the deceased. While some headstones are simple, carved only with the deceased’s initials or name, others are elaborately carved or decorated, with each symbol representing a theme or feeling. Some of my favorite family headstones contain these symbols (with these meanings):

• Anchor: Steadfast hope
• Book: Faith, wisdom
• Dove: Holy Spirit, purity
• Garland: Victory over death
• Hands: Relationship, affection
• Heart: Devotion, love
• Ivy: Faithfulness, memory
• Lamb: Innocence, youth
• Lily: Purity, resurrection
• Oak: Strength, resilience
• Skeleton or skull: Life’s brevity
• Weeping willow: Mourning, grief