As I continue my journey studying my ancestry, I’ve gotten a wealth of information from my grandparents. Fortunately for me, they remember their grandparents fairly well and have many stories to tell. I’ve been organizing old photos in my grandparents house and identifying different people. My grandmother’s mother saved boxes of information about the Wilsons. My great great grandfather Arthur Wilson was apparently a great businessman. He married Stella Allen in 1907.
My grandmother remembers them both very well. She said Stella was the most perfect woman she ever met. She told me that observing the two together inspired her feminist ideals. She felt her grandfather was never grateful or kind enough to her grandmother and swore she’d only marry a man who appreciated her, and she did just that. My grandfather, despite being traditional, does not bear the domineering patriarchal traits of earlier generations. For this, I’m grateful. I have found a wealth of information on the Wilson’s and their ancestors, but very little information on my great grand father’s parents, the Howerton’s. Of all the pictures I’ve dug through, I’ve only found one photo of the Howerton’s.
The lady second to last on the left is my great great grandmother Dora. Her husband’s name was Micajah, and I haven’t found any photos of him. My grandmother told me the Howerton’s were not well off. Is it possible they were too poor to amass a lot of photographs? I often wonder if they had a collection of photos and other valuables that might’ve ended up in another relative’s hands, but I’m not sure. I would love to track down more information about them. Similarly, I have found little information about my grandfather’s parents on his dad’s side.
It’s strange though. I found a lot of information on ancestry.com about the Roses and even several photographs of my third, fourth, and fifth great grandparents, but very little about my grandfather’s grandparents. In fact, aside from the picture above, I can only find one other photo in the house. Again, I’m wondering if there are more photos that got passed down to a different relative. I certainly hope so because I would love to know more about my family name.
My grandfather’s mother was a Swift. Her story was much sadder than the others. Her mother, Harriet, died when she was just a young child and she lived a very difficult life. My great great grandfather, Edward Swift, took to drinking after her death. The Swifts lived in a small cabin in rural Missouri where they apparently struggled to get by in a single parent household.
My dad and I took my grandparents on an expedition to go find his grave. It was a fun outing and made me feel more connected to my relatives. Incidentally, the last three generations are all buried here in Missouri which will make it very easy to visit their sites. As I chronicle my family history, I make videos to keep track of all my grandparent’s stories. This is the second video I’ve made and it’s all about my great great grandparents. Tracking my ancestry has been such a fun hobby, and I can’t wait to see what else I uncover.