Honoring My Female Ancestors

One of this week's Finally Get Organized tasks was to celebrate women's history month by entering data for the female ancestors in the first four generations of my tree.

I'm very fortunate in that I know who all of these women are. Since family was important to both of my grandmothers, they kept almost anything related to the family. I was fortunate to be able to discuss these things with them -- even though I wish I had asked even more questions during their lifetimes.

Josie & Nellie Hammond

These women left a legacy that is hard to live up to.

• My mother left college when she got married but went back after I graduated from college to finish her degree.
• My mother's mother left the family farm and boarded in Yates Center so she could finish high school.
• My father's mother lost her mother at the age of 10 and was placed in a children's home for several years. She managed to keep track of her younger siblings who were placed in homes and made sure they knew about their family heritage.
• Two of my great-grandmothers migrated from the midwest (Illinois and Indiana) to Kansas as young girls.