Dad’s Family Roots

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Photo Copyright: Valerie J. Barrett

Here we are again and this week we’re gathered in front of a museum display of vintage kitchen appliances and tools. We’ve come together to discuss our original stories for the week. This is the Friday Fictioneer’s group. Our hostess for the gathering is the talented and gracious author and artist, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. The challenge for each of us this week and every week is to write a story with no more than 100 words, not counting the title. It’s supposed to have a beginning, middle, end, and be inspired by the picture prompt for the week. This week’s prompt was provided by Valerie J. Barrett. Thanks, Valerie. To read the other stories by group members, just click on the link below, then on the smiling frog. Next, follow the given directions. The link for this week’s stories is as follows:

14 June 2019

Genre: Memoire

Word Count: 100 Words

Dad’s Family Roots by P.S. Joshi

My dad left me handwritten notes about his family roots. We took a trip down to the little village where he, his mother, and her siblings were born. It was in Ohio farm country, the southwestern part of the state.

His grandmother was a dressmaker, and his grandfather a blacksmith. His parents met when his father came there as a telegrapher for the Erie Railroad.

We met an elderly woman who knew Dad’s family. That woman and my grandmother were pen pals until both were elderly.

Dad also looked up two local cemeteries for his father and mother’s family gravestones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

64 thoughts on “Dad’s Family Roots”

    • Thanks, Larry. Yes, it is nice to know some of what family members did and said in their lifetimes and the dates and places they lived. My dad was interested in recording what he could remember and find. I’ve tried to write down some of the stories he told orally. He would even act them out. I was a good audience. I’m going to try and pass much of it on to my children. I’m happy you enjoyed the story. 🙂 — Suzanne

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    • Thanks, Rochelle. I’m glad you enjoyed my little memoir. I have some things written and intend to write more. I have plenty of pictures. I’m in the process of writing a humorous story of my childhood. I’m fortunate to have one of those memories that go back to my early childhood. A lot of things must have made a lasting impression on me–some good and some bad. I have the scars to prove it. 😀 — Suzanne

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  4. Very nice snippet of memoir. My dad has been doing a lot of work on family history, but regrets starting in his 80s when most of the people he could ask for specifics are gone. (He was from farm country in southern Illinois, but I grew up in northern Ohio, so know a little about Ohio farm country).

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    • Thanks, Trent. Dad asked someone about all the farms in the part of Ohio where he was born and they said it has some of the richest land available. Many of the farmers were German-American. You probably know Ohio was once described as being a “sea of trees”. Those trees dropped so many leaves over the years it enriched the soil. My dad did most of his research after he retired in his late 60s, Fortunately, there was a cousin of his mother’s still living who gave him some information. 🙂 — Suzanne

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    • Thanks, Keith. I enjoyed that trip. That woman was about my grandmother’s age and Grandma died in the late 1960s so I wouldn’t know what happened to those letters. I never saw the ones my grandmother got so maybe my uncle took them after she died or she threw them away after she read them. 🙂 — Suzanne

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  7. Sadly so many memories are lost, making the recording of family roots important. My gran was trained as a dressmaker, she spent the first year picking up pins !!!

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    • Thanks, Michael. I was never able to talk to that great grandmother as she died long before I was born. I only have my grandmother’s memories of her. My mother met her and said she was a sweet person. She suffered from glaucoma and was blind toward the end of her life. I probably inherited her talent as I’ve enjoyed sewing for myself and my children. My grandmother had her old sewing machine and did some sewing for me when I was younger. 🙂 — Suzanne

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  11. the roots of your family history run deep and strong.Letters should be treasured as this generation doesn’t know the meaning of hand-written correspondence.

    Sorry to know about demise of Shri A.V.S.Iyer.May God provide peace to the departed soul and courage to the bereaved family to bear the loss.

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  15. A lovely bit of family history. I especially enjoyed the story as I grew up in a farming community in southwestern Ohio. I’ve not done well in chronicling my family’s history, but thankful my brother has. Nicely written, Suzanne!

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    • Thanks, Brenda. My father, his mother, and her siblings were born in a tiny farming village named Kingscreek, Ohio. If driving through and you blink you miss it. It’s in Champaign County. I’m glad I have my dad’s notes as my brother wasn’t interested in family history. My mother and brother were born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and I was born in Akron, just across a bridge. 🙂 — Suzanne

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      • I can’t quite hear yours but I’ve heard plenty in my time. My husband took a job in Greensboro, NC when our children were young. My daughter picked up a bit of one. She still says ya’ll. I had a job in a call center there and they wanted us to address the female customers as Ma’am. One lady said she loved my southern accent. Our son didn’t have a hint of an accent. Kentucky is a beautiful state. I can understand why people who move from there keep going back to visit. I went to school with kids from the southern states. Many families had moved to Akron to get jobs in the rubber shops. 🙂 — Suzanne

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      • You’ve had a very rich and interesting life, Suzanne. Kentucky and Tennessee are indeed beautiful states. My brother lives in NC and I’ve enjoyed time spent there as well. My daughter also kept the “y’all” which I love. Take care! 🙂

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    • Thanks, Laurie. Along with the notes my dad left, I remember stories he and his mother told. Some of the family got together in the mid-1990s after my mom’s funeral and a cousin told me some more old memories he had that I was hearing for the first time. 🙂 — Suzanne

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  27. I share your fascination with family history. You’re so lucky to have your dad’s notes – what a treasure. This little memoir gives a tantalising glimpse into a bygone age and brings the people to life.

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