Today I want to share with you my Paternal Great Grandmother, one Dorthula Dalue SMITH-EADS aka Granny Eads or Dorothy. Granny Eads was born 25 August, 1873 in a little town called Lodi, in Wayne County, Missouri. She was the daughter of Charles Frank SMITH and his wife Lucinda. Lucinda`s maiden name is currently unknown to me as well as other researchers of this line that I have had contact with.
Granny was said to have really pretty red hair, the color of a copper penny. A distant cousin of mine, Mary Linda Miller, has done research and she remembers Granny well. She wrote a book, which she generously sent me a copy of some few months back. I have posted about the book here on my blog in a previous post.
Cousin Mary states that Grandmother Dorthula was a: Washerwoman. In looking at that term one would think perhaps she did laundry out of her home for pay? I decided to do some digging in order to be able to define that term properly. According to Webster`s Online Dictionary, a Washerwoman can indeed be defined as: a woman whose job is washing clothes, or a laundress. The term was first used in 1632. Blogger Samantha Bruner has written a good article on the occupation of the Washerwoman. She states the following:
"During the second half of the nineteenth century domestic positions remained as the most common occupations for women. The most difficult of the domestic or household occupations was that of the washer woman. While the industrial revolution made many occupations easier it actually made that of the washer woman more difficult." You may read the rest of her article HERE
In cousin Mary`s own words: She was called "Granny Eads" by everyone, because of her loving, maternal nature. So, that is where I get my maternal nature from, folks have often said the very same thing in regards to me. I think some of it comes natural having been a mother and a grandmother, but still it is nice to know that Grandmother Dorthy and I have that in common.
My mother recalls having met Grandmother Dorthula at one time. She remembers her as being a little short woman, she said she reminded her of a troll, in being that she was short and hunch backed.She said she thought perhaps she had some Native American blood in her.
Dorthula married my Great Grandfather William Franklin EADS Jr. Together they raised several children, my grandfather Columbus Franklin EADS being one of them. The picture above was provided by Cousin Mary, the two little boys are my Uncle Ted and my Father Floyd Junior EADS, this is the only picture that I have of my father with his grandmother.
Grandmother Dorthula died 13 November, 1963 in Greenville, Wayne County Missouri. You may view her Find a Grave Memorial HERE
If you are interested in reading the book that Cousin Mary has written you may view her contact information at her website HERE
This post is #7 in the series entitled: 52 Ancestors: 52 Weeks. Please check back next Wednesday for another post in this series. Follow me as I chronicle the lives of my ancestors through my eyes.
No comments:
Post a Comment