In this 4th week of Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors challenge, "Invite to Dinner," I want to invite my husband's maternal great-grandma, Elizabeth Rinehart Steiner, to tea.This matriarch grew up in a pioneering family, and I'd like to ask about her daily life, her dreams, her happiness, her disappointments, her thoughts of the future, and her view of the past.
Elizabeth was born on 18 February 1834 in an area later organized into Ashland County, Ohio. No official record of her birth can be found. She died on 4 November 1905 in Upper Sandusky, Wyandot County, Ohio. The Probate Court there hasn't located her death record. I do have two obits that offer a lot of clues to Elizabeth's life.
Elizabeth married hubby's maternal great-grandpa Edward George Steiner (1839-1880) on 7 August 1851, at age 17, in Crawford County, Ohio. (The obit has the year incorrect--I have the marriage license from 1851, and it indicates Elizabeth needed her father's permission to marry.)
Together, they had 9 children. Their first two children died young, unfortunately. My husband is a grandson of their ninth child, Floyda Mabel Steiner.
There are so many questions to ask GGM, but I'll limit myself to six since this is, after all, tea time:
- What was it like growing up as the daughter of a pioneering family in the 1830s?
- Were the family stories true: Rinehart and Steiner were supposedly from Switzerland? Or were they from Germany or Austria or another area?
- How did you meet your future husband, and what kind of life did you envision with him?
- Is the family story true: that you chose the name Floyda for your youngest child because you were hoping for a boy after five boys in a row?
- What did you think of the Suffrage Movement and the idea of women gaining the right to vote?
- Of all the changes you witnessed and experienced in your 71 years of life, which most surprised or astonished you, and why?
Wouldn't it be nice to sit down to tea with an ancestor? I enjoyed your questions - especially the last one. I might have to "borrow" it. :)
ReplyDeleteYes. It would be nice to discover more about the very day life of our ancestors. I have purchased several books about everyday life in America during various periods in our history. Those books are helpful but, of course, just give an overall look at families. A chat with an ancestor would be more fun and more detailed.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are a number of excellent books about everyday life in different periods throughout US history, and they gave me a great overview. But as Colleen says, chatting with ancestor would be fun and give more detailed insight into this specific family's unique challenges and perspectives. Women's voices weren't always heard as loudly in that period. I wish I could hear Elizabeth's voice on these topics!
ReplyDeleteThere are several people I would love to have dinner with one more time or just to meet because I find them fascinating. I really enjoyed the questions you would ask.
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