Sisters, circa 1936

Sisters, circa 1936, originally uploaded by confections.

My Aunt Margaret (left) and my mother (right) on their farm in rural Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, circa 1936.

Before she died, my mother described the farm and its buildings to me and I made a few small drawings. We looked up the site on Google Earth; a lot had changed, but we were able to pinpoint the property.

I lost my mother on Valentine's Day, but my Aunt Margaret is alive and well. I want to gather more stories from her while I have the privilege to do so.

More than likely, the dresses my aunt and mother are wearing were made by my grandmother, who was an excellent seamstress and needleworker. My sister has an ecru tablecloth crocheted by her, and I have a needlework bag she made that is designed to hang over the wrist to hold yarn or crochet thread.

A decade ago, Aunt Margaret gave my sister and me some handmade lace that our great-aunts had created during their lifetimes. My sister used it to edge some gauzy curtains in her home. Those curtains have worn out, but the lace has survived and remains a treasured heirloom in our family and a testament to women's textile art.

Great-Aunt Emily and Aunt Margaret

Great-Aunt Emily and Aunt Margaret, originally uploaded by confections.

My mother's older sister Margaret (about age four) is seated here on the lap of her Aunt Emily, circa 1927. Aunt Emily was born in December of 1869 and lived until 1944. Aunt Margaret was born in 1923 and is alive and well. This was taken at my maternal grandparents' farm in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Kate Sessions, the Mother of Balboa Park, and My Mother and Grandmothers

Kate Sessions Statue, originally uploaded by confections.

Today I am featuring a photo of a statue of Kate Sessions, the “Mother of Balboa Park”, in San Diego, California. My sister and I visited the park this Saturday to photograph two of her quilts (more on those lovelies later this week) and we captured sweet Kate as well.

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, I’m busy getting my Mom’s package of goodies ready to send. This particular statue of Kate Sessions reminds my Mother of her own mother, whom I never knew except through photos and my Mother’s recollections of her. I’ll include a series of photos of Kate-who-reminds-my-mother-of-her-mother in my Mom’s gift box.

In my genealogical research this month, I located my Mother’s grandmother’s birthplace in Germany, a tiny village called Thaleischweiler in the Rhineland-Palatinate area. The only clues I had to guide me were supposed roots in Aachen, but my Aunt Margaret remembered some of the old-timers in her youth speaking of Pirmasens.

Once I had a positive hit on my grandmother’s name and birthdate on the International Genealogical Index, and discovered that the town was in the Pirmasens region, I knew I had hit genealogical paydirt. I was able to go back two further generations as well. This is heady stuff for a budding genealogist, finding these links after many trials and tribulations. I will find a special way to honor these newly discovered grandmothers this Mother’s Day.