I’ve been doing a little background research of late into my family tree, and one of the most interesting things that I have been struck by is the variety of occupations my ancestors have had. There have been travelling family bands, academics, soldiers, pilots, farmers, engineers…but this is what is known of the men.
What were the lives of the women like, I wonder? Where are our Amelia Earharts, our unsinkable Molly Browns, our Mata Haris and Jane Goodalls?
The considerable lack of information on the women in my family tree irritates me, as truly only half the story is there. Why is nothing handed down of the women? Those in our present time I know of, but what of the ladies in former years? Who were these crazy women who married WWI fighter pilots, or MIT Professors, or traveled around the country with ten children and a husband in tow so that they could sing and play music for the crowds? And why, really, is there so little information on them now…
Perhaps the lack of information about the women (past generations) in our family tree is due to the fact that they were mostly housewives, stay at home Mom’s. Our Mothers worked out side of the house, my grandmother’s stayed at home and (?) supported their husbands, etc… I wouldn’t even begin to know where to look for information prior to that…
Peg