Week 13 – #52Ancestors
Having gone from knowing virtually nothing about my ancestors, to having researched numerous generations, I find that I feel a deep connection to these grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. When I come across an accidental death, or someone who died young, I really do feel a sense of grief and loss.
These are the ancestors (some of which I’ve already written about here on the blog) for whom I will light a candle:
Pleasant Monroe Chappell, his wife, Mollie, and their twins (the twins died shortly after birth, Mollie died from tuberculosis, and Pleasant died in a train accident – all within less than a year between 1919 and 1920).
John Delp, my great uncle, died in 1914, at the age of twenty-six. The cause of death was listed as exhaustion, with a contributory factor of epilepsy. He was a patient at the Virginia State Epileptic Colony.
James Rosenbalm, my uncle, died in 1965 at the age of forty-one. He suffered a heart attack while driving home from a funeral.
Lucinda Bullyard was the first wife of my great grandfather, Calvin Chappell; so technically not an ancestor. She died at the age of twenty – likely in childbirth.
James Chappell, son of Calvin, he died in 1910 at the age of seventeen from an accidental gun shot.
Anderson John Chappell – my 2nd great grandfather (Calvin’s father), who died in 1858 at the age of thirty (cause unknown).
Bina Shepherd, my great aunt, died in 1916 at the age of forty-two from kidney disease.
Emma Shepherd Lewis, another great aunt, died in 1930 at the age of thirty-nine from puerperal albuminuria, probably related to childbirth.
John Shepherd, a great granduncle, died in the Civil War at the age of thirty-four.
All of the women, and several of the men, left behind young children. Many of these ancestors may have lived long, productive lives with the advances in medical care since their deaths.