Monday, June 13, 2011

Do I have a six sense? Call it what you may, but an old family photograph I have been tempted many times to throw away; yet, I didn't. I did not know the older woman, personally, nor did I ever met her, but each time I fell upon it, I sense a feeling of fear. Because that bothered me, I wanted to rid myself of it; and therefore, throw it away. It was a professional photo taken and she was a handsome woman with a name written on the back, so I decided to wait, and ask my aunt Jewel who she was. This past week while doing some genealogy I came across the name of my 4th great-grandfather's first wife, "Goodner" and realized there lied the reason I never threw the fearful photo away. Not only did I learn her connection with our family, but I also learned by Eli Hewitt's story why I sensed fear when I gazed upon her. She died in childbirth with her first child, "Juliana." Eli Hewitt lost his young wife and his first child on that same cold day of Feb. 2, 1831. She lived in an era not as blessed with hospitals, and nearby doctors, to provide her with a safe child birth and recovery. How blessed I am that I came to earth four generations after that I may have an opportunity to have children and survive their births enabling me to watch them grow, and become mothers themselves.

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