25 March 2012

Fearless Females: March 25 - With Her Children

When I think of an ancestor and how she was with her children, I can't help but think of my Grandma Woolsey.

Olivia Joyce Jenkins married Albert Lee Woolsey. From what I can tell it appears that she came from a family that may not have been rich, but lived comfortably. She then married and lived in poverty. I can only assume that she truly married for love, and I know she love my grandpa. They had ten children total, however two girls died as infants.

Life was not easy for the Woolsey family in OK. I had photos that I've lost on my computer. I'll have to get them from my dad again. The photos say it all. The children are barefoot, which they were a lot of the time because they couldn't afford shoes, but like many families in those days and in that situation, they would get shoes when school started and it was winter, but all summer long they were bare foot. Some photos depict a run down almost shack like home.

Life got a lot easier when they moved from OK to Oakdale, CA. They later moved to Modesto behind my mother's family. No mater how easy life got there was still one way that Grandma showed that her children came first. She wouldn't sit at the table and eat with the family. She would make sure that her husband and all the children ate first and had their fill, and she would eat whatever was left, even if it was scraps left on their plates. That's probably how she stayed so skinny...........hmmm maybe I should try that diet plan.

Grandma was also not the disciplinarian. It was always a joke even when I was a kid. She would walk around with a belt around her neck, as a threat, but we all knew that she would almost never ever use it. Grandpa however had no trouble using his belt.

There is one story where my dad, his brother, and a friend are bouncing on the bed. My grandpa warned them to stop jumping on the bed or he would whop them. They didn't, and he did, including the friend. You'd never hear of that happening today.

Grandma endured through the toughest times and shined in the best times. A Christian woman with a big loving heart.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

As you can see I'm enjoying reading some of your older posts now. I just had to comment on this one because unfortunately I have been wearing a belt around my neck lately haha. This morning in fact though luckily my grandma rescued us both before I actually had to use it on him.

Untangled Family Roots said...

LOL Emily thanks for sharing. I'm glad you are enjoying my post. I enjoy doing the research and sharing the stories. Though I had forgotten this post and reread it. Misstake. I'm at my desk at work and started to get teary eyed thinking about my grandma and the kind of woman she was. Back then I never realized how much I'd miss her when she was gone. You always look back and think, "If only I had listened to her more" or "If only I had spent more time with her"

Unknown said...

I completely agree. I'm sorry I made you teary eyed. After reading through some of your older posts I started thinking about my grandparents too. I knew 9 of my grandmothers & 6 of my grandfathers. I have 3 grandmothers left (1 with severe dementia) & 2 grandfathers. It's great & amazing that I knew so many of them but it makes it hard sometimes because I've lost so much. As I've gotten older & lost more & more it has definetely made me appreciate what I still have.

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