I'd like to meet...

Source: Drew Beamer, Unsplash

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 1 (January 1-7)

Theme: I'd Like to Meet

This week's theme is "I'd Like to Meet." Most of us have an ancestor who we'd like to meet (even if it's to ask, "What are your parents' names?") This week, write about that ancestor or why you'd want to meet him or her. Feel free to be creative! 

I'd like to meet my 3rd great grandmother, Flora (Gillespie) Cameron.  Of course, I would ask her the basics - her parents (unknown), her birth place and date (ca. 1807, Isle of Islay, Argyll, Scotland), and her marriage (ca. 1835, based on her first known child). 

But I'd also ask her about what made her leave her home in Islay and travel to a strange new world.  Did she travel with her sister and her family, or did she come later? Was her voyage rough - and did she think it was worth it? 

Did she know her husband in Scotland or meet him here in Canada?  Was she in love with him? And what was it like to be a widow at such a young age? (Her husband died when she was between 44 and 54.)

Was she married previously? Did she have other children - possibly some that she had to bury as babies. Her eldest known child was born when she was almost 30.  With an average age of marriage of about 20 for women at this time (and 26 for men) [1], both she and her husband were older than the typical couple.

I can imagine she worked hard, but what did she do in the evenings? Have I inherited my love of sewing from her, or was it just another chore that had to be done?  Was she ever afraid as they carved out a life from the Canadian bush?

We all have people we'd like to meet.  What questions would you ask? 

For more information on the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge, as well as details on how to participate, please visit Amy Johnson Crow's website.