pioneer legacy.

these are my great grandma's older sisters. about 1909.

[look at that bow!]

this week i've spent a lot of time on family search.  it's amazing.  you can find stories, pictures, pioneer ancestors, search common relatives.  i have some pretty dedicated family members who have uploaded pictures like these and stories, marriage and birth certificates.  it truly is fascinating.  i even got back to the year 85 AD on one side of the family.

i found out that i'm related to charlemange and william bradford.  i had ancestors who were kings and queens all over europe.  and lots and lots of ordinary people with countless stories to tell.

  

like edwin pettit, my fourth great grandpa, who dressed up like a girl to escape his guardian so he could cross the plains with his sister at the age of 13.

or rebecca hill, who crossed the plains at the age of 3.  who later married edwin and had 14 children!

finding quotes like this about their daughter, mary. and realizing, you have a lot more in common than you ever thought.

"Mary wore dark skirts with tight-fitting peplum tops, usually coupled with an apron. The Pettit girls were remembered as being stylish and well-dressed. All were excellent housekeepers and great seamstresses. When they got together, which was often, they laughed and joked. They were close as sisters and even took trips together. In 1904, Mary went to San Francisco where her sisters were working as seamstresses."

or their daugher-in-law, mildred tanner pettit, who wrote the music to "i am a child of God".

i am so grateful for the examples of so many amazing family members. for their faith and courage and confidence.  the decisions they faced.  for the legacy they left for those that follow.  their lives truly inspire me.