Nancy H. Vest, Writer

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in Gladys Martin Family

Guess who’s coming to dinner?

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Week 4 of 52 Ancestors/52 Weeks asks which ancestor I would invite to dinner if I could do that. This was actually an easy choice for me. I would invite my great-grandmother, Maggie THOMAS.

B&W photo of an upper middle-age couple from the waist up. Woman in dark dress and white lace collar, graying hair pulled up, and wearing glasses. Man in dark suit with checkered tie and white shirt, gray mustache and hair. Neither is smiling.

Dan and Maggie Thomas, my great-grandparents, lifelong South Carolinians

Margaret Ann GRANT THOMAS (1870-1948) was my maternal grandmother’s mother. Maggie lived at a wonderful crossroads of time in my family’s history. A few years ago I wrote a similar piece about her husband, my great-grandfather, Dan THOMAS.

Dinner with Maggie

First, I think I’d take in her southern accent and her mannerisms. It would take me awhile just to do that, I’m sure. I’d ask about her life and her faith. I know she was a Christian, so I expect she had some favorite hymns and verses that she’d memorized.

Maggie would be able to tell me about my beloved grandma (Maggie’s daughter) like how she was growing up; and if she was the stubborn, joke-loving, hardworking woman I knew. I’m told Maggie was an awesome cook. I think I’d ask her a recipe or two.

Maggie could solve some family history mysteries, too, like:

  • How did Henry H. GRANT die?

  • Were Malachi and Penny actually Jeremiah GRANT’s parents, and if not what was the relationship between them and Jeremiah?

  • Was Jeremiah really a Union sympathizer?

  • Was Annie Jane GRANT part/full Native American, and if so which tribe?

  • Where did Maggie and Dan live in Chesterfield County?

  • And lastly, who is the man in the tintype by himself, and who are the men in the group tintype and what was it all about?

tintype of a man in a dark suit with a vest and white shirt wearing a dark hat. He has a dark mustache. Not smiling.

mystery Grant Tintype #1

group tintype of 6 men in a building of some kind. Each man wearing a hat and a coat. Some seated. Some standing.

Mystery Grant tintype #2

It would be a 12-course dinner with everything I’d want to ask and hear about it. She’d likely have questions for me, too, about her descendants. It’s a lovely meal to dream about.

How about you? What ancestor would you invite to dinner and why? Comment below.

 

 

Copyright ©  2018 Nancy H. Vest   All Rights Reserved

 

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Comments

  1. Diana Erbio says

    February 14, 2018 at 9:00 am

    Enjoyed your post, Nancy! It got me thinking… I think I’d chose a dinner with my grandpa’s mom who died when he was 3. She lived in NYC in late 1800s early 1900s. Would love to know more about that! She had a box of postcards from NYC that I was able to look at which were cool. Also I could tell her how her son turned out

    Reply
    • Nancy H. Vest says

      February 14, 2018 at 11:20 am

      She sounds like a wonderful ancestor to have dinner with. I bet those postcards are cool. I have some from that era, too. What did she die of? My father’s mother died when he was 5. Spanish influenza in 1919. Thanks for commenting, Diana. 🙂

      Reply

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