One of the reasons I LOVE GENEALOGY is that it feels to me like the ancestors get to speak again, telling the story of their lives one more time. AND I THINK FOR MANY OF THEM IT IS THE FIRST TIME ANYONE IS REALLY LISTENING!
Yes, I SAID THAT!
Truly, in this life how often is it that someone who you never met before is all that interested in hearing about your "life history"? In fact we make snide remarks at times when someone goes on "too long" ; "thank you for sharing!" (I hate that!)
For our FEMALE ancestors, until fairly recently in Western culture, there were social and cultural reasons why they did not discuss their thoughts, feelings, or tell about their lives while they were living it.
For many women of the past, speaking up or out was considered not to be feminine. They were to keep to their position and place in life, vote the way their husband voted (if they could vote at all), get along in a group but not stand out. A woman was supposed to be shy and soft spoken and some of them did an awfully good job of being self effacing!
As some of you know, tracing FEMALE ANCESTORS is MORE DIFFICULT than tracing MALE. There are so many reasons for this, from baptismal records that don't list the mother's name at all or don't list her maiden name, to not being able to find school or military records for those who never went to school or into the military.
