15 Comments
User's avatar
Jennifer Jones's avatar

Go Emma! I wouldn't have wanted to cross her. Very bold for the times.

Expand full comment
Cath Giesbrecht's avatar

Yes, indeed, she was. Thank you for reading!

Expand full comment
Cynthia Boatright Raleigh's avatar

Emma was quite a resourceful woman!

Expand full comment
Cath Giesbrecht's avatar

Indeed, she was!

Expand full comment
Karen Sargent's avatar

This is fabulous!!

Expand full comment
Cath Giesbrecht's avatar

Very glad I never met our Aunt Emma! She must have been a force to be reckoned with.

Expand full comment
Susi Godfrey's avatar

What a tale! You have some very interesting family stories!!

Expand full comment
Cath Giesbrecht's avatar

This was definitely one of the more surprising family stories!

Expand full comment
Lori Olson White's avatar

What a fabulous woman and a story wonderfully told! All sorts of questions remain - delightful questions that make me wish the content of that chest had been passed down! Great job!

Expand full comment
Cath Giesbrecht's avatar

Many thanks, Lori! Wouldn't it have been a total trip to find out the chest had survived all of that family upheaval? Unfortunately, Emma and Alex didn't mix much with his side of the family, and my father did not know any of those cousins. I see where I have DNA matches through Ancestry that might speak to that connection, but so far I've not been able to get any interaction.

Expand full comment
Paul Chiddicks's avatar

How amazing that they remained married for over 50 years a quite remarkable and resourceful lady! A great read Cath

Expand full comment
Cath Giesbrecht's avatar

Thank you, Paul! I would imagine the household was pretty frosty most of the time. Their two sons weren’t the most upright individuals as they grew to adulthood (and even IN adulthood).

Expand full comment
Paul Chiddicks's avatar

A lady not be crossed that’s for sure!

Expand full comment
Barbara at Projectkin's avatar

Bravo, Cath! I look forward to more installments about this remarkable woman.

Also, it just amazes me to see what appears in the local newspaper.

Fast forward to 2100... can you imagine an old and broken Facebook selling access to their archives for genealogy researchers? Actually... I can, come to think of it.

Expand full comment
Cath Giesbrecht's avatar

The local newspapers had the most amazing stuff in them. I thoroughly enjoy that research!

Expand full comment