Fearless Females #8--Journal

March 8 — Did one of your female ancestors leave a diary, journal or collection of letters? Share an entry or except. Thank you to Lisa over at The Accidental Genealogist for supplying a month's worth of prompts celebrating Women's History Month.





BABY BOOK OF MARTHA JEAN STARK HUGHES

     This is my mother's, Martha Jean Stark Hughes, baby book. Her mother, Martha Marie Frederick Stark--aka Teek, kept it from birth until about age 6 1/2. My grandmother was a stenographer before she married and must have owned a typewriter as her journal is typed and the pages are glued into the baby book.




This is typical of each page.
     I enlarged these two entries. The first is the story of my Mom's first outing to downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to meet her Dad and have lunch. After lunch they met my Mom's Aunt Edna (Edna May Frederick Gween) for a little shopping trip. Note the prices--2 pairs of children's shoes for $6.25 and a little bonnet for $4.00. The second entry gave me a good laugh--my little 2 year old Mom somehow locking her Mom in a closet!

     Here is an entry mentioning Mom's Uncle Mont Munger, Lucy Wilma Stark Munger and Junior (Mont Munger, Jr.) Note that they needed a ride home in Uncle Mont's machine....my grandmother's term for a car.

     This was interesting--the wedding of my mother's cousin, Mary A. Zeigler and Robert B. Quinn . Mary is the only child of Aunt Edna. Edna married twice. Mary's father is the first husband, Harry G. Zeigler . Edna married second, William Clinton Gween .

     One of my favorite "finds" in this little book was the note above. It is handwritten by my maternal great grandmother, Wilhelmine Catherine Schwarz Stark, aka Granny Stark.

     Mom's Baby Book has been a reference I poke into when I need to source something in my Mother's early years. Additionally, there are numerous references to her aunts and uncles who lived in and around the Avalon, Pennsylvania area. Also, my grandmother has a variety of memorabilia attached to the pages--a little handmade valentine card, my mother's first lost tooth !, a lock of her hair, first picture drawn at school, a little Christmas Toys book made by my Mom when she was 6 years old, plus a listing of Mom's "Firsts".

Thank you Teek.

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser