If we have learned anything from COVID, it’s that nothing will remain the same. The people, places and things that are part of our lives have all been forever changed. One thing the majority of us gained was a closer relationship with the people dearest to us. The forced confinement changed the way we look at our lives.
Your ancestors were changed by the events in their lives. Illness, war, economics, death and a host of other events affected them. The various wars have caused a change in the family dynamic. Waiting for a loved one to return or adjusting to the fact they wouldn’t be returning often caused a domino effect. A soldier came home changed by what he’s experienced. An adjustment from military life to civilian life which sometimes resulted in career changes as the job they previously held was no longer available because in their absence another man (and in later wars a woman) had been hired.
Many times, it meant a change of location in order to find employment. After the Revolutionary War men were given land grants and they moved from their original home to accept the property because the grant required them to live on the land and make improvements. In the late 1860’s men returned to find their homes were no longer there or that they didn’t have the means to maintain the property or that their families had died, and he was alone, so moving on to other locations and starting a new life was the best option.
For as long as we can remember, illness has brought change. In many instances it was advances in medicine, but the families of those who suffered in epidemics and pandemics went through change. They watched a loved one suffer, they waited for healing, and they tried to carry on life through it all especially if the loved one didn’t survive.
My own parents lived through the Great Depression. News articles described the devastation that went through every social level of the time. Many of the rich lost everything. The situation of the poor was worse. There were soup lines. People slept on the streets, in the parks or woods. Food was hard to come by and work was practically non-existent. The Federal government started special programs to help some get off the dole. My grandfather worked on the levees which was among those programs. My parents spoke of how hard it was to earn a living. If not for growing their own vegetables and raising livestock, they would have been close to starvation.
Death always brings change. There is a void that is never filled. Depending on the circumstances of the individual who dies, the changes can be slight or dramatic. Family members are thrust into roles of responsibility which often they have no experience in, making decisions that sometimes they are not mentally prepared for, trying to live their lives without their loved one.
Just as you have experienced all manner of changes due to COVID, so your ancestors experienced changes in their lifetime and there are many ways to document which events were part of their lives. Our shelves house family stories, newsletters that relate major events in various locations, local newspapers on microfilm that carry stories of events, people and places. Researchers can access these records for free at TCG&HS.
You’re invited to visit the library located on the second floor of the Crockett Building, 107 Court Street. We’re open on THURSDAY and FRIDAY (except prior to a holiday) from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (please call if you’ll arrive after 3 p.m.). Due to the courthouse parking lot renovations it is better if you use the westside entrance door and take the elevator to the second floor.
You may also contact us at tatehistory@hotmail.com or call 662-562-0390 and leave a message on voice mail with brief details of your request and we will answer.
