Yes last week I did. I had searched on ancestry sites for my great grandmother, born in the 1860’s…and found out that she had a first husband (not my great-grandfather) who had developed cancer in the 5th year of their marriage. He suffered for 5 years before he died and she cared for him without the luxuries that most of us take for granted today. They had a set of twins who were by then 4 years old and another son who was about 2 years old. They lived in a rural area and from the photos looked like it could have been a farm. No automobiles to go places for easy and quick transportation. There was no running water, no electricity, air conditioning, and homes heated with wood in a wood stove and meals cooked over a fire or wood stove. No telephone for quick communication or to get help. She had to maintain a garden, likely a corn field and other farm things like chickens and a cow and perhaps other animals, take care of those children, and other chores like hand scrubbing laundry etc. Very likely the older twins were helping with chores that they could do at that time. Anyway one of the twins, a girl, disappeared during this time. Perhaps due to my great-grandmother’s taking care of her husband plus all the other extra duties that she had at that time, and being distracted and not as watchful like before. They at first thought the little girl had wandered to a nearby river and drowned but no body was ever found. And then speculated that she could have been taken by Indians. She was half-Cherokee herself so the little girl could have mistaken for an Indian child.

Thinking about this made me so much more grateful for everything I have now while dealing with cancer….a warm home in the winter, running water, washer & dryer at home, easy ways to cook meals, a refrigerator to store food in, easy transportation to anywhere I need to go, a phone to call who ever I need to communicate with and for others to call and check up on me or pass on information, and an internet where I can easily search for what I need or get some information about important things.

History is fascinating

In the wild, animals rarely die from disease.

When humans lived more in harmony with nature, serious illnesses were uncommon. On rare occasions when they did occur, people accepted them as a natural part of life.

We adjust our feelings of joy and sorrow to the world we live.

They struggled and often died.

One of the fascinating aspects of my genealogy hobby is finding evidence of how my ancestors dealt with day to day life and the changes over the years.

no people do what they have to do.. i don't believe in evolution..

There is radiographic evidence the Egyptians did root canals. If someone irritated you, either you killed them or they would kill you.

Time, suffering, experience, and the slow evolution of technology and knowledge.

This is why I love history, and now technology allows great re-creation of historical data, that also attempts to present feelings/emotions of the historical period.