All That Sarah Saw

Today I'm going to piggyback off a post I did concerning Randal Smith and Sarah Fulkerson.  Some of it contained information from Randal's application for a Revolutionary War pension.  The other part was about Sarah, and her census information showing her at 100 years old in 1850.

It also showed her her death certificate, which listed her age at 102.  The post can be found here.

I began thinking about all of the things Sarah would have seen in her lifetime.  A few years ago I discovered a website that can generate a timeline of world events.  All you have to do is put your ancestor's name in the box, put in the birth and death dates, and it will put together a timeline, both viewable and printable, that will show you things that may have impacted their lives.

The name of the site is OurTimelines.com, and can be found here.

Here is the landing page:

You will want to click on "Timeline" in the left column.

So, here comes Sarah's timeline, according to the known information we have on her.  She was reportedly born in North Carolina and died in Kentucky. 

 She was born before the French and Indian War.  Would that have affected her?  Maybe not.  But, it might have involved her father.

And, Halley's Comet.  Would she have seen it?  Would her older siblings, or her parents?

The Revolutionary War was in full swing when she was in her late 20's to early 30's.  How did that impact her family?

The dollar was adopted when she was 36 years old.  She was married by then.  How did that impact her family?  Or, perhaps her father's probate?

North Carolina entered the union when she was 39 years old.  Did that affect her and her family?  That's where they were living at the time.

Kentucky entered the union when she was 42 years old.  By the time she reached that age, her family had moved from North Carolina to Kentucky.

She was in her 50's when the Lewis and Clark Expedition was going on.  Did she know about it?

In her early 60's, the War of 1812 was in full swing.  Did her husband or her sons serve?  Many Kentuckians volunteered to go to fight at the River Raisin, where there was an unfortunate massacre.  They never forgot the injustices done to them there.  So, when Oliver Hazard Perry put out a clarion call for volunteers during the Battle of Lake Erie, who volunteered again?  The Kentuckians!

From the age of 67 to 73, there was a cholera pandemic.  She survived.

The first railroad in the United States was completed at age 78.  It's not likely that impacted her at that time in Kentucky.

The California Gold Rush occurred when she was 98 years old.  This may have impacted a son who suddenly disappears from our records.  I'm in the process of trying to locate him and his son right now.

Sarah may or may not have seen quite a few things in her life.  I don't know.  There were changes in America, along with wars.  There were advances in industrialization.  The money system changed.  There were pandemics, which she survived.  And, there were wonders in the sky.

Now, if you really want your eyes opened, plug your own name into the search box.  You will be amazed at how much has happened just in your own lifetime!

My Dad, Had He Lived to be One Hundred

Today is the100th  anniversary of my father birth.

Chester Lee and Ida Stevens Clemens, 50th Wedding Anniversary, 1984

He was born into a large family, the fifth child into what would become eleven.  The house he was born in no longer exists in Lawton, Carter, Kentucky, but he often showed me where it was located.  It wasn't really close to anything.

Chester as a baby in a dress.

Chester as a young farm boy, right around the time he married in 1932.

Chester, after working in the coal mines in West Virginia, early 1940's.

Chester in the U.S. Navy.  He served in Pearl Harbor.

He was baptized into the Mormon Church in 1951, later serving as a Bishop.

When he served as Bishop, he baptized me in 1963.

He spent his later years serving as a temple worker in Washington, DC.

Instead of going over a prologue of his life and accomplishments, I chose to go to the website:  www.ourtimelines.com and see what was going on in the world during his lifetime.

1912:             He was born during a worldwide cholera pandemic.

                     William Howard Taft was President.

                     The Titanic sunk the month before he was born.

1914:            WWI began when he was 2 years old until he was 7.  He had relatives who served.

1918-1920:   He survived the Spanish flu pandemic.  Others in his family did not.

1920:            Women received the right to vote when he was 8 years old.

1922:            Insulin was made available to diabetics.  This would have great bearing on his family, as many  were diabetics.

1926:            Movies with sound were beginning to be made.

1927:            Charles Lindberg made the first Transatlantic flight.

1928:            Television was invented. 

                     Penicillin was invented.

1929:            The Stock Market crashed.  The Great Depression begins.

1930:            Pluto was discovered.  Dad always loved astronomy.

1939-1945:  WWII years.  Dad served in the Navy at Pearl Harbor, the only coalminer from the coal camp in West Virginia to be drafted.

1948:            They began to make 33 1/3 records.  Dad LOVED music.  I get my love of all types of music from him.

1955:            The Sale Polio Vaccine becomes available.  One of his children would become mildly afflicted with polio.

1969:            The moon landing!  Dad was fastened to the television, not believing his eyes.

Dad died in 2002.  He was born in the days of horses, mules and wagons, yet lived long enough to see men walk on the moon.

Some of the above events may or may not have directly affected his life.  I have listed the ones that I remember talking to him about.  He was an avid reader, always having a book or a magazine or a newspaper in his hand.  As a matter of fact, ten years after his death we are still receiving some of his magazines in the mail.  He had them paid that far ahead so as to not expire.

Dad was a poor boy that was born in poverty in the eastern hills of Kentucky - but what a rich life he lived.  He saw quite a lot during his 90 years.  

We miss you, Dad...