A real gem....

Yesterday, I wrote about my mother's maternal grandmother. I thought I'd add a memory of my mother's paternal grandmother. Emily Caroline Plowman married Gilead Cheney. Both were from Illinois. They were married in 1861 at her father's home in Sangamon County, Illinois. Gilead farmed in Virden Ilinois, and I heard once that they moved to St. Louis for a time and he was a storekeeper (unconfirmed). They then moved their family, including four children, to Denver Colorado. The family owned/or ran/ or worked at a quarry.

My mother remembered being told by her mother that Emily was a delicate little lady that had been brought up as a "gentile lady". My grandmother spent many hours waiting on her as well as starching and ironing the many pieces of lace that she wore. Emily died in 1917 before my mother was born.

I have this tortoise shell comb that she used in her hair.