Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Clara's Story

I was hopping around from small paper to small paper on the Internet again, and came across this in an article on a local author and her self-published family history book:
At a book-signing last Saturday in Oswego, five generations of the Christy family gathered for the first time since the 1940s, coming from Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

Her family seemed pleased with the book.
All right. Anything good that draws together five generations of one family from that many states deserves a nod. Besides, the woman about whom the book was written sounds like a remarkable lady. From the Parsons Sun online edition (Kansas), reported by Colleen Surridge:
OSWEGO - In 1883, Elisha and Clara May Christy made their way from their home in Indiana to the fertile plains of Kansas.

It was here, in the town of Labette City, the two established their farm and raised their family, and where Clara encountered the hardships of pioneer life, which brought not only sadness but strength of spirit.

It was also here that her granddaughter, Marie Cook, researched her rich family history to document it in her recently published book "Clara."

"It started as kind of a legacy for my grandchildren. I know how when you start getting older you think of your ancestors and wonder what they were like and how life was for them. There were a few other people in the family doing genealogy and I decided to write a book," Cook said.

[snip]

"Her husband and daughter died within two months of one another and she was left with four sick boys - all with typhoid - two little girls and a farm to run."

Clara kept her family together despite encouragement from others to separate the children and send them to other farm families in the area.

[snip]

Cook said her daughter, Carla Cassidy, also served as a great inspiration because she, too, has faced adversity head on, and at the same time managed to have more than 80 books published through the romance market and mainstream market in suspense.

"She's really a remarkable woman and has great strengths as well," Cook said of her daughter. "And she is my greatest cheerleader."

"I've learned a lot from her," Cook said. "It took her eight years to get her first book published."

[snip]
Full story

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