Walter and Ella Oldham—my great grandparents
Homer "Chick" Pierce—my grandfather
Chick Pierce
Walter McCord Oldham—my great grandfather
Margaret Oldham Pierce—my grandmother
Sandy Pierce Holt—my mom
I started doing genealogy research—census reports, death certificates, etc. While this does give you certain factual information, I've found more by just asking questions and listening. I never knew that my great grandmother Ella Scouten Oldham was a vocal member of the Temperance Movement. Is this where I got my passion for seeing justice? Did she also give me a little of her temper? My dad tells me that his grandmother Bertha Ratcliff was a tiny lady with a large heart. Did I get my soft heart from her? Mom tells me that her grandfather Walter McCord Oldham was Baptist preacher/ businessman who was able to send his children to college in the middle of the Depression. Did I get my love of learning from him? Did I want to teach because I’d seen my Mama Margaret and mother making it their careers? My granddaddy Homer showed great perseverance in so many areas of his life. Family history has it that he once played a basketball game on a broken ankle. Did I get my tendency to cry when listening to beautiful music from him?
Looking even further up the family tree, I've found that my great great great grandfather James Muncey Pierce fought for the Confederate States of America. His brother Nathan fought for the Union. James died too soon with a case of the measles, leaving a widow, Easter Adaline Robbins. In her later years, it was said that she dipped snuff and smoked a corncob pipe. And I'm sure that everyone has a George Washington in the family. Mine was George Washington Pierce, our patriarch.
It's been interesting learning about where I've come from. And that's just one side of the family.
