My family tree is full of everyday people. They are not royalty. They are not great war heroes. They are not celebrities of popular culture. They would largely be forgotten if not for the efforts of people like you and me - the family historians. I admit that at times I wish for those great stories and great connections to things we learn in school, but I also realize that it's the contributions made by the common men and women that make our country and our world into a functioning society.
Some of my ancestors struggled and, sometimes, they made decisions I cannot begin to understand. This week's theme "Context" provided me an opportunity to better examine my third great grandparents, James and Hannah Lowe Flint. Their lives did not end well. I first wrote about them in October of 2014 HERE. James died at the age of 78 after he fell down some cellar stairs in a drunken stupor, fracturing his skull. He was found the following day. It's hard not to feel embarrassed about this. He wasn't a hero. What did his drunkenness do to his family? Was he a burden to them? Were they glad he died?
More recently I learned the fate of his wife, Hannah Lowe Flint.
She committed suicide 12 years before her husband's death.
She drowned herself.
Again, my thoughts were directed at blaming her. Why would she do this to her family? Was she a burden to them? Were they glad or relieved that she died? Was she the cause of her husband's drinking, or did his drinking contribute to her depression?
James and Hannah were born in Manchester, England. They grew up during the height of the Industrial Revolution, in the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. The city boomed, but the working class suffered. There were food riots, protests, and, eventually, reforms. James and Hannah did not wait for the reforms. A few months after their first son was born, they left for Philadelphia, where their other 8 children were born, including twins who died at birth.
Sometime between 1850 and 1860, James and Hannah moved to St. Louis, Missouri. James was a blacksmith and engineer/machinist. He made steam engines, or at least placed advertisements for them. They were poor, members of the working class.
On the surface, James and Hannah escaped the working class struggles of Manchester. They started a new life in America where they raised their family. But in all likelihood, all they did was change their location. There were working class struggles in the United States too.
They may have regretted their decision. They may have missed their family at home. It's even possible that Hannah did not want to come, knowing she may never see her family again. By the time she killed herself, 6 of her 9 children had died.
I do not know the full context of the lives of James and Hanna Lowe Flint. I do not know all of the details surrounding their decisions. I probably never will.
So who am I to judge?
James and Hannah were my 3rd great grandparents.
I'm proud of them for having the bravery to leave everything they knew to
move to a new place - twice.
I'm proud of them for trying to create a comfortable life, even if they weren't successful.
I'm proud to call them family, because I wouldn't be here without them.
Sad endings indeed. But I love your scrapbook pages!
ReplyDeleteI, too, love the scrapbook pages. That is so sad. How did the children and their families fair from all of this? Did it affect them in ways that were passed down, or were they able to overcome it? Great research. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. You are correct that most our ancestors were just regular folk, they struggled through life doing manual labor and living in poverty. It's heartbreaking nonetheless when confronted with the reality of their struggles. I am regularly thankful for their steadfastness, as you say, I wouldn't be here without them.
ReplyDeleteI think we have evidence that James was a positive influence on his children. All of his sons (besides James, whom I don't have any info about) became machinists/engineers. I thought one of the children or possibly grandchildren was even filing patents. It seems to have been that daughter who provided all the info related to him drinking, but maybe she was overreacting a bit (I believe her accusations in the coroner's report were pretty harsh), or it was a more recent habit in his older age. We don't have evidence that he had a history of employment problems, and I don't know if Hannah would have been held in such "high estimation" if her husband had been a notorious drunk. I'm also not sure that a drunk would bother to move his family multiple times, presumably looking for better opportunities. Drunk or not, he was elderly, and those types of cellar steps were known to be dangerous.
ReplyDeleteThe drowning story is a bit odd, too, and we never found the coroner's report that is supposed to exist. We should see if we can find anything about what kind of doctor Dr. Loker was, like if he advertised as a psychological specialist. Maybe he has publications.