Reading · Great Migration Library

Years ago, when my grand-niece begged her Aunt Donna and others to educate her about traditions, she became a determined and enthusiastic student of family history.

This week, our family is cheering her new student orientation—as a university freshman in the class of 2030.

Born in Chicago, my sister’s granddaughter, Miss S_, has always been an eager student of family history and traditions—including passed-down recipes.

Miss S_in Aunt Donna’s Chicago kitchen, 2015. Click the arrow on the photo for a short memory review. Video from Battle Family Archives.

“Miss S_” with mother; with grandmother & mother; “Miss S_” with grandmother & twin cousins. Photos from Battle Family Archives.

Younger generations (including recent college students) were eager apprentices whenever I visited.

Each time Miss S_ and I turned pages through scrapbooks, she was captivated by photos of Gulf Coast relatives, their homes and the beautiful city.

I wrote about this long ago when sharing Great Migration family history.

Everyone at Mobile AL. restaurant table is now an ancestor. Including, from far right: my paternal grandmother (Gran); my maternal grandmother (Granny); Aunt Lya; Aunt Carolyn; and Uncle Herschell at top. Photo from Battle Family Archives.

As my great-niece follows her new path away from the Windy City, I’m sharing reminders from a poem written almost a century ago by her great-great-great aunt—our Aunt Ariel.

“Miss S_” with grandfather & cousins; Aunt Ariel, in center; 1st cousins. Photos from Battle Family Archives.

From “Joaquin” by Ariel Williams Holloway

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

Take your melody of life, my child,
	And make of it a masterpiece,
Unfinished sketch, or lengthy score,
	Use stately chords and rhythm grand.
I pray God kindle in your soul
	A spark of His Divinity,
That beauty, depth and dignity
	May mark your song or symphony.

3-Peat Homework (third week for same assignment).

Begin recording short videos of loved ones as a way of preserving their memories. And don’t forget to keep things simple.

Ancestors are Smiling.

Contact me for permission to reprint Great Migration Library photos, or photos from the Battle Family Archives.

Thank you for joining me in the Great Migration Library. The doors are always open. Your chair is waiting. Ancestors are smiling down. Click the “Share” link to send today’s Great Migration Library message to others. And feel my hug.

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Great Migration Library website

The Great Migration Library’s highlighted links often connect you to more information, books at AbeBooks, or other independent booksellers, available at the time of our posting. Note: Before selecting from a link, sort through available offerings for desired condition; new or used.

We Remember Mama; I Remember Mama, (no link option), personal family collections, 1983, 2003.

Shape Them into Dreams by Ariel Williams Holloway (Exposition Press, 1955).

Please note: I often reference Wikipedia.com as a second (and more diverse) source for dates, locations and other information.

Please join in my continued search for information regarding From the Plantation to the Doctor’s Office by Dr. Henry Roger Williams, published in the mid-1920s. Contact this great-granddaughter with any tips (from libraries, media archives, elders and more — including psychic readers).

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