Annals of our ancestors; one hundred and fifty years of history in the ...

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ANNALS OF OUR ANCESTORS
clearly my first impression of her, and even how she looked.
She was dressed in a new chambray gingham, pink trimmed
with white, and a broad-brimmed white hat with a wreath of
pink roses under the brim rested on her dark hair. This sim-
ple but dainty and becoming dress heightened the beauty of
her lustrous black eyes and hair. A characteristic or a gift
that was noticeably hers impressed me then as it did many
times afterward — her cheerful and musical voice in conversation.
She had a most pleasant manner, and my heart grows
tender as I look back thirty-seven changing years and remember
Sister Mary Ellen 's bright young womanhood. Those
who knew her best always loved her best. In the first days of
her married life Sister Ida and she lived in the same house, and
they were devoted friends; familiar association but drew them
together. In writing of her I wish there was some way to
gather the words some of the lowly have said of her, or the
opinions of struggling young men whom she has encouraged
by her thoughtful kindness. Her words and favors are yet
remembered gratefully.
To go back those thirty-five years and more, I must tell
how carefully as well as prettily she was dressed with wellfitting
shoes and gloves, little points my woman's eyes noted
with admiration. She had in her hands a silk sunshade, and
while she talked with me of my children she toyed with this
pretty sunshade. A pleasing picture for memory is that
summertime scene. They had no children then; her time was
spent in keeping her home beautifully neat and in reading, of
which she was very fond. I visited that pleasant home in
Plainview only at long intervals, but it is a satisfaction to me
to testify my admiration for this sister; she was economical
and a most capable housekeeper.
After nine years without the voices of children in that
home, their daughter Grace was born. It was a glad day for
each of our family when we heard that a little one, perfect and
promising in every way, was a part of our family circle in the
home of Brother Joseph. The entire home felt the influence
of her young life and watched with delight her growth and
development. She and her little brother, born two years later,
were the youngest of the grandchildren of our parents.