by Donna Swagerty Shreve
As I am midway through my seventies, I tend to reflect on my family through the generations. The family I spent the most time with was on my father’s side. To me there seems to be so many social changes in just a few generations. These changes have happened to our society as a whole and I have witnessed them among my own relatives.
My grandparents were born in 1890 and 1896. My grandfather was amazed at all of the progress he had witnessed in his lifetime. As a child, he traveled with his family in a covered wagon. When he was an adult, our country had a man walking on the moon. In my lifetime so far, I have seen great progress in science but what surprises me the most are the social changes.
Grandpa and Grandma raised five children to adulthood. Their first child was born in 1915 and the last in 1924. As was common in the times, they lost one child as an infant. The first three were home born and the last three were born in a hospital. Their five children had long term marriages and all had children of their own. However, all five children eventually left the farm and took up other professions.
The sixteen grandchildren began their era in 1939 and the last child was born in 1954. This generation introduced to the family smoking, abortion, divorce, drug use and prison time. The family dealt with the changes and kept moving forward.
More changes happened with the thirty three in the next group of second cousins. Adding to the mix, there were now international marriage, interracial marriage, gay, lesbian and transgender. Through various marriages and adoptions, Asian, Hispanic and Black races were introduced. If there could be a gathering of the entire family, quite a rainbow would be represented. In just four generations, a rural farming family expanded to include quite a variety of occupations, races and gender identifications. What are the changes with the next generations?
347 words
D. Shreve
8/19/2021
Swagerty-Aldrich Family Web Site 