Prosperity, Spirituality, & Relatives

I spent some time last night talking to a 3rd cousin once removed about family history.  It was quite interesting though disturbing to think that some valuable materials collected by our common ancestor and genealogist had likely been destroyed when he died.  It appears there was no immediate family member interested in it and nobody knows what happened to years of research.  Joe (this relative) had been in contact with both myself and my great aunt Mary.  Tom (the 3rd cousin) lives in Tampa, FL and he was anxious to make a connection after he found my pedigree on Ancestry.com.  We both hoped the other might know something about the missing manuscripts!  But, alas, it is not to be.  We'll keep searching but don't hold a lot of hope for this.  Knowing how the vultures sweep in when someone dies, discarding what they do not consider valuable, and hearing that his son was aware of ill feelings in the siblings it would not surprise me.  The sisters apparently took over and he guesses either out of spite or ignorance, did not concern themselves with the genealogical material he had spent a lifetime collecting, including letters from relatives long since dead.

I did find a new cousin through this and fellow family history zealot.  I just haven't had time for several years to touch this work.  Natalie has been doing all that has been done recently.  There is never enough time for everything we want to do.  And when am I going to clean this house?  It's going to take a miracle for me to find time to add this hobby back into my life.  That's the reason it was dropped to begin with.  You just can't do it all.

I feel I have failed Joe.  He did all this research and now that he is dead I haven't researched him and submitted for temple work.  So on Friday I get this prompting to find Joe Owens.  It was strong and I even wrote it on my white board:  "find Joe Owens" under "Sunday".  That was because on Friday and Saturday I was too busy with Easter stuff.  Sunday was a good day to "find" him and follow up.  Then, I get this email from the cousin, Tom asking specifically about Joe Owens.  This is no coincidence.  Guess I need to get  back to work on this.

I have been told that prosperity is coming to me - sounds good to me!  Read the post title for an interesting article on this subject.

Recorded in a journal...

I attended the open house for the new Church History Library and it was fascinating to see the technology for preservation of documents, storage, and the many materials for our use and education.  The Story Lives Here video shown to visitors to explain why we keep the records and how they are obtained can be viewed now here.  It tells a brief and moving story of Joseph Millet who recorded it in his journal.  This film recently won an Aegis video and film production award and also a Gold Plaque in the public relations category at the INTERCOM International Communications Media Competition presented by the Chicago International Film Festival.  See DesNews for article. 

In the Aegis awards, entries are judged against a set standard, rather than by direct comparison to others. "The Story Lives Here" was one of 63 winners out of about 2,100 applicants. The INTERCOM award presented by the Chicago International Film Festival recognizes creativity in the nontheatrical dimensions of film-making.

The library is more than a repository of church history.  It is a safe haven for many stories about people.

One of my best spent 12 1/2 minutes - April 1906

OK, for clarification purposes - I was not there :) It just felt like it!

Just before the disastrous earthquake and fire in San Francisco.

Photos from the fire/earthquake. Click the photo to see more on 60 Minutes' site.

Remembering a pioneer

With my dad in ICU for serious infection and complications of pancreatitis, we are remembering pioneers today. On my dad's side of the family we have several pioneer ancestors. I came upon a site written about William Fowler, author of We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet. Click here to read more about this man.

When we went to the Manti pageant this year as a family, we were able to see his grave marker, along with that of his wife. He has a large monument erected later by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. I read here about the unveiling and that family members were not present. It's too bad most of the family probably did not know about it. Thanks to the internet, it's easier now to find people. We enjoyed checking out the cemetery and remembering our ancestors this year.

We are praying that my dad can completely recover from this illness. We know it is critical at this point and in the Lord's hands.

Below is the marker placed by the DUP in the Manti Cemetery. He died at the very young age of 35! The small marker on the left is his wife, Ellen Bradshaw Fower (Bench) who is my direct ancestor by blood; William Fowler by sealing (her first husband). She died young as well. Those were hard times and no ICUs. Still, there is a limit to what man can do.

Fascinating Family History Storage and Technology

Click post title where Renee's blog has part Three, Nine Island Disaster, and how the Granite Vault restored their historical documents.

New Family History Center

The Riverton FamilySearch Library will consolidate 24 closings of local family history centers in the valley. 

The new library will have 127 patron computers, multiple training rooms, a large auditorium and a collection of microfilm. Patrons will have access to subscription genealogy sites, such as Ancestry.com, that would not be available at a smaller family history center.  Open house will be mid-June.  I didn't see a listing here of which libraries will close, but Riverton would not help me:)  I'm close enough to downtown but I don't seem to get much time to go there.  This should be helpful for those in the south valley.

Genealogy week

In Salt Lake, all kinds of genealogists from all over the globe are flooding the city for conferences (BYU Familyu History Conference and National Genealogical Society Conference).  In addition there are displays to view and you don't have to be a conference participant.  Check it out here.

New show worth watching

Update: See DesNews article on how this and other shows have given genealogy another push.

This Friday, March 5 at 8/7c on NBC - will be the premier of a new show, Who Do You Think You Are. See the trailer here. Not just for family history buffs. I may have to skip dancing on Friday nights for this - not that I've been doing it much lately anyway...

Want to spread the word to your friends? Click here to see some ideas.Today's deal...

If you have a PC and want a free genealogy program, Roots Magic is offering their basic program with many of the features of the paid version. It's a good way to get started with your family history. Click the link with their name to download it. I wish I could get a good one for my iMac. Surely as more users switch to the Big Apple, someone will deliver, right?

Family History Month

Click the post title for some ideas to commemorate and preserve history.

From days past...

Ken found his grandma's house (current-day photo) in Brooker, FL on Google Maps. Ken has lots of memories of this place and he sent it to us for preservation for posterity! Cool!
This is the first house my parents owned. We had five kids living there (two bedrooms, no basement) and the room you see to the left was the garage when we were there. Apparently subsequent owners converted it into living space. I remembered it as either green or grey in color but I found the old photo below and sure enough, it was green. I remember playing here and even some of the neighbors. We moved from here in November of my first grade year in school so I was almost seven (with four younger sibs!). Now the area is kind of a run-down neighborhood. The house was sure small and there was no A/C, one bathroom, two bedrooms.
As it was when we lived there. the dog's name was Rusty. I remember the night he was hit by a car and killed. I was in the bathtub when they told us.
Our house looked better in its day. I'm on the left and Carolyn on the right. It was a classic post WWII starter home.

O Pioneer!

I learned when doing some family history that I have lots of "Mormon Pioneer" ancestors, as well as some other adventurous souls who joined the westward migration later on for various reasons. It was interesting to me to learn about this. Since I wasn't actually encouraged to be active in the church when I was growing up and these stories had never been told to me, it was all new and amazing. I wish I had more than just what I can find in genealogical research. How great it would be to have the stories passed down. It was on my dad's side and he just wasn't into it. We didn't spend much time with my paternal grandparents so I didn't get the stories from them, even though they were responsible for my being baptized a member of the church. When I started spending Saturdays at their house to help with housework, it was only after my grandmother had had a stroke and we didn't talk much. I was also quite shy around them - the result of spending so little time there. Now, I really regret not having known about these ancestors and asking questions!

The pioneers include one from the Martin Handcart company and one from the Willie Handcart company (both of which were the ill-fated, late-traveling groups in 1856). There were others in regular wagon companies who fared better, though one became ill enough he never completely recovered and died of tuberculosis at about 35 years of age.

The first is Sarah Emily Wall who traveled in the Willie company. She was 16 and her brother, Joseph Laban. about 18 when they came from England alone. They have a fascinating story which includes triumph over travails and tragedy along the way. Such stamina and bravery is hard to imagine. Perhaps their youth was on their side, but they had to go it alone regardless and rely on each other. Sarah Emily (called Emily) married one of her rescuers about three years after their arrival in the Great Salt Lake valley. He proposed right away but while waiting for permission from her parents (the letter had to travel to and from England by letter/ship), William Michael Cowley was called to serve a mission in California for three years. She waited and married him on his return.
Sarah's brother Joseph settled in the town they came to call Wallsville, later renamed Venice, Utah.
Paul Gourley and his family also suffered much in the Martin company. They lost family members, burying a baby in Nebraska. Another child's toes had to be amputated after freezing in the "gunnysack makeshift shoes." I have his story too, part of the tragic emigration. I understand there is a statue of tribute to these pioneers that represents his family, located in the Sons of the Utah Pioneer building in SLC. Some day I have got to get there to see it!

William Fowler, who wrote We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet, also emigrated with his young family from England. Becoming ill from sleeping under the wagon at night with exposure to the elements while he was ill apparently exacerbated a tuberculosis infection. They were called to settle in San Pete county and he became so ill he could not teach so his wife, Ellen, took over the duties, caring for him, their home, children and teaching school for the community. They were destitute when he died way too soon at 35. Ellen had left a well-to-do family in England but she dared not suggest to them how needy she was since they had opposed her joining the church.
These are a couple of the stories that were recorded. I wish I knew more of them all. (And I wish I had more time to further explore the ones I know). They truly are worthy of the recognition they get on this day in Utah.

Becky Thomas wrote a very nice story about her family pioneers. Anyone who branches out to brave the new world they are led to is a pioneer. It's nice the here in Utah we get to have a "Pioneer Day" and acknowledge sacrifices made by people who came to know God in their affliction. Click here or on the post title to read it.

An article about "This is the Place" actual location can be found here. There is a marker for the actual place which is a little bit away from the famous monument honoring the occasion.

There is a "Brigham's Family Ball" at This is the Place Historic Park on Saturday. It sounds really fun in the style of early pioneer recreation with dancing (including instruction) and entertainment for the whole family. Tickets are only available online. I assume they want a count for food. It's held on the plaza so should be pretty nice!

National Nurse Week

"ST. MARK'S/WESTMINSTER COLLEGE SCHOOL OF NURSING ~
In April 1, 1894, the St. Mark's Hospital Board of Directors authorized the establishment of the first Official Nurses Training School in the Intermountain Region. Mary Edith Newitt was employed as Superintendant of the Training School. The first nurse to come to the school was Miss Anna Stair. Of a class of twelve, only four were graduated. Anna Stair, Ethel Newitt, Florence Bowler and Hattie Durfee. This was a two year program..." (From plaque at corner of St. Mark's Hospital property 3900 S 1300 E)

One reason I have enjoyed nursing as a career (26 years now!) is because it offers much variety, within a single career. I have worked pediatrics, med-surg, psych, postpartum, newborn nursery in the hospital setting. I have also worked in Head Start as a school nurse for the Health and Nutrition aspect of the program. I have worked in a child and adolescent outpatient psych setting as well as a walk-in emergency clinic. In public health I have worked in Epidemiology, TB and Reproductive Health. I am currently a nurse case manager.

The other reason I have enjoyed this career is because it is a "people" job. I do a lot of patient education and consulting so sometimes I'm a teacher. I do a lot of listening and referral for people with challenges so sometimes I'm a social worker or psychologist. I diagnose (though unofficially because this is not actually part of my scope of practice) when someone I know wants my take on things so my kids call me "Dr. Mom". I spend a lot of time on computers in databases, blogs and online searches so I've learned new skills. I consult in a medical online community as well so I earn some extra mad money in my "spare time". I try to help, and advocate for, the uninsured and am politically active in trying to push for health care reform.

How many careers can boast such a broad variety? If I get bored or just want to try something new, I can. I would recommend this to anyone interested in a rewarding service-oriented occupation. There are almost always jobs available, though they may not be exactly what I want at the time. Shift work gets old but the tradeoffs are worth it.

I have mentioned before that my paternal grandmother was an RN, trained in the St. Mark's Hospital School of Nursing - graduated in 1915. My niece, Michelle, is also an RN. I have a granddaughter who is fascinated by the idea. We'll see what happens....

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Genealogy Project

The LDS Church FamilySearch program helps people all over the world, regardless of religious orientation, to find their ancestors. In 2006 a huge volunteer indexing program was started and thanks to the help of thousands of volunteers who give as much time as they can spare, without any minimum expectation, to the project. This makes searching easier and more accurate. Anyone with access to the internet can participate in this huge volunteer effort. It allows indexing so particular names can be found within documents using search features. IndexingFamilySearch will show you how to become a volunteer. Click the post title for more information about this cool activity you can do in your jammies!

Women's History Month

I guess my nursing roots come out at this time of year ~ family history and women's history. My paternal grandmother, Clara Bench (Madsen) graduated from the St.Mark's College of Nursing, class of 1915 if I recall correctly. There's a great photo of the class hanging at the hospital, taken from a book I came across once while working there. I have not been able to locate a copy to purchase, though I would gladly do so. It was published as part of a commemoration/reunion effort by Westmister College School of Nursing" and was written primarily by Lottie Felkner, R.N. In following this tradition, I graduated with my RN degree in 1983 and my niece, Michelle, earned hers in 1999. So, we have carried on a family tradition for almost a century now.

Martha Hughes Cannon ~ Photo courtesy Utah State Historical Society Digital Photo collection.

To commemorate women's history month, here are some insights about a few of Utah's healthcare pioneers. It turns out women have been active caregivers, teachers and policymakers since their early entry into the valley. Of course midwifery was absolutely essential!

In January 1868, LDS Church President, Brigham Young said,"The time has come for women to come forth as doctors in these valleys." He found the notion of male obstetricians treating Mormon women disquieting. His 10th wife agreed:

"We want sister physicians that can officiate in any capacity that the gentlemen are called upon to officiate," said Eliza Roxey Snow Smith Young, "and unless they educate themselves the gentlemen that are flocking in our midst will do it."

Patty Sessions, Early Midwife (photo courtesy sedgwickresearch.com)

From Historytogo.utah.gov: A few Mormon women already had remarkable medical careers. Patty Bartlett Sessions, famous as the "Mother of Mormon Midwifery," delivered 3,997 babies in her career--and lost few of them.

Swiss convert Nette Anna Furrer Cardon graduated as a physician from Geneva Hospital and later studied at Leipzig and Constantinople before crossing the plains in 1856.

Women founded their first formal medical organization in Utah in 1851 as the Female Council of Health. It met at least twice a month at the home of Brigham Young's first mother-in-law.

At October conference in 1873, Brigham Young announced he was sending Utah women to eastern universities to train as physicians. Some of the most remarkable women in the territory answered the call, and the next fall Romania Pratt, widow of Apostle Parley P. Pratt, enrolled in the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. Ellis Shipp joined her in 1875, working her way through school as a seamstress until graduation in 1883.

Her story: Ellis set out for Philadelphia on 10 November 1875, leaving behind her three small children in the care of her three sister-wives while she attended medical school on the advice of Brigham Young.

Despite financial difficulties and some doubts about her ability to complete the degree, Ellis passed her first-year examinations and returned home to Utah. She returned for her second year, pregnant and without money. By taking sewing jobs and guarding the hall of cadavers at night she earned enough to cover her tuition and living expenses. Her sixth child, a daughter, was born in the spring of her second year in Philadelphia, and mother and child did not return to Utah until after her third year, when she graduated with high honors and a Doctor of Medicine degree.

Back home in Utah, Ellis established her own practice and during her career delivered more than 5,000 children. The School of Nursing and Obstetrics, which she founded in 1879, trained five hundred women who became licensed midwives. She continued her study of medicine with graduate courses at the University of Michigan Medical School in 1893. Her medical career lasted more than fifty years and she continued to teach obstetrics classes into her eighties.

Photo: Dr. Ellis Reynolds Shipp, for whom Utah's Ellis R. Shipp Community Health Center was named. (Daughters of the Utah Pioneers & http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/chft/chft-31-35.htm)

Romania Pratt (Penrose) ran a school of obstetrics for 20 years as a resident physician at the Deseret Hospital. Shipp trained nurses and midwives throughout the territory and gave birth to 10 children of her own, four of whom died in infancy.

Martha Hughes Cannon continued Young's tradition and studied medicine at the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania. Her degree from the National School of Elocution and Oratory helped her become the first woman state senator in the U.S. in 1896.

Martha Hughes Cannon, for whom Utah's Cannon Health Building was named.

Photos: Deseret News Archives & Utah Historical Society website

From an early age "Mattie" desired to study medicine, and worked to that end as a schoolteacher and typesetter while attending the University of Deseret. After her graduation with a degree in chemistry in 1875, she attended the medical school at the University of Michigan from 1878 to 1881, graduating as a physician at the age of 23, and practiced medicine for a short time in Algonac, Michigan.

Photo taken in 1880 - the year she became a doctor. Photo courtesy Utah Historical Society Digital Collection.

In 1882 Martha earned a B.S. from the Auxiliary School of Medicine (Pharmacy, where she was the only woman among a class of 75) from the University of Pennsylvania, and received a diploma from the National School of Elocution and Oratory. After graduation Mattie returned to Salt Lake City where she was resident physician at the fledgling Deseret Hospital from 1882 to 1886.
Mattie practiced medicine in Salt Lake and taught nursing courses from the age of 25. After leaving the legislature she served as a member of the Utah Board of Health and as a member of the board of the Utah State School for the Deaf and Dumb. (Utah History to Go)

Doctors Cannon and Shipp were two professional women who were instrumental in warning of contaminated water and other issues of sanitation. Dr. Shipp and a sister began publishing, in 1888, the Salt Lake Sanitarian, a health journal, in which were articles on disinfection, drinking water, and industrial hazards, especially in relation to tuberculosis.

Trivia: Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in the U.S. to receive a medical degree. She received her MD from the Medical Institution of Geneva, New York, in 1849.

Want to read more?
USU's Special Collections: "Early History of Medicine in Utah and Cache Valley," by Dr. S.M. Budge, "Frontier Health Care," Utah HSA Report, February 1978; Medicine and the Mormons, Divett ; "Heroes and Horse Doctors," Dr. Richard Daines, Rocky Mountain Medicine, Shikes; Medicine in the West,Breeden; Encyclopedia of Plagues and Pestilence, Kohn; A Half Century of Public Health, Ravenel; Utah: The Struggle for Statehood and Utah History Encyclopedia. See also: Cannon

Googling Family History

Need a hobby? Genealogy is the fastest growing hobby in North America according to About.com. Read also here.

One of the fun things about it is it can connect you with cousins you never knew you had from all over the world. I have a friend who now has a Swedish cousin she corresponds with. Since discovering him a couple of years ago, she has visited there once, planning another trip, and he has come here. She cherishes her new-found friend/relative. The common link of roots is a powerful connector. We enjoy Facebook and other social networking sites that hook us up with long-lost friends and relatives. That's kind of what genealogy does in connecting you with others. And if these folks share your interest in learning about their earlier ancestors, you will have a comrade in your search, as well as someone to rejoice with you in your success. Family history is not a private thing. It is best shared, grown and enjoyed with others on the same "tree" - or at least a neighboring branch.

If you want to find your local Family History Center (free resources and availability of search tools, programs, microfilms of the same records available in SLC), click here.

Computers have made it so much easier. It used to be an expensive and time-consuming hobby for slow results but now, we can have almost instant success, we can "talk" to our relatives through IM, email and social networks and we don't have to buy stamps. We can read and print actual copies of documents, including census records that tell you where your relatives lived, their family make up and other facts.

If you're interested in finding your roots, or expanding the ones you've already found, click on the post title to learn about using Google Groups for online genealogy. This is one way to join with others in your research.

Go here for some tips on Google searches. (Click the word)

The Family History library in Salt Lake is the largest of its kind in the wold and receives 2,400 visitors a day. There's nothing like seeing something about your ancestor in print, but if you never make it to SLC or another family history center, it is estimated that within the next decade or two the whole library will be available online. Thousands of volunteers help to index and digitalize information. Everyone can help in this project. People who have just a few minutes a day have volunteered to do some lists. Natalie has participated in this project. You sign up, then they send documents for you to enter as you interpret them (like census records). You enter it and two others are given the same record. Once submitted, they are electronically checked and if all three readers agree, they are accepted; if there is discrepency, it goes to a handwriting specialist who determines the name and enters it. So, you don't need to be overly concerned if you have trouble deciphering an "f" or "s". Click here to volunteer for this online service to genealogy.

Even if you don't want to search your own roots, please participate in this project to help make records more accessible to all. This is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as part of Family Search but volunteers come from all walks of life and religion (or lack of). There is no minimum time commitment and if you don't like it, you don't have any obligation to continue. Click index for mor information.

A few other sites worth mentioning: wiki.familysearch.org, rootstelevision.com (share videos)

Of course you can begin your own search easily at familysearch.org.

Now if someone would just write a good (and competitively priced) family history program for my Mac! If you're on a PC, you have lots of options if you want to get started and store all your information which can be exchanged with others through Gedcom files. I have enjoyed Legacy, but RootsMagic and Family Tree Maker both appear good. I just haven't personally used them. It looks like Reunion is my only choice for Mac and I've heard it's not that great and costs more. At the Family History fairs the others are promoted at good prices. Without competition, Reunion doesn't have to discount!

Family History Fair

Today Natalie and I are off to the day-long Family History Fair. I've been going for years and it's one of the not-so-secret best bargains around. $10 includes a sack lunch and a large syllabus. When I was teaching family history, the syllabus was my manual with lots of good lesson ideas so I always got my money's worth. Now, if I could just get time to do that family history....

After the fair... I'm frustrated because I learned today that Ancestry offered a great special last week at the St.George family history fair, but they didn't offer it here. And, my subscription is up for renewal. It's just not fair!

I did get the needed shot in the arm and I'm excited at the ever-changing new developments in technology. Now if I could just get a good genealogy software program for my Mac. Meanwhile, the new stuff at familysearch.com is worth checking out and will keep me busy for a while. They are also currently redesigning and they assure us the new site will be available soon with even more features. Oh, if only I didn't have to go to work! FamilySearch

I'll share some more later but right now I'm on my way to the first session of conference.

Common Sense Prevails

(Photo by Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)

The Utah Supreme Court ruled sensibly in an ongoing issue about a Pleasant Grove City public park's long-standing monument displaying the Ten Commandments. Another group (who believe in the "big bang" theory) believed they needed to be allowed equal space for their own monument in the name of free speech. The court has upheld that the city does not have to oblige and can choose what they allow to be added to the park space. A contrary ruling could have resulted in all kinds of junk monuments being forced in the name of free speech.

We should be able to preserve our heritage, the foundations of our nation and communities, even when public sentiment shifts and opposition raises its head, trying to make everything "equal." Can you imagine opening up the parks to anyone wanting to erect any monument because at one time, a religious or historical marker was placed there? What would happen to our historic sites if we had to go in and alter them to fit today's opinions and political climate. When we visit Boston and see the sites of the Witch Trials and the stocks where public humiliation occurred, would this need to be replaced to reflect the way things are today? Do we need to allow modern-day Nazis equal time to display their beliefs alongside our monuments in Washington D.C.?

I have a problem with people trying to change history - even in history books. It was what it was and regardless of how it is now, it shaped who we are now and should not be colored by current political correctness. Did we as a nation mistreat African Americans - of course we did. We should be ashamed of it and people should know it happened and learn from it. Likewise we should remember those in concentration (death) camps in WWII and learn from them.

I believe these monuments in the park also tell our story and this history should be preserved. I know some communities have caved to public pressure and removed anything with reference to God, which has become the new four-letter word, unless it's used in vain - then it is socially acceptable along with other now popular and embraced profanity. TV and movies are full of it but you won't hear much mention of God in a reverent way because that just wouldn't be right. Have we ever deteriorated as a society. Many parents aren't even teaching their children to avoid swearing - I guess they're afraid of looking like hypocrites. There are many children who would not even understand the "soap in the mouth" scene of A Christmas Story. I shudder to think what the future holds in this regard. Respect is hard to come by anyway - how will the children learn to respect others and to be respectable?

Beautiful African American Women

A newspaper once said of Sojourner Truth, "Sojourner Truth is too well known to need any endorsements." She lectured for abolition and racial justice, and also for women's rights. She was one of the best known African American women of the 19th century.
Click the post title to be taken to a link for some photos of African American women around 1900. I found them to be incredible. This is black history month so I encourage you to take a look at the feminine side.

I found a good article in Meridian that gives the author's favorite books about African Americans. Check it out: Booklist

44th President of the U.S.

Oath of Office
(Photo from Deseret News)
Presidential steps...

Changing of the guard...
First Family
(Photos from KSL.com)
At work I have a remarkable leader (Director of the Department) who encouraged us all to watch the inaugural proceedings since it is such a historical occasion. I appreciated the opportunity and enjoyed President Obama's speech. I pray for his safety, his wisdom and his abilities, for the support and help of all Americans and for a dissolution of bipartisan politics as we have known it to become. I pray for a desire for righteousness that is the only way back to a united nation. I hope President Obama will go down in history as one of the greats who was able to make a real difference.

May this be a new beginning of patriotism, hope, love and peace.

Click on the post title for Meridian's wish for the new President. If you missed the speech you can catch it here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22887392#28738177

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 2:15 pm

A National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation

Moments ago, in his first official act since taking the oath of office, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation, calling on Americans to serve one another and our common purpose on this National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation. Check it out below, or read it on the WhiteHouse.gov proclamations page.

NATIONAL DAY OF RENEWAL AND RECONCILIATION, 2009

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

As I take the sacred oath of the highest office in the land, I am humbled by the responsibility placed upon my shoulders, renewed by the courage and decency of the American people, and fortified by my faith in an awesome God.

We are in the midst of a season of trial. Our Nation is being tested, and our people know great uncertainty. Yet the story of America is one of renewal in the face of adversity, reconciliation in a time of discord, and we know that there is a purpose for everything under heaven.

On this Inauguration Day, we are reminded that we are heirs to over two centuries of American democracy, and that this legacy is not simply a birthright -- it is a glorious burden. Now it falls to us to come together as a people to carry it forward once more.

So in the words of President Abraham Lincoln, let us remember that: "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 20, 2009, a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation, and call upon all of our citizens to serve one another and the common purpose of remaking this Nation for our new century.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

Abigail Adams

Some quotes by this great woman of history:

“I've always felt that a person's intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting points of view he can entertain simultaneously on the same topic.”

“We have too many high-sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.”

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.”

“Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of husbands. Remember all men would be tyrants if they could.”

“Wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great virtues.”