BIG SISTER (by Jo Ellen, Robyn and Martha)

Edith and my mother, summer 1948

(Martha) When I was a little girl, my big sister, Edith, was just the mother of my best friends. A necessary thing for them, but only indirectly important to me. Despite that, I was aware of her importance to my father and mother. Daddy’s love for her was very evident in his voice when he spoke of her, and in his concern for her happiness and well-being. As for Mama, I recently came across an entry in her diary after a visit from Edith: “Edith has left, and now I suppose life will go back to being dull again.”

Family at Alm's Place, Polson, Montana

(Jo) When I was growing up I thought of Edith as one of the "grown ups", more on the level of Mama and Nonie and Daddy, than as my sister. I remember thinking she was very beautiful and I was proud of her. However I do remember feeling worried and sorry for her when she got all her teeth pulled out and I was very relieved when she got her false teeth and looked like herself again. We thought of her kids more as our brothers and sisters and looked forward to the adventures we'd have when they'd come to visit. However, I remember Daddy having to take us aside to instruct us on how to treat children younger than we were. I'm sure we deserved the talking to, but I also remember how cute we thought Becky and Lance were. I paired up with Terry, Robyn with Linda, and Martha with Robbie. We missed them when they'd leave and life became boring again.

Family at Alm's

(Robyn) In age, I am one month younger than Terry and a year older than Linda, so growing up, Edith was always very much my tall, beautiful, soft-spoken adult sister. I was always very happy when she visited and brought my best friends to be with me again.

(Jo) One of the funnest days in my memory was visiting Edith’s family when they were living near Corvallis. We hadn't seen them for some time and it was so good to be together again. There were huge rocks in the meadows near their home and we had such a lovely time that day running and hiding and playing guns. They had guns with caps! (Martha: Sixty years later, I still look for those big rocks on the hillside when I drive up Willow Creek where they lived!)

(Robyn) From my vantage point, I knew that she could be very queenly in her bearing but there were eyes in the back of her head and retribution to mischief-makers was swift. In fact she had a certain tone to her voice in getting after her kids that reminded me very much of Daddy, and I used to practice it in private hoping for the same results.

(Martha) During our teenage years, we didn’t get to see a lot of Edith and her family. They lived in Utah, we lived in Montana, and none of us did much traveling. When Daddy got sick and ended up in the hospital in Salt Lake, Edith was there to visit him and was a wonderful support to him and to Mama.

(Jo) It wasn't until I was married that I appreciated Edith for the wonderful sister that she was. I had gone to Salt Lake to visit for a week or two. I spent some of the time in the homes of various friends, but had reserved the last three or so days to spend at Edith's. When I finally got to Edith’s home, it was like stepping into another world. The children were respectful! That was what impressed me the most; they were respectful and they had manners! The kids were all quiet in the house, didn't jump on the furniture, weren't fighting with each other. They were obedient! They didn't talk back to their mother. They weren't rude to each other. It was like they had had the same upbringing I had! There was such a stark contrast from the other homes I had been visiting! I was now looking at things from the point of view of an adult, not a teenager out to have fun.

Jo, Robyn, Martha, Edith, Rosemary

Edith and I had a lovely time those days that I spent with her. We talked about all kinds of things. We agreed on everything. She took me to her pottery class and I got to make something—I don't remember what. I had never tasted yogurt and she bought me some. She was a good cook and we had yummy things to eat. When it was time to go she gave me some really pretty material that I later made into a dress for Katie.

So, that was the beginning of my relationship with Edith truly as my sister, and I am so thankful for her. She has stood in the gap for me: she was there when I couldn't be for Katie when Katie had her first baby. She (and Kay) were in the temple with Clarence when he got married and I couldn't be. We've enjoyed many visits and long talks on the phone. She's given me good advice. There have been times when I've so missed my parents and wished they were here to turn to for advice, and then I've thought of my sister Edith. We've gone on never-to-be-forgotten trips together. Now it's not just her kids that make life seem more adventurous, but I treasure the adventures I've shared with her too!!! I'm so grateful. Thank you Edith!

(Martha) I lived in Utah for three years after I was married, and those three years were mostly spent getting to know my new family, but just knowing that Edith was there helped me to feel not so alone. I, too, spent time in other homes and when I went to see Edith, it felt like going home. I’ve turned to Edith when a situation arose that I didn’t know what to do with. She always has the ability to restore peace to my heart. It has been delightful, in recent years, to share our love of genealogy and stories of our ancestors. Trips to Scotland and Canada with Edith were so much fun! And then, of course, we can’t forget the games of Shanghai Rummy . . . .

Sisters in Scotland -- we look like we're up to something!

(Robyn) When we went to Scotland, Edith and I were walking arm in arm one day through the gardens of a beautiful mansion there. I love gardens and I was thinking as we walked that maybe I wouldn’t have minded being a serf in those long-ago ages if I could have worked in the gardens. And then Edith said, “Can’t you just imagine yourself as the mistress of this estate?”

(Martha) Several years ago, my daughter, Rachel, had the opportunity to ride to Salt Lake with Edith. Rachel joined my family when she was a teenager so she didn’t know my sister, but by the end of the trip, she had fallen in love with “Aunt Edith”.

(Robyn) One winter I brought my quiet little granddaughter with me through a snow storm to visit. Edith immediately made her feel at home by her pleasant courtesy and genuine interest, gave her tea and talked to her about books; then sent her home with a tea cup of her choice and one of her beautiful hand-painted boxes — fixing that visit in a shy little girl’s mind as never-to-be-forgotten.

We love our sister Edith!

A GIFT FROM OUR ANCESTORS

I love this picture of Daddy and his siblings! The old Model T Ford with chains on the tires, the work clothes, the mud, and the bunkhouse behind them say life is  hard work; yet, judging by the grins on their faces, they know how to take the good with the bad and enjoy life as it comes. Is that what the French call joie de vivre? Is it a trait in our family? If it is, where did it come from? What ancestors blessed some of us with that ‘enjoyment of life’?

I’ve been working my way through my DNA matches in Ancestry — 37,969 matches at the moment, and more being added all the time! All people that are related to me! I haven’t made much progress compared to the number of matches, but here are just a few interesting things  I’ve observed:

· First of all, thanks to the fact that Edith and Gary have a different mother than I do, it’s fairly easy to differentiate between my maternal and paternal DNA matches. I have jillions of close matches on my mother’s side; but on Daddy’s side, there’s Jo and Robyn, Edith, then some of Edith and Gary’s children and grandchildren. It's only when I get to distant cousins that I start seeing more relatives on Daddy’s line.

· As of this date, I have marked 559 DNA matches on my paternal side.

· Not counting Daddy’s descendants, twenty-one of these matches can be traced to a common ancestor — I know how they’re related. The rest of the 559 either have no tree or I can’t make the connection. It’s not easy to find a common ancestor beyond four generations back!

· So far, 71 of my matches share with me the ethnic community of “Scottish Lowlands, Northern England and Northern Ireland”. Hello, Scotts, Riddells, Elliotts, and Armstrongs . . . .

· A whopping 275 matches share with me the ethnic community of “Southwestern Quebec, New York and Vermont French Settlers”! And these matches and their ancestors are all over the map of North America — from the St. Lawrence River area down into New England and on south — clear down to the Gulf States! Anyone familiar with Longfellow’s poem “Evangeline” and the story of the Acadians? Those French people really got around!

Several years ago, I bought, for my library, a set of books about different cultures in America. One of them was titled French Americans. I think one of the reasons I got it was because of the picture on the front of the book. It reminded me, somehow, of Daddy and his brothers. I see the same look in some of Grandma Scott’s brothers, the Elliotts. There is something about their bearing and the twinkle in their eyes that I don’t see in the Scott-Riddell relatives. And I started wondering — that twinkle in the eye, the cheery smile, the rakish tilt of the hat — the look of joie de vivre  — is that a gift from Great-grandma Jane Laprade and her French forebears?

The Elliott Brothers