Have you asked the hard or uncomfortable questions about your female ancestor? Do you ask family members for the stories that are not kind? Have you only heard negative stories about certain family members and wondered why?

Last year I started questioning why the only stories I heard about my great grandmother Bessie were negative. In all the photos I have of her, she is only smiling in one.

I began to wonder what happened to her that may have created those negative stories. Women are often the ones who have to shoulder huge burdens, stresses, and family challenges, and have little to no support. Especially in prior generations. Today, help is available if we ask.

What Did I Discover?

I spoke to a family member again about my great grandma Bessie just to confirm the only stories she had were negative. Then I began diving deeply into my genealogy records to see what I could find. This exploration requires an open mind, open heart, no judgment, and curiosity. It may trigger some hidden wounds or trauma within you as you discover reasons why your female ancestor may have been who she was or carried the energy she did. Bessie’s experiences definitely triggered a few things in me and showed me some patterns we both share. Here are a few things you can do.

• Explore census records in conjunction with vital records and create a timeline of births, deaths, marriages, divorces. What patterns do you notice?

• List traumatic events (personal, cultural, religious, and collective like war). How did these events specifically impact your ancestor? How much time elapsed between major trauma events?

• List accidents, family deaths, major community or family changes, health issues, etc. How might those events have affected your ancestor?

• What special gifts (Clairs, energy gifts, psychic gifts, healer, midwife, witch, etc.) did your female ancestor have? Did she have to hide those gifts? Was she persecuted for having those gifts?

• What about loss and grief? Did your female ancestor lose children? Siblings? Grandchildren? What were the circumstances?

As you begin to ask different questions, you will learn a lot more about your female ancestors and yourself. Are you ready to heal?

Explore Your Female Ancestor

Are you ready to take a deeper dive into your family history? Specifically to look at women? You are invited to take my webinar at the Ancestral Souls Wisdom School, Why Was Grandma So Mean? Even if your female ancestor wasn’t “mean”, you can replace that with any family labels placed on her. Crazy, weird, strange, the religious one, the scary one, the super happy one, etc.,

Can I Help With Your Research & Writing Projects

If you need help with your WWI – Vietnam research projects or writing projects, I am taking new clients. You can email me at [email protected] to set up a phone call to discuss your projects and what’s possible.

© 2022 Ancestral Souls Wisdom School