My First Grandmothers-Settlers of Kentucky



They came in search of religious freedom.

They endured the long cold winters.

They worked beside their men toiling

in the fields. They mourned their

children as they died from disease.

They left most all their wordly possessions

as they traveled by wagon trains to the

Kaintuck territory. They buried their

loved ones on the dangerous trails.

They alone fought the Indians when

their husbands were gone. They survived

and they thrived because they loved.



I live today because they gave all.

I have never been persecuted because

of my religious beliefs. I have never

known hunger or famine. I have not

buried a loved one due to lack of

medical care. I have never worked

in the fields from sunup to sundown.

I reap the benefits from those

who gave all. I cherish this earth

soaked in the blood and tears of many

generations before me. I breathe the

air of freedom. I love because they

so loved me and I hope I pass it on.



Credits:

Hope Spring Eternal Page set by Rina Kroes and

Portrait Miniatures by Rina Kroes (the oval framed portrait) - both available from Scrapbook-Elements.



The image of the women quilting and the Pioneer Women Book Cover were found via Google search.

The cabin is the settlement of John Phelps, one of the earliest Phelps in Kentucky, and the other women are grandmothers of mine. The Musick's are ancestors of mine from my Mothers side, and I used this image of the historical marker because so many of my first grandparents who came to Kentucky were killed and/or scalped by Indians.