Margaret Adeline Lemmond

Most of my life, I can honestly say, I've caught myself looking at other people and imagining myself in their shoes. In doing so I have felt, admiration, wonder, disbelief, and astonishment at how so many seem to trudge through life after experiencing so many stressful, heartbreaking times. It serves as a good reminder when I find myself in the thick of it, and I want so desperately to just throw in the towel. I'm reminded of 1 Corinthians 10:13 that tells me I'm not alone in my struggles. Others are struggling too and have in the past and if I will only look to Him who is faithful, I will find strength to endure.  I wonder how many of my ancestors clung desperately to their faith during their struggles and uncertain times. Did they depend on Him for the strength to endure?

In tracing my ancestors I love those who seem to have a story to tell, even if those stories are inferred from what was going on in the world during their lifetime. Like the story of my 4th great grandmother, Margaret Adeline Lemmond.

Margaret was born March 19th 1812, in  Mecklenburg, North Carolina, to James McCullough and Elizabeth (Moore) Lemmond. Both of her parents would die before Margaret was 18 years old. Her father died in 1824 and her mother just five short years later.

At the age of  19, she married Thomas Rutherford, son of  David and Elizabeth (Williamson) Rutherford, on February 27th 1832 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. At that same time he became the guardian of two of her younger siblings.  Not long after their marriage, Thomas and Margaret moved to Union County, Georgia with her siblings and began raising a family. While living in Georgia, Margaret gave birth to 7 of her nine children: William, born 1833; James McCullough, born 1834; Thomas Franklin (my ancestor), born 1836; Elizabeth, born 1838; John Lemmond, born 1840; Robert Walker, born 1842; and David Flynn, born 1844. In 1848 the family moved from Georgia to Tippah County, Mississippi, finally settling in Faulkner, where she gave birth to her youngest two children: Alexander, born 1848; and Mary Ann, born 1850. Eventually her husband, Thomas would own and operate the family mill. I imagine things were going well for this fine family but within the next 10 years the country would become divided and the War Between the States would soon find six of her sons leaving home and joining the war on the side of the Confederacy. I can't not begin to imagine the anxiety this would cause a mother to feel. She must've been in constant prayer and the Lord was gracious because none of her sons were lost to battle, though two of them were captured and taken to the U.S. Military Prison, Rock Island on December 3, 1863. It's amazing that they all survived the war, but even more so that Thomas Franklin and Robert Walker ever survived Rock Island. (You should definitely click on that link to learn more)

Margaret would survive the hardship of a war that took place in her own front yard and the difficult period of the reconstruction. In fact, she lived for another 40 years after the end of the war and 13 after the death of her husband. One son (my ancestor) would leave his home of Tippah, Missouri and move to Texas. She would never lay eyes on him again. And in the course of her final 10  years, she would bury three of her grown sons.  In the picture I have of her above, she looks so tired. I can't imagine all the things those tired eyes had seen. How much she experienced. If I could go back in time and talk to Margaret I wonder what she would say when asked how she did it. Did she endure because she felt like she must, there was just no way around it. In the end was she praying for death because the sorrow of life had become too great.  I wonder was she ever bitter? Or did she endure with silent grace because she was clinging to a greater hope? I imagine her to be human and I'm sure she felt it all at some point. The conclusion I come to is this: How can I live my life better, because of the enduring examples of all the strong women whose blood courses through my veins. When I want to give up in the midst of hard times I can look back and remember that I'm not alone in my struggles. None of us are.  I think it's all summed up best in the book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3--What is happening now has happened before and the same can be said for what will happen in the future. There is a time for everything. Everything has a season and each season has a purpose. I just have to trust that. Finding satisfaction in all of our struggles is said to be a gift from God. And honestly to find a way to live a life satisfied and content has always been a goal of mine.  I think I just found my inspiration in the stories of the women in my past. The women in your past, too, maybe? Take for instance this amazing woman in my SIL's family, Edith Cleo Hubbard, and how the way she lived her life was a source of great comfort and strength for my sister-in-law.

Are there any strong women in your family?

Until next week,
Becky