Special Ordinary Homemakers: My Maternal Grandmothers on the Ross Family Side
My maternal great-grandmother, Nora Ethel Painter, was born on July 22, 1890, in Cassville, Barry County, Missouri. Her parents were John Douglas Painter and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Mahala Davenport. She was the second oldest in a family of six children. Cassville is a small town in the Ozarks. 1890, social life revolved around community gatherings, religious activities, and local events. Baseball, which was gaining popularity across the country, was a favorite pastime. This is a cropped photo of Ethel:
The family surprised Ethel with a party for her 16th birthday. The local newspaper reported the event in the hometown news column.
When Ethel was twelve years old, her mother, Lizzie, passed away seven days after giving birth to a baby sister, Dollie. Dollie died four months later. Here is a picture of Lizzie, my 2nd great-grandmother:
Ethel married Daniel Lewis Ross, Sr., on October 20, 1910, in Granby, Missouri. Daniel worked in many occupations, including farming, mining, and truck huckster. A huckster was a farmer who drove into towns selling the produce from his truck. Missouri was primarily an agricultural state, with crops like corn, wheat, and tobacco being major contributors. The state also had a significant lead and zinc mining industry. So, Daniel traveled around the area, working in those occupations.
One
of their children was my maternal grandmother, Belvia Elizabeth Ross. Here’s a
photo of her:
Here’s a family photo of Daniel and Ethel. Belvia is in the middle of the back row, holding my mother, Emma Faye Laney. Also, in this photograph, the woman sitting in the middle of the front row is my second great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth (Hembree) Ross. She was Daniel's mother:
Ethel and Daniel moved to Joplin, Missouri, in 1943 and were members of the Baptist Church. Daniel died in Joplin on September 29, 1961. They had been married for 50 years.
Ethel died on November 13, 1967, at the St. John’s Hospital in Joplin. in Barry, Missouri, when she was 77 years old. She and Daniel are buried in the Horner Cemetery in Barry County, Missouri.
Nora
Ethel lived the life of a homemaker, enjoying the events and women’s social
activities of the day. She, Belvia, Lizzie, and Mary Elizabeth were not famous, they didn't have a high education and pursue notable careers. Their lives were not all high society and grandeur. Still, as we
all know, “Women’s work is never done” tells a story of women
working hard, caring for their family, loving God, and making the best of their
lives. I celebrate all of my grandmothers' lives as remarkable ordinary women during Women’s History Month.
Here are my maternal grandmothers on the Ross/Lewis side of the family:
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