52 Ancestors Week 8 - Heirloom


This week was an easy one for me. There is one heirloom in my possession that was once part of a living person who would turn 125 on the 6th of March this year. In the early 1950′s, (not long after my mother and father married) Mamaw Sophia Ellis Samples gave my mom, Janice Bell (Samples) Gilbert a gift that would be in the family for years to come. She gave her a three-foot-long ponytail that was not to be a keepsake but to sell just in case she needed money for food. Mom cherished this gift and the meaning behind it. She saved the Ponytail, and in the late 1970′s added her own three-foot ponytail. Mom gave me the Ponytails in the late 80′s and to carry on the tradition I added my three-foot ponytail in the late 1990′s.


To my delight, I received a photo of Nancy Bell (McTheny) Ellis (Sophia Ellis Samples’ mother), who on 8 Feb 1865 would have been 153, from my cousin. The photo shows Nancy standing with her long hair flowing.


I have since added in December 2017 another nearly three-foot ponytail to the collection as well as a smaller ponytail from my youngest daughter. I hope one day to pass these ponytails down to her. You never know maybe in thirty to forty years there will be a great-great-granddaughter receiving this once living gift.

Mel before the cut 2016

Nancy Bell McTheny Ellis

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Birch “The Lady of the Woods” wire sculpture


Smokey Quartz & Rutilated Smokey Quartz

A very powerful metaphysical stone, Smokey Quartz emits a high level of energy. Smokey Quartz helps ground the holder with Earth energies and is good for working with the Root and Solar Plexus Chakras. Use Smokey Quartz to absorb and transmute negative energy. Smokey Quartz is also a great stone for pain relief, and helps to prevent healing crises after a strong energy session. Smokey Quartz can help integrate messages and/or spiritual energy received in higher chakras into the lower chakras and anchor expanded consciousness into the physical body. Smokey Quartz works with all of the Chakras, but can specifically focus its energies with the Root and Solar-Plexus Chakras.

Meditating with Smokey Quartz can bring information from other realms into the physical. Many people who work with Smokey Quartz have reported unusual sightings of spiritual entities. Smokey Quartz is great for manifestation programs and grids, and body layouts, due to its slow and methodical way of pulling higher energies down into third dimensional reality.

Smokey quartz is nature's stone of endurance. If you need a extra boost, carry a smokey quartz gemstone with you. It promotes: Personal pride and joy in living, Creativity in business, Opens the path for perception and learning. A stone often used in Attunements, Rutilated Quartz promotes a connection with the Divine. It is a self-contained example of two very synergistic minerals working in combination with each other, where each mineral enhances the energies of the other. Rutilated Quartz is useful for amplifying energies and intention, and is therefore great for programming, meditation, and dream-work.

The fine vibrations from rutilated quartz can easily facilitate the deeper state of mind that is conducive to lucid dreaming and productive meditation sessions. Simply gazing into Rutilated Quartz can bring one into an altered state of consciousness. Programming is the same as it is for Clear Quartz, however the program is amplified even more so in Rutilated Quartz Crystal.
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BIRCH: (Betula spp.) - Long associated with fertility and healing magic, new beginnings, purification, protection, creativity, fertility & birth. It was known as ‘The Lady of the Woods’. Birch twigs were used to bestow fertility on cattle and newlyweds, and children's cradles were made from its wood. Birch is one of the first trees to grow on bare soil and thus it births the entire forest. Criminals were at one time birched to drive out evil influences on them, to renew them for the new year. Birch is an incredibly useful tree - nearly every part of it is edible, and it's sap was an important source of sugar to Native Americans and early settlers. The inner bark provides a pain reliever and the leaves are used to treat arthritis. It's bark was used for everything from paper to canoe hulls, and axe handles were also made from Birch. 

Carefully gather strips of the bark at the New Moon. With red ink, write on a birch strip: "Bring me true love." Burn this along with a love incense, saying "Goddess of love, God of desire, Bring to me sweet passion's fire." The specific name of a god/goddess may be added. Or cast the bark into a stream or other flowing water, saying: "Message of love, I set you free, to capture a love and return to me." ***Remember*** It is unwise to use this incantation and ritual directed toward a specific person as that would violate the rule. If a love is to come to you, it must be of that persons free will to do so.
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Silver:
The color silver has a feminine energy; it is related to the moon and the ebb and flow of the tides - it is fluid, emotional, sensitive and mysterious. It is soothing, calming and purifying.

From a color psychology viewpoint, it signals a time of reflection and a change of direction as it illuminates the way forward. It helps with the cleansing and releasing of mental, physical and emotional issues and blockages as it opens new doors and lights the way to the future. With its reflective and sensitive qualities silver inspires intuition, clairvoyance and mental telepathy. It reflects back any energy given out, whether it is positive or negative. Silver restores equilibrium and stability to both feminine power and spiritual energy. It protects itself from outside negativity, reflecting the energy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 7 : Valentine

I have 15 members that were either born or died on Valentines Day. I know nothing about most of them other than the data that has been found. One family came to mind immediately when I saw this challenge. The family of Minnie (Samples) White her story, what little I know of it, breaks my heart.

 When I was working on adding sources for her family I realized that 3 of the children and her husband all died on the same day. I then decided to look at the death records to see why. I originally thought maybe a car accident or a house fire. I did not expect to find what was on each of the records.

The order of the events is not know by this writer but the outcome is known.

On 14 February 1932 while Minnie was in the hospital after having her 7th child,(1) her husband, Bolton White went home and changed their lives forever. Bolton struck his oldest daughter Louise White ,who at the time was twelve, in the head with a poker fracturing her skull. He then struck, three and a half year old, Hilda White in the head with a poker fracturing her skull. He used a hatchet and struck, five and a half year old, Elen Joan White in the head fracturing her skull. All three girls would die that day from their injuries. He struck eleven year old James White in the head with a hatchet fracturing his skull. James survived the attack but died on March 1, 1932 from complications of a skull fracture. On 14 Feb 1932, Bolton dead by his own hand, from a gunshot to the chest.

I cannot imagine the pain and sorrow Minnie and the surviving children felt. To always have a day which is associated with love become one that would be remembered as the worst day of their life.  I have looked to see if there are any newspaper articles that may help explain why, then I realized even if I found them there would never be an explanation for what went on that day. 

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(1)As told by a family member from William Patterson Samples line to the author

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Ancestors in 52 Weeks

 Week 6 : Favorite Name

This one caused some thought. I don't know if this is a favorite name or just one that I found unusual. I have chosen Salathiel which is the name of my second great grandfather Salathiel Samples Until I started researching my family tree I do not remember ever hearing this name. I remember saying to myself this will make find him easy.

Until this challenge I had never taken the time to look up the name to see where it originated from. Well to my surprise it is from the Bible, 1 Chronicles 3:17–18 and Matthew 1:12 shows that Salathiel, was the son of Jeconiah the king of Judah who is from the line of Solomon. Upon looking for the meaning of the name if any I found that the in Hebrew, the name Shealtiel means, Shə’altî ’Ēl. Loosely translated means "I asked El (for this child)" (1) Other sources show it to mean “Asked or lent of God”.

I find this most interesting. It shows the tradition of using Biblical names for children is long standing. I decided to run a search on WikiTree to see just how many Salathiel’s were there. Much to my surprise there are 193 matches for "Salathiel ". The oldest is Salathiel Bale born about 1692 in Alwington, Devon, England - died in Nov 1733 in Alwington, Devon, England. The youngest was Harvey Salathiel Samples Jr.

It is wonderful how a prompt as open as the ones given for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge can cause you to think so much and look deeper into your Ancestors. I hope everyone is enjoying this challenge I look forward to hearing about your Favorite Name.


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(1)Wikipedia contributors, "Shealtiel," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shealtiel&oldid=817418896) (accessed February 6, 2018).