This perfect weekend is almost over.

I did not have a big expensive party, or dinner or even go anywhere. I stayed home, in my mountain house, all weekend with Lexie, my buddy and sweet friend. We had no visitors and no long phone calls with family or friends. For these two days I was totally mindful, as I understand it.

I did only what brought me joy. 
Listening to the rain and distant thunder gave me a peaceful feeling. Watching the leaves of the oak trees so close to my window as they danced in the wind, wet with the precious rain, made me smile.

Lying on my sofa watching a history-based story with period costumes on my TV with Lexie curled up in the circle made by my knees and the back of the sofa opened my heart and filled it with gratitude for all I have.

Waking in the early morning in my own bed, knowing I could sleep for awhile longer if I wished, with no pressure to get up and do something. What a blessing that is. No one needs me to do anything I don't want to do. I can sleep and sleep is such a healing practice for me. Eight or more hours of sleep banish pain in my body. Works better than pills and shots.

Having time - precious time - to do just what I want to do, reminded me that I have too much going on in my life, going and doing, and I asked myself, "What do I really want to do with the precious life I have left?"

In October I have another birthday, and it is a milestone, marking the weight of the Third Act of Glenda's Life. What will the next year hold for me? Every year I vow to reach out to family and friends, those who live far away and those who live near me. It seems to me, I never do enough. I am always so busy with other things. But I know that whatever I can do to make my loved ones know I care for them and that they are in my thoughts, is more than doing nothing.

One of my favorite things to do is listen to educational podcasts. I did that this weekend. I am a life-long learner, but I would not like to sit in classes for hours a day or be required to write or discuss my thoughts.

Having time to listen to others, agree or disagree with them, was one of the most delightful things about this weekend. I had time to digest what I heard and make up my mind as to what I believed. 

I intentionally avoided the news of the day, of the world, and found my life more relaxed and at peace. Why should I hear all the awful things reported when there is nothing I can do about it? Instead, I listened to music. I danced and I sang. 

I became aware this weekend, alone with my thoughts and with my little Lexie, that the worst of grieving the loss of Barry, my husband of 45 years, is finally beginning to wane and I can finally say, I am happy just being with me and my things in my place. 

I am enough. I don't need anyone else to make me happy or full-filled. Do you feel that way, those of you who have lost your beloved people? 

I knew in the fall of 2009 that I would go on with my life, and that I must do something to fill the time, but must also do something beneficial to others. For ten years I have taught senior adults to write about their lives. I have provided a place for writers to come and learn from excellent poets and writers. I was inspired to teach by my mentor, the late Nancy Simpson, poet and friend.  I was encouraged by other writers and friends and appreciated by many of them. I am grateful to writers, Karen Paul Holmes, Joan Howard, many of my guest instructors, who never fail to let me know their thoughts on what I do. 

Mary Mike Keller and Estelle Rice, visual and literary artists and my best friends, have been there for years through my mourning time and through theirs. How many have friends like that?

Also this weekend, I smiled when I thought of my sister, Gay, who is having the time of her life. She is dancing two or three times each week with wonderful dancers who let her finally do for herself what she always enjoyed most. After years of taking care of loved ones and being there for others, she has made the decision to do what she loves to do. The joy in her voice is exhilarating. It reminds me: We should never think it is too late to follow our dreams. 

It is never too late to make a change in who we are. It is never too late to stop and let life show us who we are and what we really want. Be still and listen. 

So, my dear readers, although you have been there through my pain and sorrow, welcome to my happiness. I hope your weekend has been all you wanted it to be. See you next week when I hope to have my essay on John Cecil Council finished and posted.


Leave me a comment or email me: gcbmountaingirl@gmail.com 

Did Your Ancestors Serve in the War Between the States?

Do you know your ancestors or relatives who are veterans of some of America's wars? I did not know until I began researching family for my book, Profiles and Pedigrees, Tom Council and his Descendants.

We have a special page in the book to honor those who served in World War II and wars that followed. I had three cousins who died in plane crashes during training for that war. One was lost at sea, one was killed when his plane flew into a mountain. 

It is easy today to find military records for ancestors on the Internet. My two great grandfathers, John Monroe Robison and John Cecil Council fought in the Civil War for the Confederacy. I have their papers, their wills and their widows' pensions. 

My oldest brother, Ray, was a veteran of the second World War. He served in the U.S. Navy. He was so cute in his uniform. I know from the photos taken of him way back then. I don't think he ever saw combat. The war ended about the time he enlisted.

My brother-in-law, Charlie, served in World War II. I have a good friend who is celebrating his 88th birthday this month, Ash Rothlein, who is a veteran of that same war.

As I watched the Hatfields and the McCoys on TV, I thought once again, why do men want to kill each other? I hate war and the idea of war. Life is precious, especially if that life belongs to my loved ones, so why do they want to fight? I don't think I will ever understand war. Do you?

Laura Council is being sought by Sarah D. in Jacksonville, FL

It was good to hear from Sarah of Jacksonville who ordered a copy of Profiles and Pedigrees, Charles Thomas Council and his descendants. Sarah was asking about Laura Council, a relative of Charles Thomas and also of John Cecil Council, (right)

In the back of Profiles and Pedigrees is a genealogical chart of the descendants of John Cecil Council, my great grandfather, an early pioneer of north Florida. I must confess that this chart has not been verified but is a compilation of family group sheets sent to me by various members of the Council family.

I think, however, Sarah will find Laura on this chart and will be able to answer her questions.

Genealogy is one of the most interesting hobbies and one of the most time consuming as well. Researching families is like working on a jigsaw puzzle. You find one little piece that fits and then you become obsessed with finding the next and the next.

Mary Mike Keller, distant cousin, but close friend, has discovered her ancestors from many centuries back, and she will teach a class for Writers Circle, my new interprise, in May, in which she will teach genealogy and writing about ancestors. I hope anyone in the area of Hayesville, NC will come and take part in this class. It should be a good one.

And, Sarah D., your book will be in the mail Monday.

(Valoree Luhr did some fantastic photoshop work on the photo of John Cecil Council, above. The original had a bad crease in the middle of his forhead and his face. Thanks Valoree.)

Council Family Reunion

Descendants of John Cecil Council will gather in Wakulla County, Florida the weekend of october 10-11 for the annual Council Family reunion. I had planned to attend, but found I can't this year.
They have a big fish fry on Saturday night along with a cake walk which is enjoyed by adults and children as well. My cousin Sandra called me this week to see if I'm going and to ask me to stay with her. She lives in Tallahassee where she and her late husband Billy, lived many years  after building a successful business there. Beverly Council sent out the letter to all of us to remind us of this special day. My memories of this reunion go back to when I was in high school and my family attended.
Each year certain members of John Cecil's family are recognized. This year Sandra's family will be one of those. I would love to be there to hear the stories told about Eugene Council and his family. John Cecil was married twice and had two sets of children, so his decendants are numerous.
As we get older these family reunions come to mean more than just a nice meal and talking with a few relatives.
If you are a descendant of John Cecil Council, a very early pioneer of north Florida, who was captured by the Union Army and held on Shipp Island off the coast of Lousiana, then you should come and meet this family.

John Cecil Council, Confederate War Veteran, POW at Shipp Island

John Cecil Council, born in Barbour County, Alabama in 1833, was my great grandfather. He was the son of Temperance Weaver Council. John, in 1845, was one of the first settlers in Wakulla County Florida. He, along with his mother, his sister Susan Council Lott and her husband either traveled with the Pelts and Poseys or arrived about the same time and settled in Crawfordville, Florida. John Cecil acquired a good bit of land around the county. He married Frances DeLaura Posey who birthed a large family before she died.

John then married Missouri Redd. She was referred to as Miss Missouri. The two of them raised a second large family.


At the age of 28, and with children at home, John joined the Florida Militia during the Civil War. He was captured off the coast near his home while fishing to provide food for his unit. The Union ships took him and others captured with him to Shipp Island, off the coast of Louisiana.

When the southern prisoners first arrived on Shipp Island, there were no barracks, only tents, no protection from the wind, rain and large mosquitoes that carried disease. John Council took a leadership role among the prisoners and set about building their own huts and shelters.

Back home Fanny, his wife, along with a black woman helper kept the farm going and raised the crops and hogs and cattle. She picked the cotton and had it bailed. Fanny's first born was a daughter, Georgianne Council. Like her mother, Georgianne was strong and resilient. She knew how to use a gun and tramped through the thick woods to kill game for the family.

She lived a long life. A one hundredth birthday party was held for her and written about in the Wakulla County newspaper, but I hear from cousin Sandra that her birthdate might be in question. No matter. Aunt Georgianne was a real pioneer woman who could do the work of any man and actually the work of more than one man from what I've heard. More about her later.

John Cecil Council was highly respected in his community. He helped found a church and was a leader of the church. He lived a long life and fathered his last child when he was in his early seventies.

Over the years I've researched this great grandfather of mine, and I met his youngest daughter as well as hundreds of his descendants. I have copies of his military records, his pension papers, his last will and testament. I've collected stories I've heard about him and hope to one day put them together for my family members.

John Cecil's oldest son, Tom, was my grandfather. Tom and his wife Sarah (Sallie) head the family I write about in Profiles and Pedigrees, Thomas Charles Council and his Descendants.

In this marriage, Tom died young and left Sallie to carry on without him. Tom and Sallie raised ten children, Mae, Charlie, Maude, Oleo, Horace and Hortense (twins), Lillian, Annie, and Coy. Another son, John Henry, died at the age of fourteen from malaria.

I have cousins in Tallahassee and in Crawfordville who I hope will come to the mountains this spring so we can catch up on all the family stories.



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Council Reunion coming up in Crawfordville, FL

Today I received a letter from the secretary of the Council Reunion down in Wakulla County, FL, inviting us to the big weekend in October. We won't be able to go this year.


I'm sure my cousins will have a great time. They plan a cake walk and an auction to make money for the perpetual care cemetery where my great grandfather, John Cecil Council who started this big clan, and many of his family are buried. As usual a fish fry will be held on Saturday night and a huge picnic dinner on Sunday.


The families of Noah Council and Redding Council are asked to bring information to share about those families.


Noah Columbus Council was born Sept. 13, 1862. He was the son of John Cecil Council and died May 18, 1926 in Crawfordville, FL and is buried in the Council Cemetery in Wakulla County. Noah married Loudy Vickers and had seven children. After she died, he married Sara Louvina (Lura)Greene and they had two children. So there should be quite a few descendants from this family at the next reunion.


Included in the letter I received today was a wonderful photograph taken at the first or second reunion held at the Lawrence Council home in Wakulla County, FL. To my surprise, there I was right in front, a teenager. While all my cousins had on sun dresses as befitted a warm October day in Florida, I wore a dark fall dress and I remember, not the reunion so much, but that dress. It was hot, hot hot!


I'll try to post that photograph if I can scan it into my computer.

Councils, Poseys and Brocks connected by marriage

With several cousins some years ago, I compiled a history of John Cecil Council and his descendants for seven generations. We had hoped to publish this family history but some said there were errors in the family information given to us so the book was never published. I moved to North Carolina while this was in progress and was unable to meet with the others or to uncover the errors. I do have all the information we collected from members of John Cecil's family in my computer and will gladly share it with others who are working on this genealogy. I have not done family research in years but I hope someone in the Council family will want this information to further their own research.

John Cecil was born in 1833 in Alabama and died in 1910 in Florida. He is buried in the Council Family Cemetery in Wakulla County, Crawfordville, Florida. Both wives, Frances Delaura Posey and Nancy Missouri A. Smith are buried beside him. He had seven children by each wife and his last child was born when he was over seventy.

My grandfather, Tom, was the first born son in John Cecil's first family.
Tom married Sarah Brock who was called Sally, in 1878 in Florida. Sarah's parents died when she was very young. A wealthy couple wanted her but her half brother, Alphonso White, took her to live with an aunt who already had lots of kids and couldn't afford another. Sally lived the last part of her life, after her husband died, in Palmetto, Florida where several of her children resided. She is buried in Pelham, GA where her husband had been buried in the Pelham cemetery in 1911.

Councils and Poseys connected in Profiles and Pedigrees, Thomas Charles Council Descendants

Photo: Oleo Council Gilreath's family.

Our Council line intersects with the Posey line. John Cecil Council married Frances Delaura Posey. We don't have a picture of "Fanny" but we do have a great photo of John Cecil.

The Posey line has been researched back to France and one of my dear friends Michelle has a Posey line. One day she called and told me that we are eighth cousins. How nice to know that my lovely friend is also a distant relative.

In my book, Profiles and Pedigrees, many Posey names are listed under Noah Posey's family in the Council descendancy chart.

The Poseys and Councils are still in Wakulla County Florida where families settled in the 1800's.

Genealogy

Why are we fascinated by genealogy? Why do we become addicted to finding someone from our long lost lineage? The missing father of John Cecil Council frustrates us like a 500 word puzzle with a missing piece right in the center. How did that Council man disappear into thin air?
Some say he left North Carolina under a dark cloud. Does that mean he was wanted by the law? Was he in trouble for seeing a married woman? Did he get involved in a fight, was someone killed?
Any one of these things would make a great story if we only knew his name.
If you are embarking on the journey to find the father of John Cecil Council from Wakulla County, FL, I wish you well and hope you will someday share your findings with us.