Page 3 - my-people-abbie-harris-beck

INTRODUCTION

I grew up without knowing any of my relatives. I never knew a grandmother or
granddaddy. My mama talked about her family and papa's family. They lived in Georgia
and North Carolina. It was a long way from Geneva, Alabama. When we did visit about
twice in my youth, to me they were just people.
Laura Anne and I were given a program to do for the Woman's Club "How to
Trace your Family Tree". Laura Anne bought a book or two on genealogy, and we began
to dig ! We took my two families to trace, the Fourakers and Harris'. I didn't know a
thing about them, just names. They soon became real people, people that loved each
other, people with problems, people that lived in another century trying to cope with life.
Lamar thought that we had lost our mind, always talking about finding a new limb
on the tree. He couldn't stand it any longer so the "bug" bit him. He and I began to go to
the Fouraker reunion in Fargo Georgia, and to visit my relatives in North Carolina. The
people had become my people. We had started with only my papa and mama and today
I've ended up with seven volumes of ancestors, their heartaches, joys, things they have
accomplished, deeds of so much property, and the wars they lived through. I found out
that I had two greats that fought in the Indian Wars. Four greats that fought in the
Revolutionary War and one in the Civil War. I feel that I've had a part of establishing our
great country America. I have found out where I came from and who I am. This I want
to share with my children. The good, the bad, the ugly which is history and life , and how
to deal with life. Always remember that life is not a bed of roses, there will always be
thorns along the way, that God is there to help you deal with life if you will only call on
Him.

Your Mother,
Abbie Harris Beck

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