As I sit and reflect this morning while the kids are sleeping, I'm thinking of the old beaten down homesteads I see each time we make a trip out here in the country. Wonderful farm homes boarded up, their barns leaning over, the roof caving in. I see shingles blown off the home, shutters swinging wildly in the wind and then I began to wonder......

Who first came to this homestead? Were they people from the old country trying to survive in a harsh country they hated? Did they have family surrounding them, supporting them in their struggle as they tried to beat the land? Did they raise a small or large family, only to see them leave the farm for bigger dreams?

Did they survive our severe winters, only to have drought and grasshoppers eat their crop come spring? Did the grass fires overtake them?

I wonder if the woman gathered for quilting bees, counting each day until the next so they could chatter up a storm, talk about the new baby that was just born only to die because there was no doctor for miles or medication to treat the illness that had overtaken the little one.

Did they face chlorea, smallpox and the other diseases from those times, survive only to succumb later to the ravages of the flu. Did their children have scars from smallpox, only to be treated with scorn.

Did they see the buffalo when it roamed the wide open priaries and then watch as one by one, the buffalo were gone. Did they experience tradegy through war with the First nations people, who in their own rights struggled to survive on land that was known as reserves.

Awe but there is lots to reflect on this morning as I think of those by-gone days of the old homestead.

I wonder about things like that too CJ.
Going to garage sales etc. I gravitate towards old kitchen tools, especially wooden spoons. I hold them in my hand & wonder who cooked with them,what they cooked and the family and friends they cooked for...:)

I think the same thoughts. There are a few abandoned farms around here and I know this sounds silly, but I would love to go in and have a look around.

I'm reminded yet again about homesteaders each spring as we drive to and from different towns and I see more and more old homesteads boarded up.

We have our favorites and each time we drive by I wonder who lived their and wonder what stories could be told within the walls of the homes.

As the farming industry gets harder and harder to survive, were seeing more and more abandoned homesteads/farms. Its just so sad for me to see.

So often I see those places and really wonder at the stories the homesteads could tell if they only could talk - happiness and sorrow, good times and bad. There is one that I pass each day and it's at an intersection that you have to come to a complete stop at. Before I pull off, every day, I look at that place and wonder about it.

I thought I was the only silly person who had these sentimental thoughts! I'm so glad to know you all think these things too.

Most of the old homesteads near us have been razed and the only evidence you will see will be a fruit tree or two and some flowers in the yard. I love to wonder about the folks who planted those things, the life they led. This time of year, the fruit trees are in bloom and the lilacs and daffodils show where the house may have been. Its lots of fun to daydream about the ones who went before us, isn't it?!?

When I was much younger and still living at home, we passed an old abandoned farm every weekend. I daydreamed about that place until it was all I could think of and hoped one day to live there. My parents finally gave in and we stopped and I got to wander around the house for a bit.

I never bought it (I have my own place now, though), but someone did and saved it from the decay of being abandoned.

These very thoughts about what did the people go through -- their struggles and joys, the births and deaths, the family dynamics, did they have a successful farm or not, etc etc etc -- all goes hand in hand with genealogy for me and is the main reason I love the hobby so much.

It's good to know others look at those old abandoned farm homes and wonder about the people who lived there. Wouldn't it be great to be able to step back in time for a day and see how they lived and worked? I'm glad we have the medicines we have now, but in some ways I think they lived a much more whole life.

It's nice to be able to share my thougths here with others on this topic. There aren't too many people in my everyday life who wonder about such things!

Janet, I'm with you. If I shared that with some of my friends they would think I've lost it. They just don't understand why its so important for me to know. If only we could talk to the descendants of those who lived on these old homesteads.

A couple summers ago we were out driving around the countryside near mom and dad's place. We came upon this huge old abandoned farm house. We stopped and went inside to look around. It was so neat to imagine the family that lived there. There was no electricity in it, not even a bathroom or running water. The kitchen was huge and off it was what we thought to be the pantry but it was a huge room in itself. The house was so big, I thought it must have been prosperous times to be able to build it, and to fill it! If I was quiet, I could hear the echos of the people. Really cool...