Northeast North Carolina Family History – talents…

Have you ever wondered if your ability to do something was inherited from an ancestor? Do you remember stories of talents family members had and if so, have you passed those memories on to current generations?
Our youngest son recently proposed to his girlfriend using a Disney theme and singing his own version of a song from “Tangled” to go along with it. If you have nothing better to do, search “Seth and Lexi proposal” on You Tube – it’s pretty cute! As a family, we all enjoy singing, but I recall my mother stating that her father (who died before I was born) had a beautiful singing voice and would fill the country church they attended with his singing. She remembered with particular fondness listening to him at Christmas. I don’t remember my mother every singing much, but she loved to listen to opera, which I found rather odd for a country girl raised on a prairie farm. I never did learn where that interest came from.
Now, my mother could sew, in fact she sewed my wedding dress. Her mother had been a milliner and as the oldest of eleven children, growing up during the depression, my mom learned to make her own patterns and sew for an ever expanding family. Me, on the other hand, could only sew when my mother was in the same room. Patterns are like a math equation that never seems to totally make sense. I can do basic repairs and sew a straight line, but that’s about my limit.
My mom was also amazing at figuring out how to solve a problem. I’ve mentioned before that she was taken out of school after the eighth grade to help on her family farm. What she didn’t learn in school, she learned from necessity and would come up with solutions. Our oldest son is very much like her in that respect.
He will mull a problem around and come up with a thoughtful and straightforward solution. I must admit we miss having that ability around as he lives so far away!
My mother was also an artist of sorts. She loved photography and hauled a decent sized camera around on her 98 pound body. She also enjoyed pottery and did some painting, all skills that seem to have bypassed me. But I have a cousin who is a well known Canadian prairie artist, and a nephew who is really talented at black and white photography. My husband is a good photographer and did some excellent drawings back in college. His youngest sister is a painter, too – hmmm – I’m feeling rather left out at the moment!
Some talents are less obvious. I know people who are always smiling and bring a spirit of happiness with them. Some people listen very well. My father was one of those people. Everyone was comfortable around him and he quietly listened through life. Which is now frustrating as he spoke so little about what he thought, making my recollections of him so slim…
Think about those around you – include yourself. What stories of abilities can you remember and have you shared what they were and perhaps how they were acquired with your family? There’s a hot summer’s homework assignment for you – and write them down, too.



Irene Hampton earned a Certificate in Genealogy
from Brigham Young University and worked as the
Genealogical/Local history Researcher for the Pasquotank-
Camden Library for over 12 years. She has
also abstracted and published “Widow’s Years Provisions,
1881-1899, Pasquotank County,
North Carolina”; “1840 Currituck,
North Carolina Federal Census” and “Record of
Marriages, Book A (1851-1867) Currituck County,
North Carolina”.You may contact her at
nencfamilyhistory@gmail.com.


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