Sunday Search: Piercing Through The Foliage

Caleb Pierce, Margaret Hughes, Isabella Pierce, and Noah Pierce -
Census - 1870 

If you are researching your family tree to try and find a connection to a celebrity or a historical figure, you are most likely going to be very disappointed. This is not the reality for many of us and while I have been lucky enough to uncover some fascinating lives and those who participated in different events throughout the history of the United States, this is far from discovering a celebrity (historic or otherwise) as is commonly defined these days. However, this is my family and they are historical figures for me as they are my direct connection to history.

John Hallman - Death Certificate - 1957

However, not only family lines have led me to historic events. In fact, I have recently been researching a line on my father’s side that is simply a common story of much of the families in this county. Starting with my great grandfather, John Lewis Hallman (1894-1957), I have traced back an additional four generations. While I have written about my great grandfather before, I hadn’t researched much beyond that generation especially on his mother’s side.

Margaret Hughes - Death Certificate - 1919

My second great grandmother, Isabella Pierce (1869-1901), was born in Delaware County, Pennsylvania to Caleb Pierce (1840-1912) and his Irish bride Margaret Hughes (1842-1919). While the family didn’t have much money they seemed to have enough as Caleb left a modest estate to his widow upon his death. What was particularly interesting about this generation is that I was completely unaware of the Irish roots on my father’s side until this discovery.

Caleb Pierce - Death Certificate - 1912

Caleb Pierce, my third great grandfather, on the other hand, was not as fortunate as his daughter. Growing up the son of a laborer, he aspired to step up a rung (a common thread throughout much of my family, and apprenticed to become a Blacksmith which provided for his family but almost certainly contributed to his early demise as well. However, it was his father, Noah Pierce, my fourth great grandfather, who seemed to not be able to catch a break.

Noah Pierce - Census - 1880

Noah Pierce (1805-1880) was raised with next to nothing to the point that he is listed with his siblings in the “Poor School Children Records” of Chester County as needing assistance to pay for basic school supplies (his father, my fifth great grandfather, Caleb Pierce is also listed). He spent his life as a laborer doing what he could to support his family. By the 1870 census he is listed as living with his son. By the 1880 census (where he is classified as “Defective, Dependent, or Delinquent”) he is listed among those residing at the Chester County Almshouse.

So, as you can see, this is not a lineage filled with heroes and people of note. This is my family, these are the people that worked hard and did what they could to support their family. Every generation trying to move forward a little bit at a time. And this is what genealogy is all about… it is our jobs as family historians, to remember our past no matter how fascinating or mundane it may seem to others. All of these ancestors make up who we are and each play a role in making us who we are. Sometimes we find stories of heroic actions while other times we find the facts about a family struggling to find a way to get by. The common thread is that each succeeded in bringing about the next generation and keeping the family tree alive. Without them, all of them, there wouldn’t be a family to research.

Paint Chips And Poor Customer Service

I readily admit that I am frequently not the easiest person to deal with. This is especially true when it comes to customer service calls. I do my best and have even made a more concerted effort as of late to be as nice and understanding as possible when I have to participate in these calls but sometimes it is really hard to keep my cool. I have been dealing with such a situation for the past two weeks as our insurance company which has had a tremendous track record personally has completely mucked up just about everything that I have called about and/or requested over the past month.

Thankfully, I have been able to keep my temper under control throughout this whole process but my patience is running thinner than [insert your cliche or original thought here]. And it hasn’t really been a matter of incompetence… as time goes on it seems to be more and more about laziness. I have made numerous efforts to communicate through email as well as by phone and I have even coordinated a time to speak with someone. When it came time for them to call at the time they promised, my phone failed to ring and no attempt at following up or explaining what had happened was ever made.

It has been a rather frustrating time especially knowing what exceptional experiences I have had with this insurance company in the past. Up until a few weeks ago I have had nothing but good things to say about this company but lately I have had to measure my words a bit given the last few people with whom I have had the displeasure of communicating (or lack thereof). And just think, this is without me getting angry, abrasive, or even difficult. I have done everything I can, within reason, to accommodate the company but have, as of today, nothing to show for it.

I would consider changing my insurance company but I have yet to see any rates anywhere near what we are paying. And I have given just about every agent and company a chance whenever they have popped up. It used to be great service and great rates and now it seems as though I am left with just the latter of the two. What’s even worse is that the most recent conversations with the insurance company they have tried to hard sell me all of their other offering before allowing me to resume my day. They may want to get better at their current job, complete their existing task, before even thinking about trying to sell me anything. And yes, I remained calm.

Busy Seems To Be An Understatement

Yep. The clock pretty much looks like that right now.

Every day I try to take a few minutes either at the office or at home to just breathe. This is especially true during the weekend when I really don’t want to think about all that needs to be done both around the house and at the office. Of course, the housework can’t be pushed back especially with so little time left. However, lately the same has been true with work as more and more projects and tasks have piled on top of the regular schedule.

Those few moments during my week have been absent as of late with every moment accounted for during the waking hours (and some while I am trying to sleep). Just as one thing begins to fade into the background two or three more come raging to the forefront leaving both my wife and I trying to scramble to just get through the day. This is one of the big reasons why I hate it when people change their schedules or let us know of commitments at the last minute. With all that we are dealing with right now, we need all the support that we can get and sometimes it is lacking.

While we see many of our friends and family taking time to travel, eat out, and sometimes simply relax our days, especially weekends, have been filled with places that we have to be and last minute dinner decisions. On Saturday we finally found the time to sit down and have a dinner out… while Five Guys is not the fanciest place, it was quick and allowed us to get back home and take care of a few more things. There is no time left in the day for anything nicer or travelling much further.

It seems like each night we discover something else that we need to add to our list. Sometimes it is a simple phone call while other times we have to get in the car and either run a few errands, drop things off, or quickly pick up something that we had previously overlooked. Other trips are more regular lately and cannot be put off as we need to visit with family and keep our regular doctor appointments both of which are becoming much more frequent.   

Time being the commodity that it is, this is the poorest that we have ever been. But we have gotten through these things before. While not nearly as difficult as the current situation, we have the strength both in ourselves and our marriage to make it through the days, weeks, and months. While there is no question that we will not be the same after these trials, we will be stronger, healthier, and have a greater appreciation for the life we have and all the memories that can never be taken away.