Catching Fire - The Spirit of Elijah
For the past 2 months I have been working on an extremely special project during Daphne's nap time that I am so excited to share my thoughts about with you today. I have had the very special privilege to transcribe my great-great-great grandmother's diary!
Her name was Catherine Berry (Catherine Miller is inscribed on the front of the above picture of her diary because Miller was the name of her first husband) and she lived during the American Civil War. As the oral family history goes, Catherine (a school teacher and single mother) lived in Virginia in the Confederate South, but her two sons fought for the Union North. As tension in her little town grew, she was accused of being a northern spy and was shot at in the street. An older gentlemen, a Mr. Berry, rescued her and invited her to live out the duration of the war on his plantation for her safety, which she gratefully accepted. Not long after this invitation, a battle was fought near Mr. Berry's lands and he took a wagon out after to help with the wounded. As he examined the battlefield, to his surprise, he discovered his own nephew, Thornton Berry, lying wounded on the field. He took him home, where Catherine nursed him back to health and the two fell in love in the process. Thornton returned to war and Catherine, now torn for her two loves, made a dress of grey and navy to represent the North and the South and her loved ones who fought for each side. It's a beautiful story and perhaps for this reason, I have been fascinated with the Civil War since childhood. My family are descendants from Catherine and Thornton's daughter and in our possession we still owns the dress, a music book, the diary, her teaching certificate and a copy of her obituary, which are cherished heirlooms.
In fact, here is a really embarrassing picture of me with the dress on display at my 8th Grade History Fair over 10 years ago. Don't you just love the classic Vanna White pose and the blurry finger in front of the disposable lens? I was so thrilled when I got 3rd place at the state history fair for this project, obviously won for my artifacts and not my presentation.
(Catherine's teaching certificate from 1875, although she had been teaching for about 20 or more years already at this point. I don't know if you can see, but here she is certified to teach Orthography, Reading, Penmanship, Geography, Arithmetic, English Grammar, History, Art, Philosophy, Algebra, Geometry, Latin and French! Talk about an educated woman!)
You may remember at the bottom of my Thanksgiving Post that I mentioned Elder Bednar's conference talk that hit me like a ton of bricks this past October about the importance of family history. One of my big goals this year has been to help my Grandma Ellsworth finish her personal history, but while in Logan at Thanksgiving, I also realized that no one had ever taken the time to transcribe Catherine Berry's diary. It made me ill to think about that precious record being lost, so I got permission to bring it back with me to Mesquite and undertake the project myself of preserving her memories.
(Look at her gorgeous cursive handwriting - it took several entries before I could recognize many of the letters)
That first day that I sat down I said a prayer that I would be able to decipher Catherine's words and understand her intent behind them. I prayed to be blessed for my desire to follow God's commandments. No sooner had I opened the first page (pictured above), but I felt an overwhelming warmth wash over me as the spirit touched my heart and testified to me of the importance of family history. I felt like I had, in an instant, caught the fire of the "spirit of Elijah" (see the link to Elder Bednar's talk if that expression confuses you) and I couldn't seem to type her words fast enough.
After a few pages, I came to an entry that had me in tears - I felt like Catherine had reached out one hundred and sixty years from the past and whispered knowingly in my ear, "You are in me granddaughter, and I am in you." Here is a portion of the gorgeous entry that she wrote that spoke so forcefully to me. She began this entry describing how if she could chose any position in life she would not chose the courts of royalty or the passing applause for the famed, but instead, rather...
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I would devote my life to the instruction of youthful minds and my joy would be in their improvement, my happiness in their sunny smiles. Truly it would be a pleasure and satisfaction to observe the development of youthful minds as they seek to elucidate the mysteries of science and draw largely from learning’s storehouse. I would hold out the hope of victory to cheer them on, rejoicing with them in each conquest gained till the last difficulty was overcome till their glad shout of triumph should ring loud and clear from the temple of fame. Then their future would open as a delightful vista peopled with superior intelligences, endowed with high hopes and lofty aspirations, imparting fresh energy to the spirit of enterprise which animates the age. Some even look as if they could dare all and obtain all, others less brilliant or perhaps less ambitious, seem to entertain humble views. And it is not expected that every scholar will astonish the world by new scientific discoveries or awe senates by their eloquence. All cannot be Franklins, Newtons, or Demosthenes, but if rightly instructed all will be prepared to engage successfully in the active duties of life and fill respectable stations in society. If each one acts in his proper sphere, society will move on as a harmonious whole without one discordant note to mar the beauty of its perfections. I would extend my feeble aid towards bringing about this happy revolution which can only be accomplished by education. Not a few superficial accomplishments, which might consists of a few phrases of different languages and a few airy songs, but by bringing the youthful mind under the salutary influence of truth and disciplining it by a thorough course of study. It would gratify my highest earthly ambition to be a faithful and successful teacher. Yes I would be ever surrounded by bright sunny faces and laughing eyes and the love those pure innocents would be to me as a halo of glory which encircleth the blest.
July 20th 1852
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I wept as I realized that my love for teaching and my desire to uplift my students to higher ground has been passed down through my ancestors, who too felt that burning to do good and to make a difference in the world. It was a beautiful experience.
Now that I have finished transcribing the diary, however, I have realized that the journey has just begun. There are so many questions I have about Catherine, so much of her story that is still untold and I want to be the one who brings her story to light. I want other people to be inspired, as I have been, by her goodness, her courage, her strength, her faith and her love. So I have decided that I am going to write a book about her life! It may take me twenty more years to research enough about her life, the Civil War Era, and her descendants to do justic to her story and make it a reality, but "mark my words Merilla" (name that movie) this is one life goal that I will accomplish!
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