The Forgotten Woman

I'm not much of a history buff or expert, although as I get older I like to dabble more into it.

I usually do not start posts, but just reply to them. However, since this is the history section, I wanted to start a topic (and see wherever it may go) about a forgotten woman in history. For 30-some years since I was a young teenager, I felt a sort of kinship to a certain First Lady of the United States. As a matter of fact, this is so strong a feeling that some of my non-Christian friends think I'm "reincarnated" from someone who knew her. Of course that is rediculous but this person was a sister in Christ as far as I am concerned.

Her name is Jane Means Appleton Pierce, the wife of the 14th President of the United States--- read her tragic story as First Lady if you never have. I always felt sorry for her (although I understand she is with the Lord now). I'll leave the details for your research since this is not the place to repeat what history already stated. However, in spite of her terrible losses (of all her children), the FIRST thing she did upon her deathbed in her will was to leave a generous portion of her estate to the American Bible Society and other missions. I have nothing but great admiration for such a person as I would not have been able to do the same in her circumstances. I already devoted an article on my site to her with my KJV Bible download since she wanted the Word of God spread everywhere. Next to my passion for the things and teaching of the Bible and the Lord, I try to exalt this forgotten woman as much as I can. I do not understand my motivation other than to say maybe this is the Lord's doing for recognition of a wonderful person long past due.

 

LadyEagle:

Thanks for the kind words. After I mentioned her tribute on my site on this forum, I was wondering if I should have done so--- considering who I was talking about, I felt a little inadequate to do that to be honest with you especially since we may have serious history folks here in these forums. But then again I thought, what the heck. I honestly feel if she were alive today she'd be a little blushed to get all that attention and recognition! She really was a private person, but a noble (and very sad) one at that. I guess I really am a 'softie' at heart. Everyone knows of my compassionate understanding especially for a so-called underdog. I get a little irritated that most of the world could not see into the profound personality of this woman, (i.e. ignoring or feeling contempt for such people). As a matter of fact, what is spooky is as I read more and more about her over the years, I could 'predict' various aspects of her personality. For example, I always held the position that she was stronger and more resolved in her decisions that greatly influenced people around her than the so-called 'weak-willed' or 'nervous' personality that one reads about. Sure enough, my view was vindicated when I came across a site that quoted her friend as saying,

How well she filled her station as wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend, those only can tell who knew her in these private relations. In this quiet sphere she found her joy, and here her gentle but powerful influence was deeply and constantly felt, through wise counsels and delicate suggestions, the purest, finest tastes, and a devoted life.

(Bold is my emphasis, and hence my statement on my site about her 'uncanny ability to make her presense known'--- and she's still doing that to me somehow). There's other (strong)emotions and perspectives to her personaility I suspect, but I will not get into that here, especially since I do not have historical backing at that point (I'm overly intuitively analytical here).

Now.... as for Franklin, he was a riot to have around. He would have calmed my spooks by capping off my half-full drink with a little more bourbon or something. But that's another story.