My given name is Sally. It wasn't short for a name like Sarah or Sylvia. It's just plain Sally. As a kid, I didn't like it very well because it was just too unique and pretty old-fashioned. As an adult, I love it because it is unique! Thanks Mom and Dad.
If I was named after someone, it wasn't knowingly. I worked on my mom's Spencer line in Michigan when I was fortunate to live there for a few years. One afternoon, I had enough time to visit the famous (to me) Rowley Cemetery in Locke Township outside Lansing. As I drove into the u-shaped drive of the rural cemetery, it felt like a homecoming. In about three seconds, I spotted several Spencer stones. I knew my great-grandfather and his parents were buried here. I also found the next generation: my great-great-great grandparents. I sensed that he was probably the Wright Spencer I had found on some family papers, but I knew nothing of his wife. There on the white tower gravestone I saw:
SALLY J.
wife of
WRIGHT SPENCER
died
Mar. 9, 1895
Aged
75 Yrs 5 Ms & 24 Ds
---
WRIGHT SPENCER
1811 - 1899
That hit me like a ton of bricks and I probably did my first cemetery happy dance! Hello Sally, it is nice to meet you. From that point on, I knew my family's genealogy was my calling.
© 2013 Sally Knudsen
