Let me introduce you to Christina Rosalia Ctibor who was born in 1881. That may seem long ago for some, but it really was not long ago. It's about a lifetime and a half ago. So, not long ago. I think she was called Rosalia, but I am not 100% sure. She was one of eleven children in her family. I have not found a marriage record for her, but she had to have been married before the age of 20 because she had her first child at age 20.

Christina is my great-great-great grandfather's granddaughter.  She is my great-great grandfather's niece, which makes her 1st cousin 3x removed.

Like I wrote in my last blog, our ancestors went through much harder trials than most any of us have to face in 2020. Christina Rosalia was no exception. It is interesting what I learn about my ancestors just by adding records to their profile. It shows that Christina gave birth to at least 5 children. We can assume that she had been pregnant more than 5 times because there was no good protection at that time.

Sometimes when I am filling out people's records, I don't pay much attention to dates. For some reason, I noticed that only one of Christina's children had a photograph. Then I noticed the dates of birth and death. All of Christina's children died before she died, only one made it to adulthood. To top it all off, her husband also died before she died. He died at age 47, about 10 years before Christina died at age 55. Honestly, at that point, I would have "accidentally" fallen on some railroad tracks and waited for a train to come squish me.

Her first child died at age 1, her second child lived the longest dying at age 28, her third child died at age 8, her fourth child died shortly after birth, and her fifth child died at age 11. I would ban sex after that just so I would not have to go through the hell of losing another child.

Her first child died at age 1, her second child lived the longest dying at age 28, her third child died at age 8, her fourth child died shortly after birth, and her fifth child died at age 11. I would ban sex after that just so I would not have to go through the hell of losing another child.

I don't know anyone in 2020 that has gone through anything like losing 5 children. I don't know how my heart would keep beating. I wish my ancestors kept journals so I could know what they were feeling and how they got through the worst of trials. I do know that Christina stayed married to her husband (who I circled in red) and that she did not use the tragedies in her life as an excuse to blame others, treat others rudely, or demand retributions.

Christina is a wonderful example to us. I truly hope to meet her one day and be able to tell her that what she went through was not forgotten.