March 10 — What role did religion play in your family? How did your female ancestors practice their faith? If they did not, why didn’t they? Did you have any female ancestors who served their churches in some capacity?
Faith definitely played a role in the lives of the females of my family. In the recent past, I'm familiar with my grandmother Wright's being a member of the church choir at a Disciples of Christ church and I know that my grandmother LeMaster was brought up in the Evangelical United Brethren church (now United Methodist).
In tracing my genealogy, I've found members of my family involved in a number of Protestant denominations, some of which allowed for more involvement by females than others. Those who were members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) were more likely to have an active leadership role. For example, I know that my maternal 6th-great grandmother, Charity (MENDENHALL) MILLS was appointed a clerk of the Lost Creek Monthly Meeting and in 1801 was recommended to be an elder. I'm sure there were other examples, but this is one aspect that I've yet to research.
Once again, in honor of National Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.
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