Not only the story, but also these old photographs bring one to tears. These are the most beautiful faces of the most beautiful people, their whole lives are written in them. They survived it all. Thank you for posting this video.
Thank you for honoring this great generation of women. The women in my family were such hard working women, cooking, quilting, canning,etc for their families. My mom was one of 13 children of which 10 survived. My generation took a different approach to life, my siblings and I became nurses, electricians, and telephone operators. I cherish the memories from my childhood. Sending prayers of healing to you Mr Donnie.❤️
These Ladies are special indeed. They paved the way for wonderful family traditions. How very special they were. They cherished their children and husbands. Wonderful god fearing souls. Thank you Donnie for telling these stories and keeping them alive. God bless you for all that you do. Your friend, Louise
Bless their hearts, each and everyone of them. It wasn't uncommon for Women to have a child about every year for 12 or so years. Like you said Donnie, alot of the babies wouldn't survive. It wasn't uncommon to lose a quarter of the total of kids you had from various diseases or injury. My Grandma which was born in 1900, was a midwife and would ride sidesaddle across the country to go help some Woman during her birth. And that sweet Lady was only 4'11. Bless her heart, she wasn't afraid of anything. I miss ya Grandma. Rest in peace, you are not forgotten, nor are the countless others who did what you did.
My wife's Granny was a Cherokee midwife, and helped birth her. Like the midwife in the story, she was well under 5' tall. Had it not been for her, my dear wife likely would not have survived.
My family were the original settlers of this area in West Virginia. (Virginia then, obviously.) They built a fort called Nutters Fort, which now has a small community named after it, in Harrison County. We’ve been here ever since. I proudly tell people I am a hillbilly, but it doesn’t mean what they think it means. 😉 My grandma was the most amazing, salt of the Earth, smartest, most caring woman I have ever known. She raised a slew of children through the Great Depression, death of two babies, wars, etc, and nothing broke her spirit or faith. She was a fantastic cook, farmer, seamstress, and educated business lady, which was truly amazing for a woman born in 1800s Appalachia. I was 10, and she was almost 95, when she died. I will miss her forever. ❤️
Thanks for sharing your story! Your grandma sounded like an amazing woman! Your very blessed my friend!! God Bless you and I am so very sorry for your loss!! I just lost my father in September 8th, 2022…. He had dementia and Parkinson’s. He was 83.
I'm 22 years old yet I feel some sort of deeply rooted connection with mountains, farm living, growing food, Christian upbringing, and living in a big family myself and helping each other out makes me think that living in those times would have made us even closer. I appreciate a hard working and God fearing family, but I've never once gotten to live on a farm. Make my own garden. These are things that I want to experience before this way of living dies out. This video brought a tear to my eye, for the lost traditions and life I never got the chance to experience. Hopefully I can learn these things if I ever have my own family so that this way of living doesn't die.
These were beautiful people. Unlike others writing, I think these folks were happy for the most part. They could not miss what they didn't have in those days. Children today know nothing about hard times. I'm 72 and born in Arkansas but can relate to hard times with these folks.
Start with one skill at a time. Things like making your own brooms, growing your own vegetables, taking care of a flock of hens and soap making are skills that have to be learned. It takes a lot of knowledge, so start with smaller things, one at a time. Growing up, we learned it as we grew so we began with small things and built up on it, so do it that way so you don't get overwhelmed. Routines are really, really important on a farm bc everything on it depends on you to survive and thrive, so while you're young, I suggest a housework routine. Do a big chore every day along with regular maintenance chores daily. Like do all your laundry on one day, do all your fridge and freezer cleaning, grocery shopping and meal preparation in one day to get you started on the weekly cycle of maintenance and big chores. Start a small window garden with a tomato plant or some herbs and get good at gardening wherever you can. Make daily Bible study part of your routine. Building up a functional routine makes sure that everything gets done every day, every week, every month, like clockwork. Children, plants and animals thrive on routine, which is why it is so integral to farm life.
@@azurephoenix9546 G EVENING..THOSE ARE WELL SPOKEN WORDS..THAT IS ABSOLUTE FACT..GET ONE THING DOWN TO A TEA..THEN THE NEXT..IF NOT YOU ARE OVERWELMED AND ALL CAN FALL APART VERY FAST AND EASY..DISAPOINTMENT WILL FOLLOW..WORDS WELL SPOKEN.~MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY~
Donnie my friend this totally hits home , we still can today , make our own soaps , sew 🪡 much work to be done ✅! The best most important job a woman can have is making a loving home for her family and PROVIDING. Teaching children included ! Daddy died from black lung . Family means everything . Thank you for sharing this , your wonderful good 👍 God bless you friend 🥰
I'm always fascinated by the pioneer women, they were the backbone of all the early settlers, even here in Australia.The conditions were extreme!! I love these stories Donnie!! I always see something I want to draw in your wonderful stories!! It's really all about passing the traditions down!! 'That's just the way it was'!! Beautiful my friend!!😀👍💯
Hi Rusticated art. Hi friend. Fellow Aussie here. Grannie Cyndy from South Australia. Great inspirational stories, aren't they? Just love Donnie. Can't help wondering what part of the country you're from. If you like these pioneering stories I can recommend a great book, Australian Pioneering Women by Eve Pownell. God bless.
Love to hear the Appalachian Storytelling by Mr. Donnie. You described my Mom, Grandmother perfectly. Thank you Sir ! See you around the next ridge. God bless you!
Born and raised in KY,farm families,hard working people,yes,the women cooked,cleaned,scrubbed clothes,gardened,raised animals and had babies and went right back to work some my people were English,some Scotch-Irish,some German and a few Native Americans,we knew the land mountain or creek bottom,grew corn and tobacco,mowed hay,grew food you had to...town was far,some never ever drove a car till the 1940s my Dad worked from the age of eight,went to the Navy at 17,bought a car for his Mom,learned to drive it and then taught her, his Dad was so used to horses or a wagon he refused to drive. Yes,women were a lot of times the backbone of the family,they deserve all the respect and love we can render them! They taught me to survive a lot and my own toughness came from them.👍😊💗God bless and thanks for the video.
Bless their hearts and God rest their hardworking souls❤🙏♥️. Thank you for reminding us of the hard times and strength that people have when they need it the most
I have much respect for the Pioneer Women. I think I could manage hard work happily, but not all that childbirth. They needed large families for survival. We have it so easy in our present lives and compared to the Pioneers, there is not one thing to complain about.
Pioneer women had to be tough spiritually and physically. They had families to feed; which I’m sure was extremely tough to do at times. Another excellent history lesson. Thank you.
Sir, I love the way you narrate these stories. You always make me smile when you say “That’s just the way it was”. These people were gems to the land. We are so soft today. Most of us couldn’t work one day as they did. We would collapse and then not be able to get up and move the next day due to body pain! I grew up on a farm and we worked hard but nowhere near as they did. Thank you, again, for more history of these wonderful people.
Oh, Donnie, this one hits home. I have ancestors who came into the New River Valley in the 1750s that were killed, maimed or scalped by indians, Those Scotch Irish/ German women were a reverent, energetic, resourceful, loving bunch of mountain women and I'm proud of every one of them. Thank you and Congratulations on reaching 100K.
The French started scalping because the Indians had long beautiful hair. They sold the scalps and shot all the Indians they could for money. Then the horrified Indians started the practice to show the white man the barbarity of the practice. History is written by the victors! I'm sorry your kin had that done to them but Indians were only fighting back against the genocide of their race. They nearly went the way of the Buffalo. There were so many that some herds would cover an entire state! They were slaughtered to starve the Indians out and were down to 200 individuals before the government stepped in. Imagine if every state had a herd like deer or Elk. What a marvelous creature and a source of food for the coming famine. True history is amazing. ....
I was looking and remembering the old houses that had them hand hewn chestnut oak beams for walls a neighbor of mine down the road here him and his family live in a log house that close to 250 years old it’s got siding on the outside of the logs but open inside best I remember. He told me it was at least 225-245 years old.
We tend to complain so much about the inconveniences of today. But just going back a few generations in our own lives allows us to remember when times were so much harder. Without these strong women most of us wouldn't be here today. Donnie, I follow 50 plus channels on RUclips. Yours is my favourite by far. You can relay these historical facts in a way that can send me back in time. You're able to use many of the same photos, while linking them to different stories, and make it work anew. My friend you're one of the best storytellers that I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Don't change a thing Donnie and God bless you my friend.
Celebrating Appalachia mentioned a book, woman of the mountain, i ordered it & an excellent read!! That canning is art in my opinion My moms rule was nothing canned could be opened till Thanksgiving or else it wouldn't last all winter
Donnie, Thank you for this beautiful history lesson. My beloved, hundred year old, Aunt Rita passed away today. I was thinking of how difficult my relatives had it back then. I come from an Italian immigrant family who settled in New York. You showed me how life was pretty much the same regardless of where one lived. Their strength of character was passed down the line to succeeding generations. God bless them all!
Thanks Donnie, for Honoring our Pioneer Women, for they deserve it.Both of my Grandma's where born and raised in Sevier County, Big Greenbriar in the Smokeys and Wilhite near English Mountain, I love them still and miss them more as time goes by. God Bless You Friend and have a Good Evening 🙂.
Women were tougher than nails and old boots until 100 years ago Now even a 'capable' woman won't last three months in those conditions. Thank you for the wonderful upload. 🌸
Donnie, Congratulations on 100k. Your stories have a family value content to be enjoyed by anyone. Always look forward to your videos. Have a blessed to Everyone🌷🌷🌷
My people have been here on both sides since before the Mayflower, they help settle this land from Coast to Coast. My grandfather and my great grandfather both died from black lung. My ancestors fought in a revolutionary war on both sides of my family... My people have been here for hundreds of years and some of my people were native to this land.... My people made it ! 💜🙏🕊️🪄✨💫 Beyond Blessed As were my ancestors And your ancestors, Whoever you maybe. Many Blessings to All Y'all's 🙏🕊️
My grandmother from Kentucky, told me that women tried not to get attached to their children until they were 2 years old because of the death rates. They also nursed their babies through their second summer to give them more protection and stronger immune systems.
Thank you sir for recognizing, remembering and dedicating this episode to all of my grandmothers and to all of the grandmothers of the families that have settled this country and specifically Appalachian mountains.... I'm just going to go head out on a limb here and say that I bet some people didn't know that Kentucky was called the dark and bloody ground and that the native American people really only hunted there they didn't actually live there but as I'm sure a lot of people that's watching this is quite familiar with a lot of things and probably is familiar with this as well.... 💜🙏🕊️🪄✨💫 Beyond Blessed As were My Grandmothers of Every Generation, 🙏🕊️ May God Bless Them and Keep Them Always Because if not for them , me and mine would not be here and probably not you and yours.....
I thought of my mom, who passed away in 2007, when I saw this video. She had iron will and inner strength, though suffered from a congenital heart murmur. She told me that before she married my father, she was a young widow, raising my older sister and brother. She lived in a Texas farmhouse with no central heating or plumbing. The water from the well was rusty, so she pumped the water through a cloth. She dug a pit for an outhouse and built the outhouse. She cooked on a hearth, with heavy iron cookware hung from cranes. (This was in the late 1940s to the early 1950s!) She did all this while driving a model T to a low-paying job in town. She lost a lot of weight, but she made sure her toddler son and baby daughter were fed. Then life continued to be tough for her even after she married my dad. Despite the hard life, Mom had a loving heart and she always had class. I imagine the pioneer women were just the same.
My Great Grandmother came from South East Kentucky. I hope to learn more about her and her family. The story goes that both her parents died when she was very young. She was sent to live with her grandmother and her sister sent to live with an aunt, but we've never been able to find her sister or her name. It's my understanding that her sister was an infant. My Great Grandmother married my Great Grandfather when she was 14.
I would love to go back in that time and have the women show me how to do things they did back then. It’s hard work and I respect that. Those women seemed strong. Thank you for the video. Have a good one Donnie!
Hey Donnie. Wonderful story about the life and times of the mountain women. They sure had it hard, but were thankful for everything they had. Where would we be without them? Thank you my friend and have a good night.
I just found your channel & I am THRILLED to hear someone keeping our past alive! I'm from East Tennessee deep in the Appalachias. I love our beautiful land & our people. I love our culture & the way we talk. I thank God He blessed me to be born here. I will never leave here or live anywhere else, God willing. Bless you Donnie for keeping "us" alive.
I can not imagine how the back breaking work these women endured It was never ending. Thank you for the work u put forth in making these videos and you always mention God in these videos. God bless you and yours
Oh wow very interesting Donnie love to hear about the Pioneer women of the Appalachia love that beautiful view of the mountains awesome scenery it was tuff back then you had to do whatever you had to do to survive love the history and all and about the Pioneer woman love the pictures you are showing us also interesting info
i can't get anyone on board much with helping me in the garden and canning,but i still get it done.hard times are coming again.managed to break and can a bushel of green beans this past weekend.
God fearing is and was the key to life. Bless you brother Donnie for sharing these wonderful stories! A lot of people have forgot or fail to remember where we have come from. ✝️
I’ve watched many of your videos and have thoroughly enjoyed them; but, this has to be my very favorite of all! Thank you for sharing so much of your heart.
My Grandad got sick as a baby with a lung infection, and an old mountain woman road a mule into the holler and healed him using lobelia tea. His great Grandad had 12 brothers, only 10 lived, which was a lot. They were all living in the mountains because they looked like the hills back home in Scotland. Nanaw knew all the old ways... spinning yarn, dying it, knitting, chriceting, canning, making hand quilts, lye soaps, herbal medicines...she taught me the old ways. The last of our mountain kin had an old homestead back in a holler near Murfreesboro where there was only a post office. When we we to visit, we rode a mule in and they drew water from the creek or the well. Good God fearing folks. Grandad and his dad were barbers, too. Thankyou for sharing..took me back to the old years.
Donnie, my family grew up that way but most of all of them are gone now. I still hear stories about how hard it was just to live. I'm so thankful I know how they made it and that they survived that way and those ways were handed down.
Hi Donnie, great history lesson! Very true what you show in this video. My grandfather and grandmother worked a farm so my mother was born on the kitchen table. No time to get to a hospital - farm work couldn't wait. Thanks again for the history lesson.
These values still exist today and keep Appalachia proud. Even now my elderly grandmother and fellow widowers all help each other with shopping, yardwork, cooking a meal, etc. Thank you for such a heartfelt glimpse at our history.
Appalachia people are a whole culture of their own… it’s stories like these that will keep these traditions alive. They are survivors and did what they had to do to feed their families… love these videos.
Another great video that hit me straight in my deep Appalachian-rooted feels! I’m proud of my stubborned, determined streak and know *exactly* who & where it came from. I sat and watched this with my 17 y/o nephew and got to share stories that were shared with me along the way. Once again, you almost brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for keeping our rich history alive, Donnie. Like you said in the video, we’re losing more and more of it every day. ❤️
Great 👍 video friend you bring up some good stories lot of hard times friend that's why America 🇺🇸 is a special place lot of different cultures pray that people come back together we can make this place Great again 🙏 thank you for the history friend God bless and I will keep praying for my people of this great land
That was beautiful Donnie ! I always loved hearing the story of my brave great grandma hitting a bear that got into the hog pen with a fire poker in central PA Thank you and god bless
My dear friend, This segment brought tears to this old man's eyes. Thinking about the pioneer women in the Salt Lake Valley, when the Mormon pioneers first entered that desert valley. There was nothing for them . Jim Bridger told Brigham Young, he'd pay him $100 for the first crop of corn they raised. Old Bridger knew that there was scaresly any water that grow the crops they needed. But with determination they proved him wrong. That's the kind of women they had to be back in those harder times. God fearing, Bible reading, hard working and fierce family loving women. My great grandmothers on both sides were like that. Love these videos. Thank you Don. My friend.
Beautiful and inspiring video, Donnie. Have you ever visited the Martin's Station living history museum in Lee County VA at the Wilderness Road State Park. I recommend it. When we were there ten years ago, there was a staff of actors in costume who portrayed early settlers and travelers on the road. They engaged us in conversation that made us feel like we'd traveled back in time to Boone's day.
Thank you Donnie Laws for this video. I requested a video about women that sew or quilt. I really enjoyed this video. There’s a nice picture of women wrapped up in the quilts. 😅. Thank you, and God bless you! ✝️🌅🕊🙏😇🕊🕊🕊
Congratulations on 100K! You've worked hard and earned every single one!!!! I bet you'll say it's not work because you love telling these stories. When my husband and I are driving on I-64 in eastern Kentucky where we live, we often talk about the pioneers. We wonder what they thought coming upon these mountains. Were they intimidated and scared or did they see the beauty that we do and see opportunity? I can't imagine seeing Kentucky the way it was then. There are good roads (mostly), lights on utility poles, and houses all over the hills and it's still rural and frightening at times. Brave people our ancestors. Great video!
Such a neat video Donnie....and some great historical pictures....we can't even imagine how hard these people had to work for their families to live to see another day.....so rugged and determined and resourceful. ..making something out of nothing....my folks and Grandparents used to tell us some of their life's experiences...we are so and forever grateful for them... Thank you for the video Brother and God Bless you and yours.
These women did it hard. We whine and think we have it hard, the kid’s today have no idea what hard work is. Thank’s Donnie for the reminder just how good we do have it.🙏🇦🇺
This is year 2023 & I’m positive not many could do what these women had to do or the men. As I sit in my comfy chair watching this on my cellphone I have such sadness in my heart 😢. I’m a country gal & seen hard times but nothing like this. The work I wouldn’t mind…. But having up 13 kids or more? That I couldn’t do. Much respect for the Appalachian women, men & children. Thank you for sharing this part of history with us. 👵🏻👩🌾❣️
My grandma was from the mountains in Kentucky. She married my grandpa at 13. He was 19. They settled in the mountains of Tennessee. Married under an old oak Tree where they built there first home. She birthed 14 children. First set of twins died at birth. Her 2nd set died at 8 months old. It was diphtheria that was going around. She got up before sun- up. Making breakfast, doing dishes. Then started over again for lunch. The rest worked out in the fields. She took her laundry to the river and scrubbed them on a rock. She thought it was something when they got a wringer washer and could do it at home. God bless all the women back then and their husbands. They worked hard til they fell out.
Thank you for sharing the story of these precious women with us. My family is from Appalachia and they have always been God-fearing, hard working people who loved their families and the people in the community. I've learned so much from my moma and mamaw.
The Appalachians ARE among the most ancient mountains in the world. They are close to ten times as old as the Rocky Mountains according to my Geology Professor from my college days.
Bless their hearts! Such loving, God Loving, kind, dedicated, humble, hard working women! So much they learned, taught and passed on to the next generations! Thank God for them! Very strong willed women! Great video, Donnie! Thank you and God Bless!
Dear Mr. Laws, I just discovered your channel (because I have an active interest in Appalachian folklore and witchcraft) and I am in love with your work and just watching your nature videos! Your voice is so kind and warm and that you bless even me makes you a very special person. Thank you so much for all you do! 🖤
Donnie,Thanks again for more information on women pioneers in the South. I know alot of families couldn't have made it without those women. My Moms Granny was full blood Indian near Manchester,Ky. Married into the Napier name. William Abner by name. I wish I had more info.
Hard life, but far more meaningful than now. Gratitude, humility and reverence. People of substance. Thank you for showing us what we should aspire to be once again Mr. Donnie. We've lost our American pluck & grit. So lovely to see these images. 💙🇺🇲❤️
Our mamaw and papaw are from the mountains of the Appalachia...those mountains call me back all of the time - no matter where I go in life home is always those mountains. My sister and mom still live in those mountains. You will never find better folks. I miss the sound of those old floors squeaking and the windows open at night with the sounds of summer...and no air...but it didn't matter - we didn't know better. Thank you for sharing your stories...much appreciated....Donna B.
We need to learn some more of these skill sets whether we live that way or not. I garden, can/preserve the harvests, study herbs & foraging, I raise chickens & rabbit (for eggs & fertilizer) & am raising meat birds w my neighbor to learn butchering but there’s so much more to learn.
Not only the story, but also these old photographs bring one to tears. These are the most beautiful faces of the most beautiful people, their whole lives are written in them. They survived it all.
Thank you for posting this video.
WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you. Your very welcome.
Thank you for honoring this great generation of women. The women in my family were such hard working women, cooking, quilting, canning,etc for their families. My mom was one of 13 children of which 10 survived. My generation took a different approach to life, my siblings and I became nurses, electricians, and telephone operators. I cherish the memories from my childhood. Sending prayers of healing to you Mr Donnie.❤️
These Ladies are special indeed. They paved the way for wonderful family traditions. How very special they were. They cherished their children and husbands. Wonderful god fearing souls. Thank you Donnie for telling these stories and keeping them alive. God bless you for all that you do. Your friend, Louise
Bless their hearts, each and everyone of them. It wasn't uncommon for Women to have a child about every year for 12 or so years. Like you said Donnie, alot of the babies wouldn't survive. It wasn't uncommon to lose a quarter of the total of kids you had from various diseases or injury. My Grandma which was born in 1900, was a midwife and would ride sidesaddle across the country to go help some Woman during her birth. And that sweet Lady was only 4'11. Bless her heart, she wasn't afraid of anything. I miss ya Grandma. Rest in peace, you are not forgotten, nor are the countless others who did what you did.
Thanks for sharing that my friend. God bless you.
❤️
My wife's Granny was a Cherokee midwife, and helped birth her. Like the midwife in the story, she was well under 5' tall. Had it not been for her, my dear wife likely would not have survived.
❤️
That's a cool family story
My family were the original settlers of this area in West Virginia. (Virginia then, obviously.) They built a fort called Nutters Fort, which now has a small community named after it, in Harrison County. We’ve been here ever since. I proudly tell people I am a hillbilly, but it doesn’t mean what they think it means. 😉 My grandma was the most amazing, salt of the Earth, smartest, most caring woman I have ever known. She raised a slew of children through the Great Depression, death of two babies, wars, etc, and nothing broke her spirit or faith. She was a fantastic cook, farmer, seamstress, and educated business lady, which was truly amazing for a woman born in 1800s Appalachia. I was 10, and she was almost 95, when she died. I will miss her forever. ❤️
Awesome! God bless you. Thanks for sharing your story my friend.
Thanks for sharing your story! Your grandma sounded like an amazing woman! Your very blessed my friend!! God Bless you and I am so very sorry for your loss!! I just lost my father in September 8th, 2022…. He had dementia and Parkinson’s. He was 83.
Sounds like my grandma...and like you I will miss mine 4 ever too! Thx for sharing about your grandma!!
Mine too!
I'm form West Virginia too way down in the coalfields of Logan county. I'm proud of being a hillbilly to.
I'm 22 years old yet I feel some sort of deeply rooted connection with mountains, farm living, growing food, Christian upbringing, and living in a big family myself and helping each other out makes me think that living in those times would have made us even closer. I appreciate a hard working and God fearing family, but I've never once gotten to live on a farm. Make my own garden. These are things that I want to experience before this way of living dies out. This video brought a tear to my eye, for the lost traditions and life I never got the chance to experience. Hopefully I can learn these things if I ever have my own family so that this way of living doesn't die.
So glad you enjoyed it my friend. Thanks so much for sharing your story. God bless you.
Breed well & often. Protect yourself from all sides of humanity & don’t listen to ppl just do what you decide.
These were beautiful people. Unlike others writing, I think these folks were happy for the most part. They could not miss what they didn't have in those days. Children today know nothing about hard times. I'm 72 and born in Arkansas but can relate to hard times with these folks.
Start with one skill at a time.
Things like making your own brooms, growing your own vegetables, taking care of a flock of hens and soap making are skills that have to be learned. It takes a lot of knowledge, so start with smaller things, one at a time. Growing up, we learned it as we grew so we began with small things and built up on it, so do it that way so you don't get overwhelmed.
Routines are really, really important on a farm bc everything on it depends on you to survive and thrive, so while you're young, I suggest a housework routine. Do a big chore every day along with regular maintenance chores daily. Like do all your laundry on one day, do all your fridge and freezer cleaning, grocery shopping and meal preparation in one day to get you started on the weekly cycle of maintenance and big chores.
Start a small window garden with a tomato plant or some herbs and get good at gardening wherever you can.
Make daily Bible study part of your routine.
Building up a functional routine makes sure that everything gets done every day, every week, every month, like clockwork. Children, plants and animals thrive on routine, which is why it is so integral to farm life.
@@azurephoenix9546 G EVENING..THOSE ARE WELL SPOKEN WORDS..THAT IS ABSOLUTE FACT..GET ONE THING DOWN TO A TEA..THEN THE NEXT..IF NOT YOU ARE OVERWELMED AND ALL CAN FALL APART VERY FAST AND EASY..DISAPOINTMENT WILL FOLLOW..WORDS WELL SPOKEN.~MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY~
Donnie my friend this totally hits home , we still can today , make our own soaps , sew 🪡 much work to be done ✅! The best most important job a woman can have is making a loving home for her family and PROVIDING. Teaching children included ! Daddy died from black lung . Family means everything . Thank you for sharing this , your wonderful good 👍 God bless you friend 🥰
So sorry to hear about your dad my friend. Thanks so much for sharing your story. God bless you.
Thank you for this! Our young have no idea what their ancestors did to survive. We all owe a debt of gratitude to them!
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
99,9% of the younger generation could care less about their ancestry
Great video
@@tomrobards7753 That's so true, but very sad my friend. God help us all down the road. Thanks for sharing.
I'm always fascinated by the pioneer women, they were the backbone of all the early settlers, even here in Australia.The conditions were extreme!! I love these stories Donnie!! I always see something I want to draw in your wonderful stories!! It's really all about passing the traditions down!! 'That's just the way it was'!! Beautiful my friend!!😀👍💯
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
He's a fine storyteller ain't he. Best thing about family gatherings to me was listening to those old stories.
Hi Rusticated art.
Hi friend. Fellow Aussie here. Grannie Cyndy from South Australia.
Great inspirational stories, aren't they? Just love Donnie.
Can't help wondering what part of the country you're from.
If you like these pioneering stories I can recommend a great book, Australian Pioneering Women by Eve Pownell.
God bless.
Love to hear the Appalachian Storytelling by Mr. Donnie. You described my Mom, Grandmother perfectly. Thank you Sir ! See you around the next ridge. God bless you!
Thank you friend. God bless you.
Born and raised in KY,farm families,hard working people,yes,the women cooked,cleaned,scrubbed clothes,gardened,raised animals and had babies and went right back to work some my people were English,some Scotch-Irish,some German and a few Native Americans,we knew the land mountain or creek bottom,grew corn and tobacco,mowed hay,grew food you had to...town was far,some never ever drove a car till the 1940s my Dad worked from the age of eight,went to the Navy at 17,bought a car for his Mom,learned to drive it and then taught her, his Dad was so used to horses or a wagon he refused to drive. Yes,women were a lot of times the backbone of the family,they deserve all the respect and love we can render them! They taught me to survive a lot and my own toughness came from them.👍😊💗God bless and thanks for the video.
WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you. Your very welcome.
What true, brave ladies, who deserve recognition, thank you, Donnie!
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Bless their hearts and God rest their hardworking souls❤🙏♥️. Thank you for reminding us of the hard times and strength that people have when they need it the most
Your very welcome my friend. Thanks so much.
I have much respect for the Pioneer Women. I think I could manage hard work happily, but not all that childbirth. They needed large families for survival. We have it so easy in our present lives and compared to the Pioneers, there is not one thing to complain about.
Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Thank you for including all of humanity in all of your videos, and especially for this one dedicated to women.
Your very welcome my friend.
Pioneer women had to be tough spiritually and physically. They had families to feed; which I’m sure was extremely tough to do at times. Another excellent history lesson. Thank you.
Awesome! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Sir, I love the way you narrate these stories. You always make me smile when you say “That’s just the way it was”. These people were gems to the land. We are so soft today. Most of us couldn’t work one day as they did. We would collapse and then not be able to get up and move the next day due to body pain! I grew up on a farm and we worked hard but nowhere near as they did. Thank you, again, for more history of these wonderful people.
Well said my friend. Thank you friend for sharing this. Your very welcome. God bless you.
Some wont get out of bed they have that game in their hand Xbox. 🎮.
@@lespoole8527 That’s a whole new group of people. They’re called useless.
Both sides of my family have been in these hills traced back to the 1600s.... hard life but they didnt know it-they felt blessed. :)
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Oh, Donnie, this one hits home. I have ancestors who came into the New River Valley in the 1750s that were killed, maimed or scalped by indians, Those Scotch Irish/ German women were a reverent, energetic, resourceful, loving bunch of mountain women and I'm proud of every one of them. Thank you and Congratulations on reaching 100K.
WOW, Your very welcome my friend. Thanks for sharing this story.
The French started scalping because the Indians had long beautiful hair. They sold the scalps and shot all the Indians they could for money. Then the horrified Indians started the practice to show the white man the barbarity of the practice. History is written by the victors! I'm sorry your kin had that done to them but Indians were only fighting back against the genocide of their race. They nearly went the way of the Buffalo. There were so many that some herds would cover an entire state! They were slaughtered to starve the Indians out and were down to 200 individuals before the government stepped in. Imagine if every state had a herd like deer or Elk. What a marvelous creature and a source of food for the coming famine. True history is amazing. ....
New River Valley descendant, Appalachian. Montgomery and Chapman, New River Valley
I love these stories I would love to see more of them they are so important to not to forget where we came from
Thanks for sharing this my friend.
Yes, bless their hearts!💕💕💕Donnie, this is a beautiful tribute. Well done. Tears in my eyes.
Thank you friend. God bless you.
I was looking and remembering the old houses that had them hand hewn chestnut oak beams for walls a neighbor of mine down the road here him and his family live in a log house that close to 250 years old it’s got siding on the outside of the logs but open inside best I remember. He told me it was at least 225-245 years old.
WOW, Thanks for sharing this my friend.
Beautiful story of how it was. This generation has no idea of what hard times and hard work is.
Thank you friend. Thanks for sharing this.
We tend to complain so much about the inconveniences of today. But just going back a few generations in our own lives allows us to remember when times were so much harder. Without these strong women most of us wouldn't be here today. Donnie, I follow 50 plus channels on RUclips. Yours is my favourite by far. You can relay these historical facts in a way that can send me back in time. You're able to use many of the same photos, while linking them to different stories, and make it work anew. My friend you're one of the best storytellers that I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Don't change a thing Donnie and God bless you my friend.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend. God bless you.
Thank you so much for this beautiful tribute to women. Today, women aren't women like the resilient ones you speak of. Yours is a perfect tribute.
Awesome my friend. Glad you enjoyed it. They deserve so much. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you. Your very welcome.
Celebrating Appalachia mentioned a book, woman of the mountain, i ordered it & an excellent read!!
That canning is art in my opinion
My moms rule was nothing canned could be opened till Thanksgiving or else it wouldn't last all winter
Awesome my friend.
I love that book
Donnie, Thank you for this beautiful history lesson. My beloved, hundred year old, Aunt Rita passed away today. I was thinking of how difficult
my relatives had it back then. I come from an Italian immigrant family who settled in New York. You showed me how life was pretty much the same regardless of where one lived. Their strength of character was passed down the line to succeeding generations. God bless them all!
So sorry! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Howdy Donnie- those women were the salt of the earth. None tougher than them. Thank you for sharing this. God bless
Amen my friend. God bless you.
Appalachians are known to be great storytellers and you’re right up there with the best of ‘em!! Keep it up!! We need all of ‘‘em you can tell!!
Awesome my friend. Thank you so much. God bless you.
Thanks Donnie, for Honoring our Pioneer Women, for they deserve it.Both of my Grandma's where born and raised in Sevier County, Big Greenbriar in the Smokeys and Wilhite near English Mountain, I love them still and miss them more as time goes by. God Bless You Friend and have a Good Evening 🙂.
Awesome my friend. Your very welcome. God bless you.
Women were tougher than nails and old boots until 100 years ago Now even a 'capable' woman won't last three months in those conditions.
Thank you for the wonderful upload. 🌸
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Donnie, Congratulations on 100k.
Your stories have a family value content to be enjoyed by anyone.
Always look forward to your videos.
Have a blessed to Everyone🌷🌷🌷
I appreciate that. Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend. God bless you.
Another wonderful story, told like only you can .
Thank you, Donnie.
God bless.
thank you Donnie for paying tribute to the women.!! They had to be tough too. God bless you sir !!!
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
My people have been here on both sides since before the Mayflower, they help settle this land from Coast to Coast.
My grandfather and my great grandfather both died from black lung. My ancestors fought in a revolutionary war on both sides of my family...
My people have been here for hundreds of years and some of my people were native to this land....
My people made it !
💜🙏🕊️🪄✨💫
Beyond Blessed
As were my ancestors
And your ancestors,
Whoever you maybe.
Many Blessings to All Y'all's 🙏🕊️
Awesome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing your memories and history. God bless you.
My grandmother from Kentucky, told me that women tried not to get attached to their children until they were 2 years old because of the death rates. They also nursed their babies through their second summer to give them more protection and stronger immune systems.
WOW, Thanks for sharing this my friend.
Thank you sir for recognizing, remembering and dedicating this episode to all of my grandmothers and to all of the grandmothers of the families that have settled this country and specifically Appalachian mountains....
I'm just going to go head out on a limb here and say that I bet some people didn't know that Kentucky was called the dark and bloody ground and that the native American people really only hunted there they didn't actually live there but as I'm sure a lot of people that's watching this is quite familiar with a lot of things and probably is familiar with this as well....
💜🙏🕊️🪄✨💫
Beyond Blessed
As were My Grandmothers of Every Generation, 🙏🕊️ May God Bless Them and Keep Them Always
Because if not for them , me and mine would not be here and probably not you and yours.....
WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you.
I thought of my mom, who passed away in 2007, when I saw this video. She had iron will and inner strength, though suffered from a congenital heart murmur. She told me that before she married my father, she was a young widow, raising my older sister and brother. She lived in a Texas farmhouse with no central heating or plumbing. The water from the well was rusty, so she pumped the water through a cloth. She dug a pit for an outhouse and built the outhouse. She cooked on a hearth, with heavy iron cookware hung from cranes. (This was in the late 1940s to the early 1950s!) She did all this while driving a model T to a low-paying job in town. She lost a lot of weight, but she made sure her toddler son and baby daughter were fed. Then life continued to be tough for her even after she married my dad. Despite the hard life, Mom had a loving heart and she always had class. I imagine the pioneer women were just the same.
WOW, Thanks for sharing your memories with us my friend. So sorry for your loss. God bless you.
Thank you Mr Laws!! Most of us don't know how good we really have it!! 👍👍
Thanks for sharing this my friend.
My Great Grandmother came from South East Kentucky. I hope to learn more about her and her family. The story goes that both her parents died when she was very young. She was sent to live with her grandmother and her sister sent to live with an aunt, but we've never been able to find her sister or her name. It's my understanding that her sister was an infant. My Great Grandmother married my Great Grandfather when she was 14.
Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Have you tried ancestry DNA to see if she had any kids?
@@SmallTownGirl3 Yes and I've found nothing.
I am a Genetic Genealogist. I would be happy to help. Just let me know :)
Love. This. Strory s. Thank. You. God. Bless. You
Awesome! Your very welcome my friend.
I would love to go back in that time and have the women show me how to do things they did back then. It’s hard work and I respect that. Those women seemed strong. Thank you for the video. Have a good one Donnie!
Your very welcome my friend. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you for the work you do. I have been benge watching your videos for the last 2 days. I'm so glad I found them.
Thanks for the memories Donnie I lived that about the 1st 7 years of my life and I don't never remember a bad day Thanks again And God-bless you
Awesome my friend. Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Donnie. Wonderful story about the life and times of the mountain women. They sure had it hard, but were thankful for everything they had. Where would we be without them? Thank you my friend and have a good night.
Thank you friend. Amen for them.
I just found your channel & I am THRILLED to hear someone keeping our past alive! I'm from East Tennessee deep in the Appalachias. I love our beautiful land & our people. I love our culture & the way we talk. I thank God He blessed me to be born here. I will never leave here or live anywhere else, God willing. Bless you Donnie for keeping "us" alive.
Awesome! Welcome friend. Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
I can not imagine how the back breaking work these women endured It was never ending. Thank you for the work u put forth in making these videos and you always mention God in these videos. God bless you and yours
Thank you so much my friend. Your very welcome. God bless you.
You are the best Donnie laws
Thank you friend.
Oh wow very interesting Donnie love to hear about the Pioneer women of the Appalachia love that beautiful view of the mountains awesome scenery it was tuff back then you had to do whatever you had to do to survive love the history and all and about the Pioneer woman love the pictures you are showing us also interesting info
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Thanks happy to be sharing Donnie always
i can't get anyone on board much with helping me in the garden and canning,but i still get it done.hard times are coming again.managed to break and can a bushel of green beans this past weekend.
I know the feeling my friend. God bless you.
Leaning on The Everlasting Arms Amen 🙏 great song.
Thank you friend. Amen.
God fearing is and was the key to life. Bless you brother Donnie for sharing these wonderful stories! A lot of people have forgot or fail to remember where we have come from. ✝️
Thank you friend for sharing this. God bless you.
I’ve watched many of your videos and have thoroughly enjoyed them; but, this has to be my very favorite of all! Thank you for sharing so much of your heart.
Awesome, your very welcome my friend. God bless you.
Ll
Thanks Donnie God bless🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
Your very welcome my friend. God bless.
My Grandad got sick as a baby with a lung infection, and an old mountain woman road a mule into the holler and healed him using lobelia tea. His great Grandad had 12 brothers, only 10 lived, which was a lot. They were all living in the mountains because they looked like the hills back home in Scotland. Nanaw knew all the old ways... spinning yarn, dying it, knitting, chriceting, canning, making hand quilts, lye soaps, herbal medicines...she taught me the old ways. The last of our mountain kin had an old homestead back in a holler near Murfreesboro where there was only a post office. When we we to visit, we rode a mule in and they drew water from the creek or the well. Good God fearing folks. Grandad and his dad were barbers, too. Thankyou for sharing..took me back to the old years.
Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing your story with us. God bless you.
Donnie, my family grew up that way but most of all of them are gone now. I still hear stories about how hard it was just to live. I'm so thankful I know how they made it and that they survived that way and those ways were handed down.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend. God bless you.
I enjoyed the Store on the pioneer women.I love the old store an thank for sharing with us.God Bless you all
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Hi Donnie, great history lesson! Very true what you show in this video. My grandfather and grandmother worked a farm so my mother was born on the kitchen table. No time to get to a hospital - farm work couldn't wait. Thanks again for the history lesson.
WOW, Thanks for sharing this story my friend.
God bless you also Mr laws, love your videos and those beautiful pioneer ladies of Appalachia
Thank you friend. God bless you.
I didn't know I was going to cry during this story. 😭😭😭
I'm sorry! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
My Grandma Blazer lived this hard life. Thank you for this wonderful story.
Awesome! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Donnie I really appreciate your videos and storytelling. I have learned a lot watching them
I appreciate that! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
These values still exist today and keep Appalachia proud. Even now my elderly grandmother and fellow widowers all help each other with shopping, yardwork, cooking a meal, etc. Thank you for such a heartfelt glimpse at our history.
Can listen to you any time. Best history book there is. Thank you !!
Awesome! Your very welcome my friend.
thank you !!
Appalachia people are a whole culture of their own… it’s stories like these that will keep these traditions alive. They are survivors and did what they had to do to feed their families… love these videos.
Another great video that hit me straight in my deep Appalachian-rooted feels! I’m proud of my stubborned, determined streak and know *exactly* who & where it came from. I sat and watched this with my 17 y/o nephew and got to share stories that were shared with me along the way. Once again, you almost brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for keeping our rich history alive, Donnie. Like you said in the video, we’re losing more and more of it every day. ❤️
That's awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this.
Great 👍 video friend you bring up some good stories lot of hard times friend that's why America 🇺🇸 is a special place lot of different cultures pray that people come back together we can make this place Great again 🙏 thank you for the history friend God bless and I will keep praying for my people of this great land
Amen my friend. Thanks for sharing this.
What a beautiful heartfelt tribute.
Thank you friend.
That was beautiful Donnie !
I always loved hearing the story of my brave great grandma hitting a bear that got into the hog pen with a fire poker in central PA
Thank you and god bless
Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this story.
Absolutely love to hear about the pioneer families….thank you for sharing..😊
Your very welcome my friend.
Reminds me of my Granny I sure do miss her & Thanks Mr Donnie 😊❤️
Awesome my friend. God bless you.
@@donnielaws7020 Ty😊
Loved this video! Don’t know how these people survived but so glad they did ! They were the backbone of our Country!
Amen my friend. God bless you.
My dear friend,
This segment brought tears to this old man's eyes.
Thinking about the pioneer women in the Salt Lake Valley, when the Mormon pioneers first entered that desert valley.
There was nothing for them .
Jim Bridger told Brigham Young, he'd pay him $100 for the first crop of corn they raised.
Old Bridger knew that there was scaresly any water that grow the crops they needed.
But with determination they proved him wrong.
That's the kind of women they had to be back in those harder times.
God fearing, Bible reading, hard working and fierce family loving women.
My great grandmothers on both sides were like that.
Love these videos.
Thank you Don. My friend.
WOW, Thanks for sharing your memories with us my friend. So glad you enjoyed it. Thank you. God bless you.
@@donnielaws7020
And may the Good Lord bless you and your wonderful family.
Beautiful and inspiring video, Donnie. Have you ever visited the Martin's Station living history museum in Lee County VA at the Wilderness Road State Park. I recommend it. When we were there ten years ago, there was a staff of actors in costume who portrayed early settlers and travelers on the road. They engaged us in conversation that made us feel like we'd traveled back in time to Boone's day.
That's awesome. No I haven't my friend. I need to. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you Donnie Laws for this video. I requested a video about women that sew or quilt.
I really enjoyed this video. There’s a nice picture of women wrapped up in the quilts. 😅. Thank you, and God bless you! ✝️🌅🕊🙏😇🕊🕊🕊
Congratulations on 100K! You've worked hard and earned every single one!!!! I bet you'll say it's not work because you love telling these stories. When my husband and I are driving on I-64 in eastern Kentucky where we live, we often talk about the pioneers. We wonder what they thought coming upon these mountains. Were they intimidated and scared or did they see the beauty that we do and see opportunity? I can't imagine seeing Kentucky the way it was then. There are good roads (mostly), lights on utility poles, and houses all over the hills and it's still rural and frightening at times. Brave people our ancestors. Great video!
So true my friend. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. They had be brave and scared to death at the same time.
@@donnielaws7020 I would say that you are 100% correct.
Thankyou Donnie for bringing me back home...
Awesome! Your very welcome my friend.
Such a neat video Donnie....and some great historical pictures....we can't even imagine how hard these people had to work for their families to live to see another day.....so rugged and determined and resourceful. ..making something out of nothing....my folks and Grandparents used to tell us some of their life's experiences...we are so and forever grateful for them...
Thank you for the video Brother and God Bless you and yours.
Thank you! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
These women did it hard. We whine and think we have it hard, the kid’s today have no idea what hard work is. Thank’s Donnie for the reminder just how good we do have it.🙏🇦🇺
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Thank you so much again sir, another beautiful history lecture. Thank you!!!
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
This is year 2023 & I’m positive not many could do what these women had to do or the men. As I sit in my comfy chair watching this on my cellphone I have such sadness in my heart 😢. I’m a country gal & seen hard times but nothing like this. The work I wouldn’t mind…. But having up 13 kids or more? That I couldn’t do. Much respect for the Appalachian women, men & children.
Thank you for sharing this part of history with us. 👵🏻👩🌾❣️
My grandma was from the mountains in Kentucky. She married my grandpa at 13. He was 19. They settled in the mountains of Tennessee. Married under an old oak Tree where they built there first home. She birthed 14 children. First set of twins died at birth. Her 2nd set died at 8 months old. It was diphtheria that was going around. She got up before sun- up. Making breakfast, doing dishes. Then started over again for lunch. The rest worked out in the fields. She took her laundry to the river and scrubbed them on a rock. She thought it was something when they got a wringer washer and could do it at home. God bless all the women back then and their husbands. They worked hard til they fell out.
WOW! God bless you my friend.
All most the weekend hope you have had a top week and what a top job see you at the next 👍
You to my friend. Thanks.
Thank you, Mr. Laws. Always informative and interesting! 💖
Awesome! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Thank you for sharing the story of these precious women with us. My family is from Appalachia and they have always been God-fearing, hard working people who loved their families and the people in the community. I've learned so much from my moma and mamaw.
Awesome! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
The Appalachians ARE among the most ancient mountains in the world. They are close to ten times as old as the Rocky Mountains according to my Geology Professor from my college days.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Bless their hearts! Such loving, God Loving, kind, dedicated, humble, hard working women! So much they learned, taught and passed on to the next generations! Thank God for them! Very strong willed women! Great video, Donnie! Thank you and God Bless!
Thank you friend. Your very welcome. God bless you.
Dear Mr. Laws,
I just discovered your channel (because I have an active interest in Appalachian folklore and witchcraft) and I am in love with your work and just watching your nature videos! Your voice is so kind and warm and that you bless even me makes you a very special person. Thank you so much for all you do! 🖤
Awesome, Welcome friend. Thank you so much.
Howdy Donnie Nice to see you again.
Hello friend.
Donnie,Thanks again for more information on women pioneers in the South. I know alot of families couldn't have made it without those women. My Moms Granny was full blood Indian near Manchester,Ky. Married into the Napier name. William Abner by name. I wish I had more info.
That's awesome my friend. God bless you.
There is a University in Scotland called Edinburgh Napier University.
Hard life, but far more meaningful than now. Gratitude, humility and reverence. People of substance. Thank you for showing us what we should aspire to be once again Mr. Donnie. We've lost our American pluck & grit. So lovely to see these images. 💙🇺🇲❤️
Thank you friend. Your very welcome.
Love ur stories I watch everyone u make.... Ur voice is just soothing to listen to 👍 good job on the videos
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
I love listening to the history of the past.
Thank you friend.
Donnie Laws, your educational video's are the best .so much history in your lil video
Really appreciate your hard work and wisdom 🙏
Thank you so much my friend. God bless you.
Our mamaw and papaw are from the mountains of the Appalachia...those mountains call me back all of the time - no matter where I go in life home is always those mountains. My sister and mom still live in those mountains. You will never find better folks. I miss the sound of those old floors squeaking and the windows open at night with the sounds of summer...and no air...but it didn't matter - we didn't know better. Thank you for sharing your stories...much appreciated....Donna B.
Awesome, Your very welcome my friend. Thanks for sharing this.
Great video Donnie! Most people think of the mountain men but not the women who as you said were the backbone of the household.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Love your stories ❤
We need to learn some more of these skill sets whether we live that way or not. I garden, can/preserve the harvests, study herbs & foraging, I raise chickens & rabbit (for eggs & fertilizer) & am raising meat birds w my neighbor to learn butchering but there’s so much more to learn.
That's so awesome my friend. God bless you. Thanks for sharing this.
@@donnielaws7020 congratulations on 100K!
@@MimsysGarden Thank you friend.
Amen sir it’s sad to see our elders die. So much knowledge an wisdom passing away.
That is so sad my friend, but we will see them again. Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations on reaching 100,000 subscribers, you sure deserve it! Love your videos, very interesting, informative, and educational. Thank you.
Thank you very much my friend! Thanks to supporters like you. Thanks to all.
That is my family on both sides from upper East Tn. And Shelton Laurel. That was mamas Shelton. A true survivor.
Awesome my friend. My grandmother is the little girl in the middle on the picture. Thanks for sharing this my friend.