Great question this week!
My favorite ancestor changes weekly, it seems, but I always come back to my paternal grandmother, Lillie (Courson) Fiscus, when someone asks who my favorite is. It's hard for me to find information about her because she died when my father was 12 years old. When she was young, she had rheumatic fever which caused heart damage and an early death from heart failure.
She gave birth to seven children and mothered six of them. The seventh, Carol Jean, died at birth. A year after that, Lillie's heart gave up. I remember my dad telling me that she spoke with each of her children from her hospital bed before she died, and most of what he remembers was her telling him to be a "good boy." As one would expect, that huge life event colored the rest of his life.
Lillie's two oldest children were daughters -- Wanda and Opal. Wanda died when I was only 5 years old, so I never knew her, but Aunt Opal was one of my favorite people. She had a dry wit and never took herself too seriously. I imagine a lot of who she was came from her mom.
Also, I found out as a teenager that I was born on Lillie's birthday, which makes me feel extra close to her.
Another person who has been fascinating to research is my maternal great grandmother, Edla Uhlin. We didn't even know about her until just a few years ago. As an adult, she worked as a cook in the household of Erik Rosén and his wife in Söderhamn, Sweden. When she was 40 years old, she gave birth to my grandmother, Elisabeth Katrina, and her twin sister, Ingeborg Katrina. The father of these twins was her employer, Erik Rosén. We are slowly uncovering her story -- she never married, and she gave the girls up for adoption. Erik was divorced soon after the birth of the twins, and then he came to America. Edla stayed in Sweden and ultimately worked as a nurse's assistant. Magnus Sälgo has helped to find cousins in Sweden who knew Edla and her story, and by having her profile out here on WikiTree, I've been able to connect with a couple more cousins -- one living in S. Africa and another living in Sweden.
Yesterday, I discovered a cousin who pulled me down the rabbit hole: Adam Fiscus. The write-up about him and his brothers in Owen County Cousins drew me in right away. He sounds just like my dad and his brothers -- he was self-educated, loved a good practical joke and music, and was well-respected as a leader in his community. Family gatherings with my Fiscus family are always something to look forward to!
Again, this was a great question, Deborah!! Thanks for giving me an opportunity to share my favorites. :-)