I’m working on a major writing project centering around my maternal great-grandmother, Mary Belle Jones Clary, familiarly known by her middle name, Belle.

I’ve been diving into the lives of her parents, grandparents, and other relatives, most of whom were pioneers of Boone Township, Madison County, Indiana, since the 1820s. I’m also exploring the lives of her husband, John William Garrett Clary, her children Ronald, Donna (my grandmother), and Joyce, as well as her brothers, Alpha “Alphie” Jones and Harry Jones.

It’s exciting to explore their lives and the times in which they lived starting in 1900.

For inspiration I’ve set their photographs on my desk.

Belle & Garrett Clary, 1964

Anna Greenlee Jones, my great-great grandmother