"As I reflect on our time I feel sure the basic values of life are not 
changed, or the basic experiences. We are born, we grow into maturity, we die 
according to the law of nature. Our highly mechanized civilization has not 
redesigned the human heart. We find happiness, we suffer sorrow, we make our 
contribution to the world around us, whether it be a blessing or a disaster. 
Every man's life is entangled with others."

From Harvest of Yesterdays



 

Introduction

For decades this woman's name was commonplace in homes across the United  States.  An author, a teacher, a Mother and the best friend a Cocker Spaniel's  ever had.

Gladys Taber became the voice of the common woman and a champion of the same.  

She prided herself on being from solid Yankee stock.    

In an attempt to pay tribute to this remarkable woman by researching and  recording her family history it became evident very early on that there were  no "humble beginnings" to be found here.  With each passing day came new  revelations that were a genealogist's dream.

Gladys Leonae Bagg Taber is herself the sum of some of the most extraordinary  individuals that this world has known.

In her books, Gladys wrote with quiet pride of her ancestor, Cotton Mather,  the Puritan minister who influenced Colonial America.  If that were the only  highlight in her lineage, then she would have a rich heritage.  Upon further  investigation however, one touches Kings and Queens and nobility from every  corner of the globe.  To open the Old Testament is to look into the family  history of Gladys Taber.

Enjoy the pages before you and in reading about these people from the past,  you'll have an insight into the heart of Gladys Taber.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I recently re-read Harvest of Yesterdays and Especially Father. In doing so I  wondered about her ancestors. I already knew about Richard Mather and Cotton  Mather, but what of the others? Who were they?

I was not prepared whatsoever for the stunningly rich heritage that unfolded 
before me. She did not know very much about the Raybold side of her family 
because they seemed to be "put in the shade" by the Bagg side which was like 
royalty to her. What she could not have known is that her mother's side is 
equally as rich and connects to her father's side with the powerful de 
Meschines family in Cheshire, England, as well as in Normandy, France. 
William the Conqueror was her 27th. great grandfather.

Gladys Taber's family tree has been a joy to explore and will always be a work  in progress. Research is done using my membership to Ancestry, as well as the  LDS site, Familysearch.com. Google has also been very useful!

In order to protect the privacy of the living members of her family, none are 
named and no details are listed for them. The tree starts with Mrs. Taber and then 
goes back in time through the Bagg and Raybold lines.

You can browse her tree by clicking back through the family names, or by the  alphabetical menu. You can also explore from the photo gallery. If you need  any help, or have any questions, please post them in the discussion board  listed in the links below.

I would like to thank my dear friend Shelley Rogers for writing the lovely  introduction and for helping me search. We have had hilarious telephone  conversations which chiefly consisted of gasps and stunned silences!

I would also like to thank Rita Kovacs for allowing me to use her beautiful  artwork.

Susan Stanley

Sadly, on February 2, 2007 Susan Stanley passed away.  This genealogy was a  labor of love for her and a great source of joy.  Susan will be missed by her  husband Mike, her children and her grandson and the countless friends that she  made throughout her all too short life.

This site is as much a tribute to Susan as it is to Gladys Taber.

Susan, you are missed.

Shelley Rogers

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"Where could I travel to? What would tempt me? I am already here, I don't have  to step outside the yard. I am here, where my heart is."

From Harvest at Stillmeadow















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