She was a mother, a wife, a member of the community and an avid diarist.
She was also my great grandmother. As I read about her daily life I marvel at how similar our thoughts, dreams, desires and daily lives feel stretched across a century.
Julia was born in 1878 and died in 1930. Her father was French, her mother English. She had 2 sisters and 1 brother who were all well educated. Julia was, by all accounts, very close to her father who had studied in the seminary before leaving Lorraine, France where his family dates back to the 1600's.
She married Frederick Moehlman in 1903. The Moehlman's were prominent citizens, and founders of the city. Julia's father in law had fought courageously for the union in the civil war after immigrating from the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussian families valued education and raising their children with character above all else.
Shortly after marriage her family began to unravel. Her parents divorced, her father became withdrawn and bitter. Then, in 1908 my great great grandfather [Julia's father], Dennis Simair, strapped 8 pounds of dynamite to himself and committed suicide as a protest to property taxes. He believed that a person should be able to live by the fruits of his own efforts. The property on Stagg hill in Kansas (yes Kansas does have hills) was his and he felt no one should have a claim to it, so he made it sure no one could ever take him off of the land. Shortly after this Julia's mother took her siblings to Oklahoma and appear to have cut of contact with Julia.
This brings us to about a year and a half before this diary began. I can't imagine the public shame and personal grief that must have accompanied these events. It appears that Julia rose above and her positivity carried her through.
