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Beyond calling her “one of the old pioneers of this territory,” her 1937 obituary doesn’t tell us much about 88-year-old Eliza Ann Jane Durrance of San Mateo, Florida. She was survived by a brother, two nephews, and nine nieces – no children of her own, so she appears on nobody’s pedigree chart today. Her funeral services were held at the LDS chapel in San Mateo. Somebody remembered her among the early members of the Church in Florida, because there is a “Faith in Every Footstep” medallion on her headstone.
I know only one thing about Eliza that can’t be found in the usual bureaucratic record of census entries and death certificate. That’s this little note appended to Eliza’s temple recommend, written by Southern States Mission President Charles A. Callis when Eliza traveled to Utah in 1912:
“‘Aunt Sis,’ as we all call her here, is a staunch member of the Church. Ever since she joined the Church she has been a true and faithful member. In addition to her many other good qualities ‘Aunt Sis’ is not excelled as a maker of good bread. Many and many a time she has favored the missionaries in Jacksonville with a good loaf.”
A homely contribution — honorable and memorable.
I love this SO very much.
I’m so glad! I love both that she found a way to help, and that it was noticed and remarked upon.
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“is not excelled”
Is that a typo?
No, it’s right — nobody excels her in breadmaking.
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Two Twitter friends contributed some information about Aunt Sis found in a local (Florida) church history book, including some photos of her. When I can pull that all together, I’ll update this post.