This picture is of my Polish grandmother, called Bapcia by my family. She’s working the fields of the family farm in Readington Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. I think the young man helping could be neighbor Edward DelCarlo. The photo is undated, but most likely was taken in the 1930s. I love this photo of Bapcia, because it is a scene of a vanishing time across the world, when farming was still done mostly by hand. Her hair would have been almost the color of the field, a lovely soft yellow blonde, that she kept looking beautiful by using a chamomile flower rinse and rain water collected in barrels.

Here’s the information from her immigration record: “June 22, 1906. Arrives in Port of Baltimore, MD on SS Rhein. Occupation: Servant. Traveled alone. Country from Galicia, Austria. Race or People: Polish. City or Town (from): Berdechow.  Destination: Carnegie, PA. Currency on hand: $12.00.  Age: 26. Able to read & write: No. Marital Status: Single. Name of person traveling to: Teresa Motyka (cousin), No. 212 Okelf Street, Carnegie, PA.” Sounds pretty fearless to me, for Bapcia to travel alone across Europe, and then on a ship across the Atlantic Ocean to find a better life!

This month Lisa at The Accidental Genealogist is back again with blogging prompts for Fearless Females in honor of Women’s History Month. Take a look!