THE MATRIARCH

About the Book

The Matriarch is a story about my grandmother from her early life in Charlottesville, Virginia until her death in 1958 in Easton, Pennsylvania. The title comes from a poem my sister Marjorie discovered in a 1941 McCall’s magazine written by Grace Maddock Miller. She was indeed a Matriarch, the leader of our family, a guiding light, the most caring person I have ever known and in all the years we lived together, I never saw her angry. The story begins when she is a young girl still living with her mother and father in Virginia with all her brothers and sisters. It shows a small sampling of their home life and the celebration of one of their Christmases. Logania is chosen to go north to work for a rich family taking care of their child. She travels to Easton, Pennsylvania leaving her family behind. Though they keep in contact, she never sees her mother and father and family again with the exception of a few sisters that move north later on. Living in Easton, she joins the black church and meets her future husband at one of the services. Eventually she marries in a small ceremony and settles down in her first home to start her family. The story continues through the birth of each child and the obstacles and problems she must overcome, the biggest being poverty. Each child was intelligent and strove to follow in their mother’s footsteps, though the need for money forced them into unsavory situations. One of her children, Bobby predicted that one-day she wouldn’t have to struggle to survive. She’d live in a big beautiful house with running water and a bathroom next to her youngest daughter, Rebecca with her son Teddy and two of her daughters Bertha and Bertella. In her twilight years, Logainia did move into her big house with her children around her to now take care of her. So her final years were lived in happiness surrounded by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and her guiding light left us all a beacon, which kept us on the right path forever.

About the Author

Eileen McNeal wrote her first story for an Archie comic book when she was 12 years old and won a prize. After graduating from High School, she worked as a teacher aide for under privileged children, ages three to four after completing a course in childcare at Kutztown State College. She spent many years working at Hess’s Department Store in Allentown where she wrote poems and anecdotes for the store paper. She’s had some poems published and several stories. She has three adult children and four grandchildren. At the present time she lives in Allentown with her eldest son.