I have sort of been alternating between my father's and mother's relatives; however, because of my research finds today, I am making an exception and posting about another paternal ancestor.  This is my great-grandmother Sally Belle Gibson Alexander.  She was my father's father's mother and my sister was named after her (Sally Belle Alexander).  She's another one I did not know personally, as she died in 1920.

Sally and her two brothers--John & James--were under the age of 12 when their father, died in 1862.  Their mother was still living; but in that era, women did not automatically become guardians of their children.  I was paging through Rockbridge County chancery records (online through http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery) and found that John A. Gibson was appointed guardian of these three "children" at least through the settlement of the estate, which lasted until after Sally was married.

The most interesting thing I learned from the chancery records was that Grandma Sally's name was actually Sarah Isabella Alexander.  It appears on many pages of the record both before & after her marriage.  That tidbit explained an aberration I had discovered a while back in a book of indexed birth records that listed Sally's name as Sarah J.  In handwritten records, Js and Is are often misread, so I'm sure the record says Sarah I. 

Grandma Sally married James William Alexander in 1875 and one of their children was my grandfather, John Addison Alexander.  I saw estate records dated 1877; so, you can see that Sally's father's estate took a while to be settled--at least from 1862 to 1877. 

James W. Alexander died in 1890 and left Sally a widow with several underage children.  Several years ago I saw the court record that appointed her guardian of her children.  At least she had a little more status than her own mother.

Oh, and I called my sister today to tell her that she could/should have been named Sarah Isabella!