Grandparents Week: Friday's List of Famous Figures

Lucille Ball: Lucille's father died before her 4th birthday. As a result, her mother was forced to work several jobs, so Lucille's grandmother kindly helped raise her. 

Frederick Douglass: Frederick was raised by his grandmother, Betsy; his mother had been "rented out" to another farm, farther north on the Shore. Betsy was a strong and independent woman, a female figure (among several others) that would influence Frederick's deep life-long respect for women. She was a slave woman, married to a free black man, who was allowed, outside of her regular daily duties, to earn her own living by cultivating vegetables and hand-crafting seine nets for fishing. When Frederick was 6, the order was given that Betsy was to take Frederick to live at Wye House, fully separating him from his grandmother and the only home he had ever known.

Willye B. White: Willye was born in 1939 in Money, Mississippi. She was raised by her grandparents. At age ten, she discovered her talent for running and jumping. She became the first American to compete on five Olympic track and field teams. 

Photos Courtesy Of: egotvonline, frederickdouglass.org, thehistorymakers.com