Sweet, Geneva, 1911-

Geneva Hart was born on Aug 28, 1911 and now lives on her husband's family farm three miles north of Franklin, Ill. She rents out the majority of the land, but has retained sixty acres for planting corn. Geneva's mother, Claira Bell, was a school teacher who taught school in one room school houses in and around Franklin during the early 1900's. Her father, W.C. "Will" Hart, was a blacksmith as well as a judge in Franklin. Geneva still remembers her father holding court on the front lawn of their home under a large tree. She particularly remembers going with her mother during shucking time when her mother and grandmother would cook large meals for the shucking crew. Around 1930 Geneva married E. Leroy Sweet, and moved out to the family farm. In approximately 1945 she and her husband took over the operation of that farm. They had three children, who helped out with chores on the farm. Geneva remembers when the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) brought electricity to the farm. It was Geneva's job to cook and clean the home, spending a lot of time dressing chickens for dinner, but she also performed many of the farm tasks normally associated with men, including feeding the hogs and driving the tractor. The majority of her garden produce was canned and stored for winter consumption.

From the description of An interview with Geneva Sweet / Geneva Sweet ; Michael Maniscalco, interviewer. 2008. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 756049264