Women's History Wednesday: Eliza Lucas Pickney
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| Photo source: YouTube |
This lady got no recognition what so ever when I went to visit her former home!
Meet Eliza Lucas Pickney!
Elizabeth "Eliza" Lucas Pickney was born June 19, 1722 in Antigua. She was the daughter of Lt. Colonel George and Ann Lucas. She grew up on a sugar cane plantation in the West Indies. She was sent to England for a proper education where she studied French and Botany. Wait, what? This Women's History Wednesday series is about women in American history, right? Right, but Eliza made a huge contribution to American history for her time!
When Eliza was 15 years old, her family moved from Antigua to Wappoo plantation in South Carolina. About two years later, her father was called back to Antigua and he left Eliza in charge of his three plantations. That's right! A woman, in the 1700's was in charge of THREE plantations!!!! Not only did she prove to be a proficient manager, but she is responsible for bringing over Indigo to the US. She cultivated this cash crop for it's dye, which helped the demand for the textile market.
In 1744, she married Charles Pickney, a wealthy planter. She later had three sons, went back and forth from England to South Carolina. In 1758 couple months after the couple returned back from England, Charles Pickney died, leaving Eliza to yet again manage a large plantation on her own.
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| Boone Hall Plantation Last summer, while on vacation in South Carolina, we visited Boone Hall Plantation. While on a tour of Boone Hall, they talked about Colonel Charles Pickney. The ONLY thing they mentioned about Eliza was her being his wife!!!!
Did you ever hear of Eliza Lucas Pickeny before this post? |
Top 5 of the week
#1. My favorite verse of the week! Psalm 27:14
#2. It always feels good to receive mail from your BFF! Especially when you're having a horrible day and you come home to find this in the mail.
#3. King Cake for Mardi Gras!!! Great Fat Tuesday!
#4. Made a practice bouquet for my friends wedding. We are practicing to see what kind she wants for the bridesmaids in her upcoming wedding!
#5. I had the perfect Valentines day!!!
Benefit Roller Lash vs Rimmel Super Curler
While I was shopping at Target the other day, I came across this new mascara! Rimmel's Super Curler mascara. It reminded me of Benefit's Roller Lash mascara, so I decided to buy it and try it out.
Left Eye: Benefit Roller Lash mascara
Right Eye: No Mascara
Left Eye: Rimmel Super Curler mascara
Right Eye: No Mascara
What I was hoping for, was a dupe. Close, but no cigar! It definitely wasn't lengthening like Roller Lash, but Super Curler is nice for a quick everyday look.
Have you tried it?
What did you think?
Women's History Wednesday: Henrietta Lacks
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| Source: www.lacksfamily.net |
This poor lady has saved millions of lives and never lived to know about it. Nor did she receive any recognition for it. As a matter of fact, if you aren't in the science field, you probably never even heard of her. More than likely, she has saved your life and you don't even know it! Her name was
Henrietta Lacks.
Henrietta, or Hennie, to her friends, was born August 1, 1920 in Baltimore, Maryland to Eliza and John Randall Pleasant. After her mother died in childbirth, her father took her to Clover, Virginia, for her Grandfather to raise her. She grew up poor in a small log cabin that used to be slave quarters. She shared a room with her cousin, David Lacks. They grew up together and eventually married. Not only did she have a sad childhood, but her adult life ended up being even more reprehensible.
In the beginning of 1951, Henrietta went to Johns Hopkins Hospital for the "knot" she felt inside of her. At that time, Johns Hopkins was the only hospital near them that would treat black patients. The "knot" she felt ended up being adenocarcinoma on her cervix. (Which she more than likely ended up getting from her husband, who cheated on her frequently and had given her STDs) She was treated with radiation. At that time, radiation for cervical cancer consisted of inserting radium tubes that they actually sewed in place for several days. After several days they would remove them and take biopsies. They would take cervical samples from the cancerous and non cancerous sites. Here is the important part of her story: They took these cells Without her permission. By October, she passed away at the age of 31. Leaving her babies at home, motherless. Her family was so poor they had no money for a gravestone. She was buried in a family cemetery in Clover.
So what was so significant about Henrietta? Those cells they took from her without her permission. Dr. George Otto Gey studied them. These cells are commonly known to the medical/scientific community as HeLa cells. Her cells, HeLa cells are to date, the only cells that keep reproducing. They are what Dr. Gey referred to as "immortal." They didn't die after several cell divisions. This was huge! They are still alive today and keep multiplying! They have been used in so much scientific/biologic research. This is just a little snippet of what her cells have done:
- Vaccine for the Polio Virus
- First human cells ever successfully cloned
- HIV research and AIDS treatments
- Gene Mapping
- HPV (Human Papilloma Virus, which can cause cervical cancer)
- Cosmetics
- Anti-tumor medications
- Cancer research
That's not all, there are so many uses for the HeLa cells. It is estimated to be about 11,000 patents involving HeLa cells, according to Wikipedia.
That's cool, but why is this such a big deal?
Because she never gave consent to this. Her cells were taken from her without her permission. Ethically, this is totally wrong. But because this was the 50's, and she was a poor, uneducated black woman, they felt as though her cells were kinda like property of Johns Hopkins to experiment with. Here is the kicker: these cells have made so many advances in medicine and cures, made millions upon millions of dollars, but her family never saw a penny. That's right, she has helped millions without ever knowing, but her impoverished family never received any money.
Henrietta's story touched my heartstrings. I read this book by Rebecca Skloot back when I was in lab school. (Where I got 90% of all my information!) I was completely intrigued. Not only by the scientific parts, but because these cells were once a beautiful woman. She was a wife, a mom, and a friend. Loved by so many. It is a tragic true story and shows how far we have come in medical and scientific ethics.
IlluMask- Worth the hype?
A year and a half ago, something very traumatic and stressful happened to me. Since then, I now have adult acne. Since that stress hasn't gone away, neither has my acne. I have even seen a dermatologist. I was on antibiotics for 3 months and it didn't help. Last year around this time I decided to try the illuMask. It's a mask that uses safe light therapy to kill acne and reduce inflammation. All you do is simply put the mask on, and push the button on the controller. It will automatically come on and stay on for 15 min. It shuts off on its own. You do it daily.
When I first used it last year, I didn't do it daily. Eventually, I put it away and forgot all about it. The other day, while at Target, I found one on clearance. I bought it and dug out my old one to finish the remaining sessions I had on it. I have been using it every single night for a week now. (Major accomplishment that I actually remember to do it every night! lol!) I can honestly say I have noticed a difference. So far I have seen a better difference than I did with the antibiotics the dermatologist put me on.
Have you tried it?
What did you think?
Top 5 of he week
#1 Can you believe it has taken me a month to read my Elle?! I have been so busy, I am just now getting around to reading it.
#2 Kardashian Nicole nail polish for Valentines Day!
# 3 Decided to get my craft on this weekend and made a wreath.
#4 My newest food obsession!!!Noms!
#5 Chicken pot pie, made with love
Coming soon to my blog!
I took a Women's History class when I was in college and absolutely loved it. I was shocked to learn about so many women that made such monumental impacts in American history; many of whom I had never heard of! I want to start a series on my blog called Women's History Wednesday. Each Wednesday, I will pick one woman, and tell you about what she did that was so significant to American history. I want everyone that reads it, be inspired and empowered by these historical ladies. What do you think?
Have anyone in particular you would like me to write about?
#WHW
