EAP-Final Project

NANCY MATTHEWS ELLIOT THE AMAZING MOTHER

 

         Have you ever heard Thomas Alfa Edison? Sure you have. Have you ever heard Nancy Matthews Elliot name? Many of people never heard it before. Let me introduce you who is she, Nancy is the mother of Thomas Alfa Edison the lamp inventor. In every speech about his mother, Thomas was always delivered his speech with full of honor. Why?? There was an inspirational story with this Nancy who is succeed to gave education for his son who was considered as an idiot in his school.

            Nancy is an educated woman, she was born between January 4, 1808 and January 4, 1810 in New Berlin, Chenango County, New York, United States. When she lived in Vienna, Canada, she wanted to be a teacher, she was accepted in a local school where she met Samuel Edison and they felt in love each other. They married on September 12^th in 1828.

            While in Canada, Nancy blessed with 4 children named Marion Wallace, William Pit, Harriet Ann, and Carlile Snow. In the 1830s, Nancy and Samuel moved to the United States and settled in Milan-Ohio. After moving to Milan, Nancy gave birth to his 5th child named Samuel O.

Life is not as sweet as what we expected. The ordeal came insistently. In 1842, Nancy had to lose his fourth son, Carlile, who was 6 years old. One year later, Samuel O died when he was 3 years old. In 1844, Nancy gave birth to the next daughter, named Eliza. When Nancy was 38 years old, she became pregnant again. This is her last son, Thomas Alfa. On February 11, 1847, Thomas was born. However, the same year when thomas had born, Nancy had to lose Eliza her 3 year old girl.

 In 1854, Samuel took his family to move to Michigan. At the age of 7 years, Nancy sent Al to a local school. Nancy fully aware that it was her duty as a parent to make up their children to be a character, moral, and intelligent. School only assisting. Nancy hope by going to school, Al would gain more knowledge and experience. But, reality is never as sweet as how it expected.

One day, Al who was a bit deaf and dumb in school, back to his home carrying a piece of paper from his teacher. Nancy read the paper, "Tommy, your son, very stupid. We ask you to get him out of school". Nancy was shocked reading the letter, but she soon made unwavering determination, "my son Tommy, not a stupid kid. I will educate and teach him by myself."

Al grown up with only about 3 month in school and the rest he was only home-schooling with his mother as his teacher, Nancy gave her son all of aspect of education, more than how could Al accept in school. Nancy realized that Al really liked to experiment. She also invited Al to make a small laboratory at home. At that time, Al started to improve his ability in science.

“She was so true, so sure of me. I felt I had someone to live for, someone I must not disappoint” 

(Thomas Alfa Edison)