Award and Favorites

In December I received the Ancestor Approved Award from Debbie at Mascot Manor Genealogy and Dee Burris at Shakin' the Family Tree. Thank you both for the honor. I really appreciate it. I hope my ancestors approve of my efforts to remember them and share their stories.

This award was created by Leslie Ann Ballou at Ancestors Live Here. Leslie asks that recipients list ten things they've learned about any of their ancestors that have surprised, humbled, or enlightened them AND pass the award on to ten other bloggers who are doing their ancestors proud.

I've decided to use my ten favorite posts from this year (mentioned in my previous post) to highlight what has surprised, humbled, or enlightened me. Here goes.... (If you click on the link, it will open in a new window so you won't have to keep coming back and forth if you want to view more than one post.)

Coal Miners in My Family. My coalmining ancestors are a marvel to me. I can't help but be humbled by their dedication to earn a living in this dirtiest of work. That they survived the dangers fills me with gratitude.

Refreshing an Indelible Image. Perhaps it's not so much the image that stars in this post as my surprise at finally realizing that I appreciate the organization and routine that filled my childhood home.

Raymond - An Unusual Christmas Memory. Raymond is not related to me but was an orphan boy taken in by my father's grandparents. Their generosity in giving him a home and my parents' generosity in remembering him every Christmas humbles me.

How His Surname Passed Away. This is pretty much a strictly genealogy post which names father and his sons with birth and death dates. It was a huge surprise to me when I realized that a man with seven sons could end up with no surviving grandsons to carry on his name.

Student Nurse, Registered Nurse. Writing this post helped me see my mother from a difference perspective. I was surprised to look at her scrapbook and learn what was important enough to her to save.

Eyes That Engage the Viewer. All the years that I knew my dad, he had thinnish, grey hair and wore glasses. When I actually stopped to look at this photo, I was surprised at how much hair he had, how dark it was, and how beautiful his eyes were.

Elizabeth. Learning about my grandmother, Elizabeth Armitage Meinzen, has been so enlightening. Her name will never be in history books, but she was one of the millions of humble immigrants who just kept going no matter what life presented them. I was surprised to learn that she was illiterate - and I wonder how she managed!

My Father's Desk. Sometimes when I write a post about a topic I know or have experience with, I dig a little deeper to get past the surface impressions I have. When writing this post, I was surprised to learn how important Dad's desk and the work he did at it was to me in my young life. I am also humbled when I think about how hard he worked to earn a living for our family.

Like Mother, Like Daughter. I adore this photograph and I love the grandmother in the photograph. She is the subject of the next post in this list. I have several photographs of her at varying ages. This photograph surprised me because she's in work clothes. I never doubted that she worked (with 16 children) but to be photographed in work clothes was the surprise.

A Kind and Generous Woman. Learning about Elvira Bartley Gerner's life has been so enlightening: married at 18, 16 children, moved from Pennsylvania to West Virginia and back again, midwife to the neighborhood, had her own horse and buggy.... Yes, enlightening.

I'm passing the Ancestor Approved Award on to the following blogs:
Have You Seen My Roots?
The Faces of My Family
The Accidental Genealogist
Roots'n'Leaves
MyFamilyRootsRunDeep
My Cleages And Reeds
The Hunt for Henrietta
Family Archaeologist
CLAUDIA'S GENEALOGY BLOG
They Came To Montana

Again, thank you, again, Debbie and Dee, for this award.