I learned last week that Heather Doherty of the "Good to Know: A Genealogist's Guide" Blog awarded my blog the Ancestor Approved Award!!! The Ancestor Approved Award was created in March 2010 by Leslie Ann Ballou of the Ancestors Live Here Blog. Leslie created this award to recognize blogs that are "full of tips and tricks as well as funny and heartwarming stories." As a recipient of this award, I was asked to list 10 things that surprised, humbled, or enlightened me about my ancestors. Most of these have come from my more recent ancestors, as I have not yet transitioned from fact-finding genealogy to the telling of my family history yet. I don't have much enlightenment of exactly what my ancestors went through or endured during their lives like Rosie O'Donnell did with her Irish ancestors who escaped the workhouses of Ireland to build new lives in America (From Episode 3 of Who Do You Think You Are?) or Ashley Judd's Civil War ancestor who was a prisoner of war two times.
Well here are my 10 things:
1. I was surprised to learn that my grandparents had been married and divorced TWO TIMES!
2. I was humbled by the fact that my great-grandmother Louise Benson finished High School in Oklahoma in 1929. That was a huge feat for a woman to finish her education back then. And she was the oldest child in the house as well, so I'm sure her parents relied on her to help with the younger children and household chores as well.
3. I was enlightened by my great-great grandmother, Eva Dennis Benson (mother of Louise Benson above) who lived in OK but who always managed to keep up with all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren (including my Mother who lived in Arkansas) through cards, letters, and visits. Here is a letter she wrote to my grandmother in 1963.
4. I was surprised to learn that my great-great grandmother Lou Ella Davis Godwin Otten had been married 5x!!!
5. I found it very humbling that my great-grandparents, John and Blanche Binns went back to school after their children had entered High School in order to get their teaching degrees. They both taught elementary school. Here's a picture of their 50th Wedding Anniversary.
6. I was surprised to learn that my great-grandfather, Orville Godwin had been murdered in Tulsa, OK by his neighbor in 1956. You can read the news article here.
7. I am amazed that my ancestors left North Carolina in 1828 to move to Indiana. Although I'm still not sure why they did this, I'm sure it was a huge ordeal to pack up all of your belongings, your families, and make that trek North like that through the mountains.
8. I am humbled that my 4th great-grandfather, Agrippa S Godwin, died in the Battle of Pilot Knob in Ironton, Missouri in 1864. We have not been able to determine exactly where he was buried. We believe it to have been a mass grave at the battlefield site.
9. I still can't believe that my 5th great-grandmother, Zilphia Pulley Godwin had 15 children! (Actually I'm sure she had more, but this is how many lived to adulthood. The 15th child died in her first year).
10. Lastly, I am impressed by my great-grandmother, Nova Peters who took her 4 children and left her alcoholic husband for a new life! You can view a picture of her and I here.
The last thing left to do is to recommend ten other blogs to give this award to. I have chosen the following to pass this blog on to. These folks have inspired me and have taught me so many things about research and family history. Thank you for all of your hard work.
1. Documenting the Details
2. Olive Tree Genealogy
3. Clue Wagon
4. iPentimento Genealogy and History
5. Desperately Seeking Surnames
6. Elyse's Genealogy Blog
7. Geneageek
8. The Journey Takers Blog
9. The Scrappy Genealogist
10. The Mad Genealogist
