Archive | 9 June 2010

Ancestor Approved: Me, too!

Jun9

Thanks to Liz at My Big Fat Cajun/Irish/ Scottish/English/German/ French/Southern Family Blog (gotta love that blog name!) and Linda at Family Forest Blog for this honor!

ancestor-approved

As a recipient, I am to list 10 things I’ve learned about my ancestors that have surprised, humbled or enlightened me, and to pass the award along to other bloggers whom I feel are doing their ancestors proud.

Let’s see… surprised, humbled or enlightened me…

  1. Maybe the biggest surprise (and horror!) was finding out the gruesome ultimate fate of my “blacksheep-of-the-family” and second great-grandfather, Crist Hayes Carrico.
  2. The next big surprise was discovering that another second great-grandfather, Isaac Turner, was a soldier with a NORTHERN unit during the Civil War! Almost my entire family tree is made up of Southerners, so I was rather startled, but pleased to find that he fought with the Yankees!
  3. Another fascinating character was my second great-granduncle James Bennett, Jr, who apparently was a genuine “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” kinda guy in 1880’s Wyoming!
  4. My most humbling experience has to be being a part of a world-wide geneabloggers community! I have yet to meet a geneablogger who wasn’t a kind, caring, and helpful soul. Most would give you the “shirts off their backs” if that were necessary. This is a group of people who unfailingly demonstrate their devotion to family, both current and past.
  5. Thanks to these many geneabloggers, I have learned the “technical” side of genealogy: research tactics, source documentation and interpreting and correctly following the chain of evidence.
  6. I have learned some initially heartbreaking yet eventually heartwarming stories about my ancestors, such as that of one great-grandmother, who was relegated to grow up in a Catholic convent even though both of her parents were alive and well, or the story of my adopted great-grandfather, who along with his older brother were abandoned as small children and then rescued and adopted into loving families.
  7. I’ve always been a U S history fan, with my favorite time period being the Civil War years. As I have studied my ancestors who lived through that turbulent period (and many who did not), I have learned so much more about the War itself and its causes and effects.
  8. I have met so many new cousins online, too!
  9. A new appreciation for how my ancestors managed to survive and thrive. If I’m having a bad day because of my job or the weather or a headache, I can just think of what my second great-grandparents Isaac & Sarah Turner had to deal with. No air conditioners in 1880’s Texas!
  10. And finally, genealogy has been the best hobby for me. I love this massive and time-consuming hunt for the past! Every little piece of the puzzle… :)