Ancestor Approved Award- Nice Surprise

When I opened my Google reader yesterday to catch up on the blogs I like to read and folllow, I was pleasantly surprised to have a notice from Brenda Joyce Jerome, CG of Westerm Kentucky Genealogy Blog Fame, that she had passed along the "Ancestor Approved Award" my way. I am asked to list 10 things about my ancesators that have been:

Surpised By:

How entrenched my ancestors are in the early times of this country: that the Cozarts/Cossairts from France traveled to Holland before landing in New Jersey in 1662 

Discovering that my Raley/Railey line was part of the Marylanders to Kentucky migration, experiencing some religious intolerance in these early days of this country as they fought to establish their independence from England

How excited I get when the Amazon box comes in the mail, knowing I have gotten another book for my genealogy bookshelf


Humbled By:

The experiences my ancestors encountered in their lives: the tragedies of losing children at such young ages, traveling across the oceans in a quest for something they deemed better than what they left behind

My 2nd great-grandfather, Karl Martens who came to this country not knowing a single word of English yet made his way to the California Gold Rush  and made enough money to come back to Warrick County, Indiana, buy a farm, marry, and later donate land to newburgh for a church and a school
The encouragement and fantastic camaraderie of my fellow bloggers as I continue to learn all things technologically related, but more importantly, the community of support by people I have never met yet feel a real sense of kinship

How hard my ancestors must have worked, many of them farmers, without the benefits of technology

Enlightened By:

How far genealogy research has changed in the past 20 years, from the days when computers took up an entire room to the days when so many of us carry them into the repositories with us, and the ever growing expanse of information found on the internet
All the historical events that my ancestors witnessed in their lifetimes, from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars to all our presidents and the great inventions
All the written records left behind in journals, letters, and poems that are our eyes into their souls, their dreams, even their fears



In addition I am asked to pass this award on to ten other blogs, which is very dificult, but since the following individuals have been so encouraging to me since I have entered this great blogging community, I pass the award on to them, in part because I look forward to reading what they have to say.

Gen Wish List
Greta's Genealogy Blog
We Tree
The Armchair Genealogist
Kick-Ass Genealogy
Heritage Happens
Elyse's Genealogy Blog
Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories
Detour Through History

One of the great experiences that has come from having a blog has been from getting to know so many of you in the blogging community. I gather strength from your continued genealogical pursuits, and look forward to many blogging events to come.