I Am So Honored

I feel so honored to be the recipient of the Ancestor Approved award! Astrid from

Of Trolls and Lemons , Betty from Betty's Boneyard Genealogy Blog and Yvonne at
Sweden Roots nominated me. Thanks so much!

As a recipient of this award I am to list 10 things you have learned about my ancestors that have surprised, humbled or enlightened me, and then pass the award on to 10 other genealogy bloggers who I believe would make their ancestors proud.

So, here goes.......

1. I was very surprised to trace several lines of my ancestors back to the county where I currently live. They didn't stay here, but I must have brought things full circle. Apparently I live in what was a common migration route.

2. I found not one, but two ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War.


3. I was pleasantly surprised to find the longevity was common in my ancestors. It is not unusual to live into your 90's in this family. (That puts retirement planning in a new perspective!)


4. One of the best things I have gained from the studying the family history, is connecting with older family members. Some of these I've known all my life, and some I met recently.


5. I was surprised to learn that I have a maternal line (Maddox) and paternal line (Richardson) that were both members of St Peter's Parish in Goochland County, VA in the 1700's.


6. My great x 3 grandfather Calvin Maddox's estate papers gave me a lot of insight into a 1848 farming household.


7. I was surprised to learn of an Irish ggg-grandmother in my White family line. Now if I could just find her prior to 1851....


8. I was surprised (well, maybe not really) to determine the "Cherokee medicine doctor" grandmother does not exist in our Howard line. Sorry, Cousins! I think this was a story that took on a life of its own.


9. I've always known my grandfather Lester Howard was a true Southern gentleman and caretaker of his family. I'm humbled by the stories told by his cousins of what a truly great man he was.


10. Finally, I have been enlightened by each of my ancestors. I started genealogy wanting to learn my family line. I was thrilled to add names and dates to my charts. But now I find myself drawn more to the individuals, their lives and the stories they seem to want to tell. I feel privileged to be able to share their stories on my blog.

Now I get to share 10 blogs to pass this award to. Just 10 is hard, there are so many good blogs out there!


Tracy at A Multitude of -sens
Harriet at Genealogy Fun
Tina at Gen Wish List
Kim at My Genealogy Adventure
Jennifer at Jennifer's Genealogy Blog
Diana at Random Relatives
Dionne at Finding Josephine
Alana at A Twig in My Tree
Patty at Bits of Yesterday
Jennifer at Climbing My Family Tree

Enjoy!