Sentimental Sunday - My Ancestors Approved Award !

Have you ever had one of those moments when you are reading something and in one part of your brain it is being understood and you are continuing to read like normal, but the other part of your brain is having a hard time registering what you just read because surely you misread a word that would have changed the whole meaning of the sentence? I find that it usually happens to me when I am reading something that catches me so off guard with its information that I have to read it about 3 or 4 more times to really digest what is being stated.

Well, I had one of those moments on Friday morning. I was reviewing the blogs that I follow and started reading the latest post from Lori at Genealogy and Me about an award that she received. While reading what she had to say about her ancestors, I remember thinking, "which one of my ancestors would I pick and for which category? Ah well, wow she really had an ancestor that knew Abraham Lincoln!"

Then my surreal moment happened. I'm reading the last part of her posting thinking, "why is that one blog link in a different color? Wait, a minute that blog has the same name as mine....Wait that IS MY BLOG!"

So, it took me a good minute to realize that I wasn't misreading the blog and that she really had picked my blog for this award. As was Matthew Broderick during his episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?", "I am gobsmacked."

I know it's not the Academy Awards or anything, but I am truly humbled and thankful that Lori thought I should have this award.

Now, as a recipient of this award I am supposed to list ten things that I have learned about any of my ancestors that has Surprised me:

• My 2nd great-grandfather, William Lewis DeSpain, whom I recently found thanks to a Google search which I recently posted about in William Lewis Despain Found.
• The day I found my great-great-grandfather, William Easton Shofner's death certificate. Why was this surprising? Because I had searched for many unsuccessful years in the Vital Statistics office in Frankfort, Kentucky for it, only to find it in his Civil War Pension File! Apparently, it had been filed with the Civil War Pension Bureau and not the State of death as normally done.
• The day I realized that I had an ancestor that was at Jamestown. His name is Peter Montague/Mountague/Montecue and he was born in 1603/4 in Boveny Parish of Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England. According to a report about him that I purchased from the Historic Jamestown site, he arrived in the Virginia colony in the ship Charles in 1621.
• My 3rd great-grandparents, Thomas Washington Slemmons and Elizabeth Crenshaw, were married in Barren County, Kentucky on 7 May 1812. This is surprising to me because Thomas had just arrived in Barren County earlier in the year of 1812. I have come across a letter dated 22 May 1812 that he writes to his brother, living in Taneytown Maryland, telling of his marriage. That tells me he had not had time to write to them to even tell him of his engagement. Was it love at first site?

      Humbled me:

• Two of my 2nd great-grandfathers, William Lewis DeSpain and LittleBerry Self, Jr, volunteered for the infantry when the Civil War broke out. This is very humbling to me because they both were married with children at the time of their volunteering. I can not imagine going off to war with young children.
• The day that I figured out that my 3rd great-grandmother, Elizabeth "Betsy" Crenshaw Slemmons, lived 53 years after her husband, Thomas Washington Slemmons, died. What is humbling to me is the fact that she was pregnant with their last child when he died. She raised all of her children, ran a large farm that included slaves, transacted business by buying and selling land in her own name for many years and never remarried after his death. In my opinion this would have taken a lot of strength and it was the knowledge of this strength that got me through the divorce of my first husband 10 years ago. I figured if she could do it so could I. :)

      Enlightened me:

• My 4th great grandfather, John Slemmons born about 1734 and died 26 Jun 1814, was a graduate of Princeton University in 1760 with a degree in Theology. This is both humbling and enlightening to me. If he can get a degree in a time-frame where the majority of the population couldn't read, I should be able to further my own education.
• My 3rd great-grandfather, Silas DeSpain, ran a tavern. Not in a big city, but little-o Green County, Kentucky. I fine that extremely cool!

It is also asked that I pass it along to ten other bloggers who I feel is doing their ancestors proud. Those that I have passed this award on to are:
The Accidental Genealogist
Historical Melungeons
Apple's Tree
A Friend of Friends
GeneaBlogie
FamHist
Where I Come From
My Genealogy Pondering
Life From the Roots
Conversations With My Ancestors

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)