It's a Major (Liebster Blog) Award!

I've been awarded the Liebster Blog Award! (Liebster means "favorite" or "dearest" in German, apparently) The premise behind this award is that when you are nominated, you are supposed to answer 11 questions about yourself (chosen by the person who nominated you), and then nominate 5 bloggers with less than 200 readers and provide 11 questions for them to answer.

Normally, I would ignore this request because (1) it's kind of like spam, and (2) I'm limited to 5 blogs and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by leaving them out (because I have WAY more than 5 favorite blogs)!

But since my dear friend Laura is the one who nominated me, I'll play along. Here are the answers to her questions:

1.) What is your favorite saying and where did you first hear it?
I don't really have a favorite one. I guess if I had to pick, it would be "Sometimes you just gotta say ... what the f***" - Joel Goodsen, Risky Business.

2.) Do you remember your first dress-up occasion? What did you wear and why?
The first time that I can remember getting all dressed up was for the Little Miss Valentine pageant at my elementary school. I was in first grade and all the other little girls were wearing cute poofy dresses with little hearts all over them. My dress? Navy blue with big white polka dots. I got first runner up - Little Miss LaBelle. (That was my elementary school). I got a trophy, a sash, and a tiara (see? I really do deserve to wear one!). I cried because I didn't get a goodie bag with candy in it. That was really all I wanted.

3.) Have you been affected by a natural disaster? What was your experience?
When I was in high school in Atlanta, we had a tornado warning and the school sent everyone home early. My sister didn't make it to the bus before it left and had to stay at the school. I was home alone. I prepared pillows, blankets, a radio, and a flashlight down in the room under the basement stairs where we kept all the home-canned food. I was waiting it out when I looked out the window and the sky was a greenish black color and it sounded like a jet was landing on the house. I ran downstairs and locked myself in that little room and didn't come out until I heard my parents come home.

4.) What do you see when you look out your kitchen window?
A giant oak tree and the back of my neighbor's house. Yep, they STILL have their porch light on (it has been glaring into my yard non-stop for the past year).

5.) Are you more comfortable speaking or writing and why?
Definitely writing. I tend to think better with my fingers for some reason.

6.) What did your childhood home look like?
It depends on which one we're talking about. There was an apartment and a house in Portland, Oregon. Then there was a 2-bedroom apartment in Marietta, Georgia. Then a 4-bedroom house in Atlanta. 

7.) Were you ever fired or laid-off? How did you deal with that situation?
Yes. I was laid off from two subsequent jobs when both companies were purchased by other companies. It actually turned out to be a positive thing for me because I got good severance packages with both, and I got a new job right away both times, which provided double paychecks for several weeks.

8.) Do you enjoy your birthdays or do you lament the passing of time?
My birthday is so close to Christmas that I really don't even pay attention to it anymore, mainly because no one else does.

9.) Which is your favorite holiday and why?
I don't really have one, but I have the most fun at Halloween.

10.) Growing up, what your favorite television or radio show?
I think my family can vouch for this ... Charlie's Angels. Who didn't want to be a Charlie's Angel?

11.) Different times of life are satisfying for different reasons; which has been the most satisfying for you and why?
I would have to say that the time since my daughter graduated from high school has been the most rewarding and satisfying for me. I've been able to focus on the things that I want to do with my life, and have succeeded in finishing my degree and am well on my way toward achieving my genealogy certification.

Now ... here are the 5 blogs I'm nominating:

Sweet Tea, Tart Lemons & Memories
A Southern Sleuth
Climbing My Family Tree
Documenting the Details
Nuts From the Family Tree

And the moment of truth ... the questions! (P.S. I totally stole these from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Man blog)

1. What is your favorite time of day and why?

2. How and when did you first discover your passion, whatever that passion is?

3. Hopefully, you’re familiar with The Breakfast Club for this question. When you were in high school, in which social group did you best fit?

4. Where do you write your posts and why did you choose that place?

5. What always makes you laugh and why?

6. If you could appear on a televised talent show, what would your talent be?

7. Which flower reminds you of happiness?

8. What is your favorite book and why?

9. It’s important to eat your vegetables, but which vegetable do you always resist/avoid eating?

10. What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

11. Who is the one celebrity, past or present, you would like to meet — and what would you ask that person?

Now I'm off to notify my nominees!

Do we share any ancestors? 

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

One Lovely Blog Award

A special thank you to Kathryn at Kathryn's Quest and Cindy at My Savage Family for nominating my blog for the "One Lovely Blog Award"!  I really appreciate it (even though I've been a bit of a blogging slacker for the past couple of weeks)!

We are given very few rules for accepting the award:
1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who granted the award and their blog link.
2. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.


I am passing the award to the following blogs:


Ancestor Soup
Caro's Family Chronicles
Climbing My Family Tree
Elyse's Genealogy Blog
Genealogy Tip of the Day
Marian's Roots and Rambles
Past & Present
Shakin' the Family Tree
Staats Place
Adventures in Genealogy
Barking Up Our Family Tree
Documenting the Details
Find Your Folks
Mary's Musings
My Ancestors and Me


Congratulations to all of you.  I enjoy reading your blogs, and now others will too!

Ancestor Approved ... Again!!

I tell you what.  This just never gets old.  Homestead Mommy over at Footsteps of the Past has bestowed upon my blog another "Ancestor Approved" Award!  Still just as exciting as the first!

Ancestor Approved was started by Leslie Ann at Ancestors Lived Here.  The rules say that I'm supposed to share 10 things about my ancestors that have surprised, humbled, or enlightened me, and share this award with 10 other bloggers.

Since it's only been about a month since I received my first award, not a whole lot has changed as far as what my ancestors have shared with me.  You can read my original list here.  One new thing that has surprised me is that this blog has gotten my mother interested in our family history, so that's something (I think she's secretly excited about it, but is just trying to keep it on the downlow ...)

I am passing this Award on to the following bloggers:

1.  Kerry at Clue Wagon for telling it like it is, and making me laugh in the process!
2.  Amanda at Amanda's Athenaeum - congrats on being almost done with school!
3.  Karen at Ancestor Soup - good luck on finding Elvirta's next diary!
4.  Jen at Jen's Genealogy Pages because your name is just ... awesome! And your blog's pretty cool too :)
5.  Lynn at The Armchair Genealogist - your tips are helpful to everyone, not just beginners!
6.  Valerie, Sarah, and Ruby at Begin With 'Craft' - keep up the good work, you guys! (and thanks for the tip about Thoughtboxes!)
7.  TennLady at Gene Notes for the only known genealogy blog reference to Dr. Who that I've seen!
8.  Elizabeth at Little Bytes of Life - I hope you feel better! I'm looking forward to your next Best Bytes!
9.  Amber at Tackling Brick Walls One Brick at a Time for (a) having the longest blog name ever, and (b) for walking us through your research step by step, even when you have an oopsie!  Keeps the rest of us honest.
10. Russ at Worthington Weblog - I'm enjoying the Alaskan vacation ... keep on posting! (Here's a freebie to keep you going).

Now, go forth and blog!

Ancestor Approved Award

Just a few days ago, I was so excited because my blog had gone "international" (meaning that folks from other countries were reading it ... Canada, Romania, South Africa, Germany, Russia, Australia, South Korea, and the U.K.).  Now I feel like I just won an Academy Award or something!  I've only been blogging for a short time, so I am quite humbled and honored.  Thank you, Leslie Ann!

The award comes with a couple of requests:

1.  List ten things that you have learned about your ancestors that surprised, humbled, or enlightened you.

2.  Pass the award to ten other genealogy bloggers.

I certainly won't have a problem finding 10 other bloggers who are quite deserving of this award (provided they haven't already received it, that is).  I have read some fantastic blogs over the last several months.  Where do you guys find the time?!

Ten things I've learned about my ancestors ... hmmm.  Let's see ...

1.  I was surprised to learn that my paternal great great grandfather, John Charles Slowey, may have been born a year earlier than everyone thought.  All of the documentation I've seen points to a birth date in 1861.  However, a U.S. Census taken in Lafayette County, Wisconsin in 1860 may prove otherwise.  I'm trying to obtain a birth certificate to confirm.

2.  I learned that my paternal great great grandmother, Theresa (Trasey) Burns Slowey, was a midwife.  Apparently, she was a good one too, because according to "Slowey History" compiled by Bob & Phyllis Hanson, she was "well known as a midwife and was much in demand at childbirth and other sicknesses."

3.  My paternal great grandfather, Thomas Patrick Slowey (son of John Charles and Theresa Slowey above), got his hand caught in some type of corn picking machine in his early adulthood and was never able to use his hand properly again.  While that's not all that unusual, here's what is: John Charles' brother, Barney Slowey, also got his hand caught in some type of corn picking/shredding machine and lost his arm in 1894 ... two decades before Thomas Patrick suffered the same type of accident!  (I have made a mental note to stay away from farm equipment).

4.  My maternal 3rd cousin, John W. Crow, was a member of the 10th Alabama Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.  He is said to have been present at the siege on Harper's Ferry, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg.  In 1864 he was taken prisoner at Reams Station and held at Point Lookout, Maryland, where he died.  He is said to be buried in a POW graveyard in Maryland, but I have not confirmed this. 

5.  John W. Crow's brother, Ferrington, was a member of the 28th Alabama Infantry during the Civil War.  In July 1862, his regiment was camped less than 10 miles from where I currently live.  Two days later, they camped at Tyner Station, about 10 miles on the other side of me, to await their trains and artillery.

6.  My paternal great grandfather, Louis Phelisa Lanctot, was killed in 1922 when a truck loaded with lumber turned over and pinned him underneath.  The truck belonged to a neighboring homesteader in Casper, Wyoming.  They were hauling lumber to build the homestead for his mother, as time was running out to get her house built to secure the homestead claim.  It is unclear that they ever told her that it was her lumber.  The truck came around a curve and met another vehicle with bright lights, which blinded the driver.  Louis was in the back of the truck (the cabs weren't big enough for 3 in those days).  They thought Louis had tried to jump out of the truck, but his coattail caught on the lumber and it threw him under the truck.  His neck was broken and the hub of the wheel rested on his temple.  (This is according to a letter written to me by my great aunt, Josephine Margaret Lanctot several years ago).  My grandfather was only a year old when his father died.  It made me very sad that he never knew his father.

7.  My paternal great great grandfather, Joseph Zenophile Lanctot, and his wife Elizabeth (Bourke) Lanctot, ran the first hotel in Armour, South Dakota.  It was called Armour House.  He ran the hotel until he died in 1913.  It is said that Elizabeth ran the hotel for a short time after that.  Records show that Hans Boock was the proprietor in 1916.  I wonder if this is some relation to Elizabeth Bourke.  Seems like more than a coincidence to me.

8.My other paternal great great grandfather, Louis Schneider, lived in Utica, South Dakota, and grew cane for sorghum, tobacco for his pipe, and broom cane and made brooms.  He used large beer pans to cook the sorghum and as roofs for his buildings.  I'm not sure what a beer pan is ... and apparently neither does Google.  It's a little scary that they are big enough to use as a roof for a building.

Wow ... this is harder than I thought!

9.  My paternal grandmother, who is still alive and kicking, was called "Mackie" when she was younger (her given name is Maxine).  She was a member of the Glee Club in high school, and performed in "The Whole Town's Talking" in her Junior year.

10.  My paternal grandfather, who is also still alive, played football and was on the track team in high school in Yankton, South Dakota.  He also served in the National Guard during World War II, re-enlisted and served during the Korean War.

Now I would like to present the Ancestor Approved award to the following deserving bloggers:

1.  Climbing My Family Tree
2.  Have You Seen My Roots?
3.  Greta's Genealogy Blog
4.  Mascot Manor Genealogy
5.  Finding Our Ancestors
6.  Branch Out Genealogy
7.  Caro's Family Chronicles
8.  Journeys Past
9.  Long Lost Relatives.net
10. Shakin' the Family Tree