Friday, April 2, 2010

Receive Award

Today I received in my email the following from Lori at Genealogy & Me:

Today I was presented the "Ancestors Approved" award by Dionne Ford of the Finding Josephine Blog. As a recipient of this award I’m supposed to list ten things I have learned about any of my ancestors that has surprised, humbled, or enlightened me and pass along the award to ten other bloggers who I feel are doing their ancestors proud.


I have chosen to present you with the award.

Thanks for sharing your ancestor stories!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I am truly honored, and humbled, by being included in this award! And I shall try to do it justice by complying with the listing of ten things that have surprised, humbled or enlightened me:

1] My great-grandfather, William Bean, became a "double-agent" during the Civil War, although it meant estrangement with his own family at the time. How hard it must have been for him to have done this! But he stuck to his belief's that all men are created equal, and would not assist the Confederacy.

2] My great-grandmother, Margaret Perkins Bean, traveled hundreds of miles overland during the Civil War by oxen pulled wagon, to join her husband in Ohio. She went with 3 small children in tow. Crossing enemy lines, she perservered to be near the man she loved!

3] My grandfather, John Bean, was a deeply religious man, who died before I was born. He raised, in essence, three separate families. His first two wives dying before him. He fathered a total of 15 children, and loved each and every one alike. He mourned deeply over the loss of those children who died before him. His deep love for family has been an inspiration to me.

4] My great-great-great grandfather, Joseph Wiseman, was one of the first settlers in what is now West Virginia. He served in the Pennsylvania militia in the American Revolution, along with his father, my great-great-great-great grandfather, Isaac Wiseman.

5] My gr-gr-gr-gr-gr Grandfather, Isaac Wiseman Sr. was born on board ship coming to America from England in 1700. His mother, Elizabeth Renberg Wiseman, left her family and all that she knew to come to this new country. She gave birth, in some of the most primitive conditions, on board the ship coming to this country. Surviving that alone would have made her endearing. But to know that she raised a family of strong men and women who became settlers in the countries most wilderness areas makes her even more special to me. I can only imagine the fear and distress she must have endured in her lifetime!

6] My great-uncle, Henry Edward Dreher, died on board ship, on his way to Suserne, France during World War I. Although buried at sea, there is a marker for his death in Suserne. To the best of my knowledge, he is the closest relative I have that died during World War I.

7] My great-grandmother, Josephine Benzel Dreher, was among the World War I mothers to be sent overseas to visit the graves of their sons who had fallen. When the ship passed over the quadrants marking the area where her son was buried at sea, it paused and allowed her time to commemorate the death of her son there. I have postcards and letters she mailed to her family in Indiana during her trip. She was greatly moved to be allowed to stand there, and also in Suserne, where so many had fallen.

8] My grandfather, Henry Dreher, Jr., was a nutritionist, even before it was cool! It seems that grandpa practiced some very ancient techniques of internal cleansing, and diet! Unfortunately, I was unaware of these practices until after his death in 1977. I would have loved to have been able to discuss these with him! Especially now that I have also taken interest and am practicing a more holistic lifestyle!

9] My aunt went totally bald when she was in her 30's! I never knew! She always wore a wig, and I never heard anyone mention anything about it before! Now that I am finding myself in some extreme hair loss crisis, I don't feel so all alone knowing this may be part of my genetics!

10] The number one thing that has so impressed and inspired me in discovering my family ancestry, has been the deep love they have all had for this country! The number of men and women who have served in our armed forces from the Revolution, to the war of 1812, Civil War, Spanish American War, World War's I & II, Korean, and Vietnam Wars, are overwhelming! So overwhelming that I am planning a book to commemorate them, each and every one!

I am honored to be among the descendants of so many great individuals!

And so now comes the hard part.... passing this award on to 10 more individuals!

There are so many who deserve this award, that I cannot begin to choose only a few! So, I will take the 10 that first come to mind, but please know, just because I don't list you here, doesn't mean you aren't among my favorites! There are just too many to name!!!

1: Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories
2: Before My Time
3: Circlemending
4: Genealogy's Star
5: Georgia Black Crackers
6: Granite In My Blood
7: Life From The Roots
8: The Armchair Genealogist
9: The Family Curator
10: Zalewski Family Genealogy

Again, I am deeply grateful to have been included in this award!

Happy Easter to All!

Follow Friday 4/2/10

This week I'd like to introduce you to yet another great blog that I read regularly, Passing It On, and writer, Larry Lehmer.

Passing It On states of their blog, "A site dedicated to preserving, celebrating and sharing family and personal history."

Larry's profile reads: "Larry Lehmer is a professional personal historian and legacy planner who connects generations through their stories."

I find Lehmer's writing style to be easy-going and comfortable: as though you were seated at the kitchen table with an old friend over a cup of coffee. You spend an enjoyable time at this blog site, and always come away feeling good having stopped by.

I highly recommend Passing It On. You can't go wrong for visiting and stopping for a spell at this one!

Larry Lehmer

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Treasure Chest Thursday 04/01/10

Aunt Audrey's Music Book



In 1922 she was all of 10-years old. And she was taking music lessons. Blanche Audrey Bean was my Dad's sister. And here we have her music lesson book.

Audrey was the 6th born child of John Monroe Bean, in Monroe County.

In 1934 she married Richard Calvin Harriff. The couple had three children.

Audrey died in 2002, just five months short of her 90th birthday.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Tombstone Tuesday

Jacob Honaker
Pvt 108 VA MILITIA
WAR 1812
1783                         1838



Jacob Honaker was born 1783 to Frederick Honaker [1757-1824]  and Rachel Elizabeth Wiseman [1769-1856]. He was one of at least 14 children born to the couple.

Jacob married[1] Catharine Groves, 20 Oct 1808 in Monroe County, [West] Virginia. The couple had at least four children: Samuel Sams,  Ephraim, Henry, and Mary. After Catharine, Jacob married [2] Anna Sams 13 Jan 1829 in Monroe County [West] Virginia. They had one known child, Isaac.

Jacob served in the 108th Virginia Militia in the War of 1812.

He died in 1838 in Monroe County, and he is buried in the Old Rehobeth church yard in Keenan, Monroe County, West Virginia.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Madness Monday 3/29/10

Madness Monday

My maiden name is Beane. A pretty innocuous name. Common enough. Many known spellings: Bean [from which we are derived], Been, Bein, Beine, Beene, etc.

So, you would think surely that if we were to undergo a DNA test that we would match up with at least another line of Bean’s somewhere in the world. Right?

Wrong!

The Clan MacBean recognizes many branches of the Bean’s in North America. And I felt with all certainty that when I had my Dad perform a DNA test in 2007 that we would find a definitive match amongst those hallowed family lines.

Wrong I was!

Since that time, our DNA test has been posted with two of the major testing sites, and we have yet to make a definitive match with anyone!

Yes, it is maddening. However, hope springs eternal, and we continue to hope that one day, another individual with a matching DNA sequence, will arise amongst the legions and we will at long last be able to locate those missing ancestors!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Sentimental Sunday

On 07 August 1836, Ettiene Banet and his family, [wife Francois, and children: Louis, Alexandre, Francois, Josephine, Isidor and Ferol] arrived in New Orleans on the Brig. Criterion. They arrived from France.

Ettiene later Anglicized his name to "Stephen".

Ettiene and Francois were my great-great-great grandparents. They had a total of 12 children. Part born in France and part in this country. The children born here were nearly twenty years younger than the older ones. When Ettiene and Francois died, there was a great upheaval over their father's will that tore the family in two. The separation remains with many of the older generations still living to this day.

I was very excited to be able to locate this ship's passenger list on Ancestry.com a couple of years ago. It has been a real treasure to our family!