Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving



We will be spending Thanksgiving with our son, David and his wife Cassie and of course our adorable little grandson, Easton.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. We are in generally good health and my husband Tommy accepted a promotion at work. I am so excited to have added a new family member this year with the birth of our grandson, Easton, what a gift he has been! I am grateful for my family both near and far. I am also very grateful for my friends both old and new.

This year I started a blog about my family research and it has been well received so far. I can't thank my family, friends and genealogy friends enough for your support and encouragement since I started my blog in June. I have found the process both challenging and exhilarating. I have many ideas on how to share my family history now I just need to put them on "paper" and post them.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

Take care,

Dawn

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

I'm Heading Home...

I am leaving later today for the ride home to Greensboro to visit my Momma and Daddy. I will also be seeing a few friends as well. I am excited to see my sister's newly remodeled kitchen and hopefully all of nieces & nephews too.

I will also be seeing my very best friend Banna Lou. She and I have been friends for nearly 50 years now and we are going to go to the Garth Brooks concert on Saturday night! It is going to be a great time!

Hopefully by next week I will have finished up some last minute research to go with a few new posts for my blog next week.

Have great week everyone and Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Take care,

Dawn

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Veteran's Day

The 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in the year 1918, is the day that a cease fire went into effect between the Allied nations and Germany. Seven months later, on June 28, 1919 the Treaty of Versailles, a peace treaty (one of many) that officially ended World War I between Germany and the Allied Powers.

President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day on November 11th, 1919 and stated that,  "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations..."[1]

On June 4th, 1926 Congress officially recognized the end of World War I and declared in part the following,
Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations...[2]
 Then on May 13th, 1938, Armistice Day was declared a legal holiday. A day which we would dedicate to world peace. In June 1954, nine years after the end of World War II, a war which saw the largest gathering of United States military personnel from the Army, Navy, Marines and Army Airmen in our country's history. The Act of 1938 was amended by removing the word Armistice and replacing it with Veterans and November 11th became the day in which all American military members would be honored.

The Veteran's in my family have served in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War.

Thank you to all Veterans, not just the ones in my family but to all former and current military members for your service and protecting our freedoms.

Top L-R: My Dad, W. R. Williams, Sr. - US Army, Korean War, Sr, My Uncle, W. H. Hoback, US Navy, WW II
Bottom L-R: My father in law, Henry C. Kogutkiewicz, US Army, WW II and my former father in law, Simeon L. Kitts, Jr. - US Army Air, WW II.


Sources:
1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, History of Veterans Day (http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp) accessed on 31 October 2014 
2. Veterans Day, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/Veterans_Day, accessed on 31 October 2014

Friday, November 7, 2014

Follow Friday - Thomas MacEntee

The very first webinar I took was given by Thomas MacEntee via Legacy Family Tree about three years ago. I found his webinar to be very informative and started adding his suggestions to my genealogy repertoire. I always look forward to seeing what seminars he is doing.

Your webinars have enhanced my skills as a researcher. They have led me to find new sources and allowed me to find a new way to share my family history. I have met many new people of the genealogy community via your Geneabloggers and Social Media for Genealogy pages on Facebook. 

Through his websites and Facebook pages I have learned a lot about genealogy, technology that is genealogy friendly and blogging. He never hesitates to answer my questions or provide me with feedback about those questions. Your daily prompts about what happened on this or that date inspire me to find an ancestor who may have been affected by that event in history.

Thank you, Thomas and I look forward to meeting you one day in person!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

A Letter to my son, David

Dear David,
 
Happy Birthday, my sweet boy! Of course you stopped being a "boy" a long time ago but you will always be my baby. I can hardly believe that it has been thirty three years since I first held you in my arms. You are one of the many blessings that I have been given in my life. The day you were born is forever etched into my heart and soul. I think you know that feeling now that you have Easton.

You are an wonderful son, though you definitely tried my patience to no end growing up! I have memories that to this day that still make me smile and laugh. My most precious memories of you are the day you were born, the day you married Cassie and the day that you both gave us our precious little grandson, Easton.

You continue to amaze me in your love for our family, including your parents, step-parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins; your wife, Cassie and your son Easton, and for your friends. I am very proud to call you my son and my friend.

You showed me your strength and courage when Kenny died. You showed your love for him by singing "Here I am Lord" at his funeral something I would never be able to do. I am so glad that someone had the foresight to tape Kenny's funeral because I will always be able to listen to you sing that song.

I can not tell you how happy I was when we learned that you and Cassie had started seeing each other again after eight years of going your separate ways. I am so proud to call her my daughter and my friend. You two were made for each other. When I see you with Easton my heart swells with pride knowing how much you love him. You are an amazing husband! You are a great Dad and my heart melts when I see you with Easton. 
 
I wish for you on this 33rd a future full of love, family, health, happiness and fun.

I love you, David Nathaniel! 

Momma

The many wonderful faces of David Nathaniel! (c) 2014 Dawn Kogutkiewicz