My Earliest Record

I debated on what to write about this week, which is why my post is a bit late. The theme "earliest" left me many options. The earliest immigration of an ancestor to the New World? Or maybe the earliest ancestor to move to my home state of Missouri? Luckily, my daughter Jennifer provided the answer a couple of days ago 

when she found this record.

This 1625 baptism entry from Saint-Ouen-des-Fossés (in Le Mans, France) is now the earliest record we have found so far.  I know, as we work our way back in time, it won't hold this position long. For now, though, this is it. 

I am very fortunate my daughter can translate this for me.

Some of the words are a bit hard to make out, but it says, 

"Thursday, 10 Nov. was baptised pierre pinot son of Paschal Pinot the father 

and Jeanne Marteau the mother 

the godfather Jean Belot the godmother françoize [?Vincende] 

[The signature of the priest is also unclear.]"

Now I have learned the names of my 10th great grandparents too!

Puddin' Head

Norman Miller Holland

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 23 Theme: Namesake

Generation 6
My Great Grandfather

Rigsby, Kienlen, Aden, Holland

Naming your children is tough. My husband and I decided not to name our kids after anyone in particular. We didn't want any hurt feelings, of course, but ultimately we wanted to use names we actually liked.

My first name, Leslie, came from the 1964 movie Kisses for my President starring Fred MacMurray and Polly Bergen. My parents liked the name. I hope they weren't disappointed I never became President of the United States, 

or president of anything else.

I have no interest in that. 

My middle name, Diane, came from my mom's sister, Diana. 

She was a wonderful woman who liked to do crafts. I remember she and my mom would act silly and laugh a lot when they were together.

What I appreciate most about my Aunt Diana, was the day she came to visit my mom in the hospital. My mom had just had a double lung transplant and things were not going well. Her wonderful sister sat with her for hours one Sunday and sang church songs to her. Most of them were children's songs they probably sang together when they were girls. That meant a lot to me.

Here is a bit about Norman Miller Holland and his name.