I come from what I thought was a very small family, as neither of my parents had any siblings. In 1975, as part of my high school anthropology class, we had to do our family tree. My mom helped me complete it. She died a few years later. Eventually, I ended up with what must have been her reference source: 2 large trunks filled with photos, letters, and documents dating back to the mid- 19th century. They sat unopened for many years. Only recently did I start going through them, and I was amazed at what I found! There were as many questions as answers, and like so many others before me, I kept thinking about the things I could have asked my parents and grandparents but didn't. I started looking online to fill in the gaps and had a revelation: our family is not small or uninteresting, and neither is anyone else's!!

I come from what I thought was a very small family, as neither of my parents had any siblings. In 1975, as part of my high school anthropology class, we had to do our family tree. My mom helped me complete it. She died a few years later. Eventually, I ended up with what must have been her reference source: 2 large trunks filled with photos, letters, and documents dating back to the mid- 19th century. They sat unopened for many years. Only recently did I start going through them, and I was amazed at what I found! There were as many questions as answers, and like so many others before me, I kept thinking about the things I could have asked my parents and grandparents but didn't. I started looking online to fill in the gaps and had a revelation: our family is not small or uninteresting, and neither is anyone else's!!