warren-trumpetHaving researched professionally for many years, I have seen many variations of compiled family histories and narratives. Some are no more than just bare bone facts – birth, marriage, death and burial. Others present so much information that it is hard to navigate and understand. Yet others feel that history has no place in a family narrative (though, for the life of me, I cannot fathom why). A few are inspired to include the historical events that shaped their family. I tend to relate most to the very last group.

I have always been a curious soul – wanting to understand motive and reason. I am the strange person who reads the end of the book first and then thrills as events build up to the final act. Genealogy is like reading the end of the book first. We often have only the last events in a person’s life, their death or burial to begin our search. It is their journey through time that we follow and document.