“Some family trees have beautiful leaves, and some have just a bunch of nuts. It is the nuts that make the tree worth shaking.”
Most of us start our family research seeking the beautiful leaves on our tree. We want to know more about the lovely young woman in that photograph, or to confirm the story we were always told of our uncle’s gallantry in the war. But in the end, while those stories charm us, it’s often the nuts – the stories that surprise, sadden, or intrigue us because they’re unexpected – that keep us looking for more.
This blog is for my family (some of whom really are nuts), immediate, distant, and yet unknown. I think our family tree is worth shaking; I hope you do, too.
A Tree Worth Shaking 