In 2021, we came across this image from a holiday greeting card and took delight in how it diagrams the expansive nature of grandparents as they flow from one generation to the next.
Family trees are frequently diagrammed from the tree base to the upper branches. However, we like how this places “you” as the star at the top, and works through all of the supporting branches to give a more realistic picture that each of us are descended from many others.
A popular song titled The Story, written by Phil Hanseroth, has these lyrics which speak to us about all of our ancestral grandparents. When you read the lyrics and reflect on their meaning, it feels as if this is a song our ancestors sing to us in gratitude for acknowledging them.
“All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I’ve been
And how I got to where I am
Oh, but these stories don’t mean anything
When you’ve got no one to tell them to, it’s true
I was made for you…”
We have discovered many unexpected and interesting things about our various ancestors. For instance, two branches of this tree are linked to our Mayflower ancestors: Pilgrim George Soule (about 11 generations) and Pilgrim Edward Doty (about 12 generations) back. We knew about Soule, but Doty was a surprise.
Family trees are nice to have, but we believe that they truly come alive when given a context within history. Please enjoy the narratives we have undertaken about our family, and come to know the times and places within which they lived.
And finally, as the holiday tree indicates, after about 20 generations… we all have one million grandparents! (That’s a lot of stories!)
Our Ancestors, Our Narratives 