Background Image

“Everything is relative except relatives,
and they are absolute.”

-Alfred Steiglitz

Family history is a way to bring our ancestors to life.

This blog details my journey as a genealogist and is a means to record my notes, recent discoveries, and the stories of my ancestors. The goal of Relatively is to inspire other family historians to preserve and share their own family stories.

RECENT POSTS

Comparison Photo. Hazel (Knowles) Ewart's Work Badge

Trying to Preserve Your Family Artifacts? Don’t Do What I Did.

During World War II, my maternal grandmother Hazel was a glassblower for scientific glassmakers E. Matchlett & Son in New York City. When my mother…

US Patent Art US1249955

Great-Grandpa’s Big Invention

My great-grandfather, Clarkson Valentine Hendrickson Jr. (1890–1964) was a mechanical engineer or draftsman as I remember my father describing his occupation. But I never had…

cover of Lockwood Book IV

Graven Images: The Lockwood Marble Works Books

I haven’t been writing much lately, and that’s because I’ve spent the better part of June conducting some much-needed research in New York, investigating our…

Citizen Alfred Knowles

Citizen Alfred Knowles

It’s unclear when most of my ancestors became American citizens. Some immigrated to the U.S. before the American Revolution, while others arrived as late as…

Twenty-One Souls Hidden in Plain Sight at Green-Wood Cemetery

Twenty-One Souls Hidden in Plain Sight at Green-Wood Cemetery

As a genealogist, one of my favorite places to visit is cemeteries. While that might seem odd to some, there’s so much to learn about…

Seaman Passport

Harold Ewart’s Passport to Nowhere

Growing up I remember my mom carrying around her father’s seaman passport photo. It was one of only a few she had of him. He…

Subscribe

Stay up to date. Receive an email when a new blog post is published.