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“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

Family Heirlooms

Why Write this Blog?

My thoughts about starting a blog started last summer. I took a course “Mastering the Art of Genealogical Documentation” at the Genealogical Research Institute of…

collage of Viola and her vital records

Viola’s Vital Records Vitally Misleading

Vital records are often the first documents researchers turn to when investigating family history. These records are crucial to genealogical research because they document significant…

Sophmore class at Springfield High School, 1929

Where’s Grandpa?

The Hendrickson family made Brooklyn and Long Island their home for at least 8 generations. So when I found my great-grandparents, Clarkson and Olive Hendrickson…

Elizabeth (Madden) McKnight and twin boys John and Frank. |

Photogenetic: My Earliest Known McKnight Ancestors

My father’s cousin, Ann Dalton provided me with photos of my earliest known McKnight Ancestors – Elizabeth (Madden) McKnight and twin boys, John and Frank.

family heirlooms

Behind the Scenes: Preserving Family Heirlooms

A few years ago, my mother entrusted me with our family heirlooms. It included documents, photos, and various artifacts such as my grandfather’s military medals, his…

portrait of unidentified woman

Unsolved Mystery: The Woman in the Window

Old family photos are some of the most treasured records in a family history, capturing fleeting moments in an ancestor’s life. I’m fortunate to have…

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