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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

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…

Carlton Hendrickson

Memories of Dad

Ten years ago today my father Carlton Hendrickson passed away. Instead of remembering his death, I would much rather remember some of the things that…

RMSHesperian

The Unsinkable Harold Parker Ewart

My great–grandfather Harold Parker Ewart was a Merchant Mariner. His job took him all over the world and was extremely dangerous, particularly during wartime. Harold…

Brooklyn Navy Yard, 1911

Clarkson V. Hendrickson vs. the United States

My great-great-grandfather Clarkson V. Hendrickson, Sr., and Jasper Chisholm, a coworker, filed a claim against the United States in 1912 for payment of overtime work…

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…

Graves of McCulloch and Hendrickson Families

An Unexpected Connection at Green-Wood Cemetery

Have you experienced any strange coincidences in your family tree? By definition, a coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal…

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