We're a group of family and cousins with shared backgrounds and verified connections.

See a familiar surname? Does an image in our gallery look like someone you've seen before?

It's possible that you're a cousin or a visitor with similar names in your family background. Take a stroll through our featured surnames. These ancestral lines have been researched in depth, with people, places, and chronologies in plentiful supply.

We'll shortly be offering a photo gallery of ancestors who were kind enough to leave their likeness for us to study. These photos have been lovingly digitized and captioned, with estimated date ranges to the best of our ability. Do you have photos you'd like to share that might give more substance to our narrative? Please feel free.

At right are links to handy genealogical resources. Some of the subscription services are well worth their weight in historical gold. Ancestry.com is the most versatile and comprehensive database available. For researching North American records it's a must. If it's too pricy for your pocketbook, check to see whether your local library or family history center has a subscription that you can use for free.

Familysearch.org is another online option, and can be searched entirely without cost. It's a nice counterpoint to Ancestry.com, and occasionally you'll find records at Familysearch that Ancestry doesn't have.

The Library of Congress offers a free newspaper database, Chronicling America, currently covering various decades from 1836-1922. If your region isn't covered therein, check Proquest, GenealogyBank (a collection of newspapers specially curated for genealogists), and NewspaperArchive.com. Your local library may have subscriptions, or your can purchase your own access for home use.

Times have never been more fortuitous for online genealogy, so step right up and start your own research today!

Everything is illuminated in the light of the past.

- Jonathan Safran Foer