Up until about ten years ago I had a rather fuzzy view of my place in this country: of where I come from, who I am and how I got where I am today.

Some years ago I accepted a challenge from an Aunt, the last of my father's generation, to organize her family photograph albums and document her recollections.

The set of six albums contains over a thousand photographs from as long ago as 1860. It seems like there has always been someone in the family who had a camera. Moreover, my Aunt knows the names of the individuals on all but a handful of the pictures.

As I scanned each one I created a page for that individual using a Legacy genealogy program and this project became the basis for all the work that has followed.

Along the way I have discovered stories of loss and suffering, of sacrifice and commitment. A widowed aunt with minor children marries a widower with minor children to protect the young from the ravages of a northern Pennsylvania winter in 1860. A grandfather is wounded in battle at Valley Forge at age 14 but rejoins the fight as soon as he is healed. An uncle dies of typhus in a camp hospital during the Civil War.

Suddenly I am aware of being a whole person, of having a place in this country, of having blood in the ground. And my passion for knowing more is second only to my desire to complete the archive and pass it to the next generation.

There are many people to thank for making the discoveries possible, but no one more than my own parents for giving me a nurturing home, a compassionate nature and a curiosity to explore.

Up until about ten years ago I had a rather fuzzy view of my place in this country: of where I come from, who I am and how I got where I am today.

Some years ago I accepted a challenge from an Aunt, the last of my father's generation, to organize her family photograph albums and document her recollections.

The set of six albums contains over a thousand photographs from as long ago as 1860. It seems like there has always been someone in the family who had a camera. Moreover, my Aunt knows the names of the individuals on all but a handful of the pictures.

As I scanned each one I created a page for that individual using a Legacy genealogy program and this project became the basis for all the work that has followed.

Along the way I have discovered stories of loss and suffering, of sacrifice and commitment. A widowed aunt with minor children marries a widower with minor children to protect the young from the ravages of a northern Pennsylvania winter in 1860. A grandfather is wounded in battle at Valley Forge at age 14 but rejoins the fight as soon as he is healed. An uncle dies of typhus in a camp hospital during the Civil War.

Suddenly I am aware of being a whole person, of having a place in this country, of having blood in the ground. And my passion for knowing more is second only to my desire to complete the archive and pass it to the next generation.

There are many people to thank for making the discoveries possible, but no one more than my own parents for giving me a nurturing home, a compassionate nature and a curiosity to explore.