I'm a native of Alpena, Michigan with U.S. roots in Alpena and Presque Isle counties going back five generations. On my Mom's side it's all German-American (Papke, Trapp, Claus, Meske, Polenske, Raddatz and related branches). My Dad's roots (Pugh) in NE Michigan are shallower and I've had to chase down his more immediate ancestors (Pugh, Ash, Sansom, Sutton) in Ontario and in Britain.

Mine are modest working-class and immigrant ancestors for the most part, with none of them in the U.S before the 1870s. I envy those with roots tracing back to the Eastern colonial seaboard who can consult published genealogies of 8-10 generations. For if your ancestors ended up in NE Michigan after 1870 they weren't likely to be Yankees. Just like farming the rocky soil of NE Michigan, you have to dig hard to find details on your ancestors there--and you end up doing much more original research than you'd anticipated.

Thank goodness my motivation comes from a place of love. My own interest in family history started at a young age as my Mom (Doris A. Pugh--nee Papke) was very personable, a lover of family--and a marvelous oral historian. She passed along insightful stories not only from her own family and ancestry but also from my dad's (William C. Pugh) as she also had been particularly close to my dad's mother. Inspired by her, at the age of 14 I began meeting with as many of my elderly relatives as I could, to gain additional details. For mine was an "old" family (with a lot of delayed parenting over the generations) and many in my extended family would soon pass away. My parents were 37 and 38 when I was born, and my last grandparent died when I was 12. Luckily my Mom lived to 90, and during her final decades I always tried to record her reminiscences on a note pad when visiting with her at her kirchen table.

(Though the bulk of my memorials are my ancestors and their in-laws, I have also included many non-relatives whom my Mom knew and talked about. I would not be an historian and documentation without her influence and interest in people--and in many of the memorials I relay her testimonies. Therefore, my profile photo is dominated by a 1946 portrait of her--and that's present-day me hovering above her left shoulder).

I went off to college and eventually gained a Ph.D. in history. At present I am an adjunct professor of history and the university archivist at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Like my Mom, I am a firm believer in the importance of preserving and passing along oral legacies--good, bad, and ugly. Most of the now-deceased did the best they could in challenging circumstances. We gain understanding, sympathy, and wisdom through 1) learning about their lives and times; and 2) remembering them as we reach and pass our own personal milestones in the present day.

I don't believe in sanitizing the past. I've had run-ins with third cousins who believe that some family tragedy or another back in the ninteenth century should remain secret. To what purpose? You rob the ancestors of their humanity and individuality in so doing. It's bad enough getting fake, upbeat, and pretentious annual form letters in Christmas cards from living relatives; let's not write and promote the same sort of piffle about our ancestors.

Given the above, I believe that names and dates alone tell very little. But if that's all we have in many cases, let's verify them through public records when possible.

Finally...I used to be Ralph A. Pugh before I legally changed my name to Mindy C. Pugh as I am transgender. Never too old to do what is right -- and that change was definitely right for me. It appears that all my ancestors had only one life to live each, and their lives passed all too quickly.

I'm a native of Alpena, Michigan with U.S. roots in Alpena and Presque Isle counties going back five generations. On my Mom's side it's all German-American (Papke, Trapp, Claus, Meske, Polenske, Raddatz and related branches). My Dad's roots (Pugh) in NE Michigan are shallower and I've had to chase down his more immediate ancestors (Pugh, Ash, Sansom, Sutton) in Ontario and in Britain.

Mine are modest working-class and immigrant ancestors for the most part, with none of them in the U.S before the 1870s. I envy those with roots tracing back to the Eastern colonial seaboard who can consult published genealogies of 8-10 generations. For if your ancestors ended up in NE Michigan after 1870 they weren't likely to be Yankees. Just like farming the rocky soil of NE Michigan, you have to dig hard to find details on your ancestors there--and you end up doing much more original research than you'd anticipated.

Thank goodness my motivation comes from a place of love. My own interest in family history started at a young age as my Mom (Doris A. Pugh--nee Papke) was very personable, a lover of family--and a marvelous oral historian. She passed along insightful stories not only from her own family and ancestry but also from my dad's (William C. Pugh) as she also had been particularly close to my dad's mother. Inspired by her, at the age of 14 I began meeting with as many of my elderly relatives as I could, to gain additional details. For mine was an "old" family (with a lot of delayed parenting over the generations) and many in my extended family would soon pass away. My parents were 37 and 38 when I was born, and my last grandparent died when I was 12. Luckily my Mom lived to 90, and during her final decades I always tried to record her reminiscences on a note pad when visiting with her at her kirchen table.

(Though the bulk of my memorials are my ancestors and their in-laws, I have also included many non-relatives whom my Mom knew and talked about. I would not be an historian and documentation without her influence and interest in people--and in many of the memorials I relay her testimonies. Therefore, my profile photo is dominated by a 1946 portrait of her--and that's present-day me hovering above her left shoulder).

I went off to college and eventually gained a Ph.D. in history. At present I am an adjunct professor of history and the university archivist at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Like my Mom, I am a firm believer in the importance of preserving and passing along oral legacies--good, bad, and ugly. Most of the now-deceased did the best they could in challenging circumstances. We gain understanding, sympathy, and wisdom through 1) learning about their lives and times; and 2) remembering them as we reach and pass our own personal milestones in the present day.

I don't believe in sanitizing the past. I've had run-ins with third cousins who believe that some family tragedy or another back in the ninteenth century should remain secret. To what purpose? You rob the ancestors of their humanity and individuality in so doing. It's bad enough getting fake, upbeat, and pretentious annual form letters in Christmas cards from living relatives; let's not write and promote the same sort of piffle about our ancestors.

Given the above, I believe that names and dates alone tell very little. But if that's all we have in many cases, let's verify them through public records when possible.

Finally...I used to be Ralph A. Pugh before I legally changed my name to Mindy C. Pugh as I am transgender. Never too old to do what is right -- and that change was definitely right for me. It appears that all my ancestors had only one life to live each, and their lives passed all too quickly.