Every so often, I take a shot at sorting out my family tree.
I'm fortunate to have a good head-start on my mother's side: her maternal relatives have already mapped out several generations of the family there, and her paternal side features an uncommon/rare surname that traces back to a single immigrant from the mid-1700s. Being a loose-knit group of extended families kept some of the stories afloat - including tales of a related train robber, a Starkweather-esque cross-country crime spree, and a famous story about land lost in one fateful card game.
But the universe demands balance - of course my father has a ridiculously common surname, and a ridiculously common given name...
I'm fortunate to have a good head-start on my mother's side: her maternal relatives have already mapped out several generations of the family there, and her paternal side features an uncommon/rare surname that traces back to a single immigrant from the mid-1700s. Being a loose-knit group of extended families kept some of the stories afloat - including tales of a related train robber, a Starkweather-esque cross-country crime spree, and a famous story about land lost in one fateful card game.
But the universe demands balance - of course my father has a ridiculously common surname, and a ridiculously common given name...