Remembering Helen Brighton McCarthy, 1915–2004Helen Brighton McCarthy’s life spans nearly nine decades, from 1915 to 2004. An obituary for Loni’s grandmother is therefore more than a notice of death. It is…Following The South Family Across Five StatesThe chronology of the South family’s moves across five states is more than a sequence of addresses. It is a record of changing work, family connections,…Poem: The Iron Bedstead in the Tidwell Guest RoomAn old bed can hold a family story as surely as a photograph, letter, or handwritten family tree. In the Tidwell guest room, the iron bedstead stands as a…A Red Cottage Beside a Swedish LakeA home exchange in Sweden can begin with a simple image: a red timber cottage, pale birch trunks, a jetty reaching into still water, and a view that changes…Reading McCarthy Letters From The California Gold RushA family letter written during the California Gold Rush can make a distant event feel immediate. Instead of seeing 1850s California only through mining…The Stories Behind the Names in the Family BibleAllen’s essay, “The Stories Behind the Names in the Family Bible,” begins with a familiar object: an old Bible filled with names, dates and brief family notes.…Remembering Samuel Tidwell, 1856–1932An obituary is often a brief document, but it can carry a family’s memory across generations. The notice for Samuel Tidwell, Allen’s great-uncle, places one…Reconstructing the Brighton Family Line From GravestonesA gravestone can look like a small, self-contained record, yet its wording often opens a much larger family story. Names, dates, relationships, military…The Telford Sisters In Easter Dresses, 1915A family photograph can hold a surprising amount of history in a small space. Loni’s image of the Telford sisters in their Easter dresses, dated 1915, brings…How the Tidwell family endured the 1870s locust plagueThe 1870s were a difficult decade for farming families across the American Great Plains. Drought, economic uncertainty, crop failure and immense swarms of…