11. Re: Union

The photo above looks like any informal gathering at a local watering hole, but it represents several decades of genealogical research and serves as a potent indicator of just how linked we’ve all become in the age of the internet.  That graying guy in the...

10. The guy we all followed

I haven’t yet gotten into my father’s amazing military career, but take just a moment to read this beautifully written, indeed virtually poetic, description of him by one of his World War II men: ==> Anyone wanting to know why I understandably idolized...

9. Wikitree Strikes Again

The days and weeks after October 11, 2015 were some of the most intense in our by now decades long search to unravel the mysteries of my Dad’s family.  The second cousin who contacted me that day turned out to be a treasure trove of information on the...

8. The family tree flowers

Here are a couple of fun Kauffman facts:  all of the Kauffman men in my Dad’s generation (meaning him and his two brothers) were left handed.  That trait was passed down to me, with an added odd piece of trivia:  my birthday is October 6, and both my...

6. Gifts from beyond

Due to the vagaries of the intersections between solar and lunar calendars, 2016 finds Christmas Eve sharing “religious duties” with the first night of Chanukkah, something that appeals to my multicultural sensibilities for reasons this blog may have...

4. Book of Revelation(s)

Some of you may have noticed that in my first post I neglected to mention what ultimately happened to my late Aunt Kay as I was documenting the triumphs and tragedies of the Kauffman males.  Kay reportedly had the rockiest stay in foster care, and unfortunately she...

3. Deaths and a new beginning

My sister Kathie discovered our first real paper documentation about my Dad’s family probably circa 1993 or so.  It may seem like a “minor” issue to find birth and marriage certificates, but in a largely pre-internet era, it was really quite a feat...

2. Inventing names

As 2016 draws to a close, I look back on what is one of the more momentous years in my by now pretty long life, one that was capped in the summer when I flew to Toronto and met a ton of “new” relatives on my Dad’s side, including (rather incredibly)...

1. Stories our parents tell us

The Kauffman family history reads like something out of a Dickens novel, which is probably why I’m still expecting some random stranger to walk up to me and hand me several million dollars.  In our particular case, there wasn’t just one abandoned orphan who went on to...