When I first started exploring my family tree, I sought to draw a line straight back as far as possible. Within a short time, I had names and dates ? all taken from shaky sources ? for several ancestors. Soon after, I learned that genealogy is like detective work: just because something is in print doesn't make it right. The truth tends to take a little hunting around.The more I worked, the more I wondered about the lives of my forefathers (and foremothers, too). I looked first at my dad's grand...

When I first started exploring my family tree, I sought to draw a line straight back as far as possible. Within a short time, I had names and dates ? all taken from shaky sources ? for several ancestors. Soon after, I learned that genealogy is like detective work: just because something is in print doesn't make it right. The truth tends to take a little hunting around.The more I worked, the more I wondered about the lives of my forefathers (and foremothers, too). I looked first at my dad's grand...