Storytelling With the Ancestors

Category: great-grandfather

  • A Return to Youngs Creek

    A Return to Youngs Creek

    Tucked away among the rolling hills of southern Indiana, the forests, fields, and quiet cemeteries shaped the lives of my ancestors who settled here, raised their children, and left behind a legacy that still echoes through the landscape.

    This short video is a journey back to those places. Through historic family photographs and the timeless beauty of the Hoosier National Forest, it is both a tribute to the ancestors who came before us and a reminder that, sometimes, the strongest connection to our past is found simply by walking where they once walked.… Read the rest

  • A Country Doctor’s Calling: Dr. Edward E.K. Chapman (1859–1932)

    In the quiet rhythms of late 19th- and early 20th-century Defiance, Ohio, individuals like my great-grandfather Dr. Edward E.K. Chapman lived lives that rarely made headlines, yet formed the backbone of their communities. This is the story of a country doctor whose work extended far beyond medicine—into public service, leadership, and the daily lives of the people he served.

    … Read the rest
  • How Late Victorian Photography Shaped Family Memory

    How Late Victorian Photography Shaped Family Memory

    Four portraits. Four lives. One carefully constructed vision of identity in the late 19th century.

    By the 1880s and 1890s, the photography studio had become a fixture of everyday life in America. What had once been rare and expensive was now accessible—and deeply meaningful. Families marked milestones, asserted identity, and preserved legacy through carefully staged portraits like these.

    Stepping into a photography studio was an event. These were not casual images—they were deliberate acts of self-presentation.… Read the rest

  • The Burying Preacher

    The Burying Preacher

    In December 1947, Life Magazine introduced readers to a small rural town photo feature highlighting Paoli, Indiana. Profiled within the feature was a quiet figure in the hills of southern Indiana—my maternal great-grandfather Rev. William Hancock.

    For most, it was a glimpse into small-town America.

    For me, it is family.

    Rev. William Hancock leads a funeral procession at Stampers Creek, Orange County, Indiana, 1947. Pallbearers carry the casket by hand as mourners follow.

    … Read the rest