About Roots & Leaves

I‘m not sure when genealogists or family historians become interested in their own histories, and I suppose every family member flirts with researching their ancestry to varying degrees. Most may only take a fleeting interest in their family history while pursuing more relevant activities that have immediate impact on their lives. While others, the self-anointed family historians, undertake the Sisyphean task of documenting one’s genealogy and writing their family history more seriously. I recently became interested in pursuing my family’s genealogy in earnest after several half-hearted previous attempts. Roots and Leaves will serve as a platform for my research process and as a means of connecting the dots in my family’s ancestry.

Throughout my life I heard anecdotal stories about my ancestors but never fully explored my roots. My priorities centered on the present, on successfully navigating the gauntlet of time and the immediate trials it thrust upon me, those of my education, friendships, relationships, my personal and professional growth and the challenges that accompany each of these milestones. There comes a time in life however, when we transition through roles beginning with one of dependence on our parents, then independence from our parents, then interdependence with our parents, and finally to becoming the caretakers of our parents. The psychological transition between these life phases brings introspection, self-reflection and self-awareness between one’s current place in the world the significance of it all. More than ever, the aging of my parents and my estranged relationship with my children instills a sense of urgency to research and document my genealogy and share them with present and future generations. And now, in my late forties, having passed the midway point of my time on this earth compels me to refocus on the one thing that matters most…family.

Building on my paternal grandmother’s (Virginia Powers Twyman) genealogical research I will compile our family’s stories and additional genealogical pedigree with the goal of writing a family history within the context of world and social history to better understand how they lived. While my efforts will focus on the following family lines: Greenlee (Twyman, Shaw, Stephan), and Murillo (Claros, Huerta, Cardenas), I will collaborate with tangential family lines that intersect with mine as well: Eduardo, Stafford, Kirkwood, McCown. I know a family genealogy project of this scale may take years to complete, but those who appreciate our family legacy may find the journey both fun and interesting. For, our roots run deep, and each leaf tells a story.

When the past no longer illuminates the future the spirit walks in darkness – Alexis de Tocqueville