This is a web page about stories, genealogy and history, I especially like stories with happy endings. Not all stories end on a positive note, but if they are told well, then the unhappy conclusions will make sense.

In genealogy, stories provide the flesh for the birth, marriage and death dates. For example, my great-grandfather, Andrew Jackson Healan was born in 1818 and died in 1876 in the US. But I couldn’t tell a story with only dates and places.

Histories of the time period rescued me. Newspapers from the mid-1800s, printed Andrew Jackson’s name as a passenger on both clipper and steamships so I knew he traveled. Roster records of the Confederate 9th Georgia Regiment showed that he had fought in the American Civil War.

I found more general information about life in the mid-1800s and finally had enough information to make educated guesses about how he lived. Now, I had enough material for a story, a story that I hope will give my children and grandchildren a sense of who my great-grandfather was.

I enjoy stories, especially those connected with genealogy and history.

Healan Barrow

Acknowledgements: Banner drawn by Helga Nadzeika Copello and used with permission.