With history, we can look back at events and carefully examine all the elements that contributed to a specific point in time. We can study news reporting, personal accounts, various forms of data, and all sorts of resources. If the time in question is not too far removed, we can even add our own reflections of the event as tempered by experience, wisdom and the passage of time. However, when we are in the midst of an event, it is very difficult to bring the same skill set to bear. The best we should attempt to do is to experience the event and leave the historical context for later.
As an example of how time changes perspective, consider Ulysses S. Grant. During the Civil War he rose to great renown, but had enemies who constantly worked to undermine him and levy false accusations. Nonetheless, Grant went on to win the war and become the hero of the nation (at least in the North) and gain international fame. His two terms as President resulted in significant laws being passed to protect African-American rights and to slowly reunify the country. Then, over the next several decades, Grant’s story evolved to one of butchery as a general, drunkenness as a person, and scandal as a president. Why the drastic change? It was simply a matter of Southern historians desire to downplay Grant’s hero status in favor of their own heroes. This narrative held steady until about the 1990s when modern historians began to reexamine Grant and discovered a man that was compassionate as a general, steady in his devotion to family and country, and very astute in matters of diplomacy and politics. The best example of this reevaluation can be found in Jean Edward Smith’s biography of Grant (Simon & Schuster, 2001), simply titled “Grant.”
So, if a man such as Ulysses Grant can be so completely misunderstood or misinterpreted, what does that say about how we should think about our friends, neighbors, and others? Context, by its nature is truth. To find the truth about someone or something, we must be willing to challenge the accepted narratives and dig deep enough to get to that truth.
All of this got me to thinking about a couple of projects I completed a few years ago. They were 
family history books for my father and mother’s families. Both trace the family trees back as far as records go. And while that part is interesting, it is the context within which those people lived that is most fascinating. Amazing stories, including some that are a bit shocking. So, below find links to the Holbrook and Salyers family history books in PDF form. I hope you enjoy them and are inspired to begin or continue your own family history research.
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