Oh, that's why

That was my initial reaction to learning the previously unknown reason I have been almost insanely driven to track down family members to make sure they have the same information I do.

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It turns out that despite 15 years of extensive research behind an impressive genealogy book that is 3" thick, I have some key documents that nobody else does. The clincher for me was coming to a part in the book that says "Prior to his (my great-great grandfather's) death, he expressed the hope that some younger person would continue his efforts to keep the records of the family history updated." No one else (to our knowledge) has input everything into genealogy software to freely share, or made recent efforts to reconnect.

I have my work cut out for me, but it's nothing compared to what they faced coming out here in the first place.