More than just an enjoyable hobby, knowing our personal family history can give us a sense of identity and of belonging. We need that in this crazy, deep-fake, Instagram world where traditional values have eroded, truth seems to change constantly, and people communicate more often with strangers on the other side of the country, or the world, than with their neighbor three houses down.

Everybody goes through hardships. I do. You do. And the perfect family on social media does.

Learning about the hardships that our ancestors experienced and how they handled them has the power to strengthen our own emotional resilience and our ability to handle the trials and challenges of life. ...

As knowing our ancestry can give us courage, identity, and direction, so too, knowing the history of our country can give us an idea of what it means to be American.

Let me share a few examples of family history from the life of my great grandfather, John LeRoy Lee, taken from a history about him.