Family Stories

Family Stories …and How I Found Mine is actually several books rolled into one. It tells the stories of author J. Michael Cleverley’s family from the early Middle Ages through colonial New England and into the 19th century’s great American migration West. Unlike many genealogies, however, it examines these stories in the context of key moments and movements in American and European history. Much more than that, however, it is the story of how in today’s modern information world, a family history enthusiast can find their own stories, something often more easily done than it might seem. In this way, the book’s dual narrative – the histories and how they were found – provides case studies that can introduce every genealogist to methods for finding more about the lives of the people they study. The author retired as a senior diplomat from the American Foreign Service and is a best selling author.