Research has come up a few times this week. Once at a family history training taught by Cathy Schow; in the book I’m reading, History Matters by David McCullough; and then again in Ken Burns’ The American Revolution documentary that just aired on PBS. Schow, McCullough and Burns all found themselves spending more time than planned when they started researching.

In Cathy’s family history work, she is looking for people that belong on her family tree. She peruses her tree, follows lines that are incomplete and then searches for sources that document the existence of people she has discovered in journals, letters, census records or wherever an elusive ancestor pops up. She has developed a knack for finding sources on multiple sites and connecting the dots that put families together. She says she spends way more time than she should when she starts the research.

Research for The American Revolution documentary took eight years. “Burns is unabashed in his desire to find the humanity in this well-trod subject. ‘I think the Revolution hasn’t really been told,’ he states plainly. ‘It’s been smothered in sentimentality and nostalgia, and that’s largely because all we see are paintings in stockings and breaches and powdered wigs. But it is really important to tell the story of the Revolution and the fact that the odds were zero when it began of success. That even the boldface names we know were complicated human beings, and oh by the way, there are hundreds of other people that you’ve never heard about. We’d like to share their story; they just didn’t have the station in life to let their portraits be painted.” *Houston Press, Documentarian Ken Burns Revisits The American Revolution in New Epic, July 10, 2025.

David McCullough, the Pulitzer Prize winning author, researched historical figures, looking for documentation on experiences in their lives. He knew the historical figure existed but wanted to know that person better so he could tell a more complete story. He said he didn’t just work on a book or research, “I’m in the book, in the subject, in the time and the place. Whenever I go away for a couple of days, I have to work to put myself back in it, to get back under that spell.” *McCullough, David, History Matters. Simon and Schuster 2025. Pg. 33.

 That spell has struck me at times when I go looking for something I’m really interested in. Recently, my thoughts went to a cousin who was never really part of our family. My uncle and his first wife divorced and Bruce, my cousin, was eventually adopted by his stepfather. We knew of Bruce but weren’t a part of his life until he turned up looking for his biological father back in 2005.  We were just getting to know him when he unexpectedly passed away with heart issues, which mirrored his father’s death. Now, 20 years later, I’m doing research to get to know this cousin better. 

Lives matter, whether they belong on a family tree or in a nation’s history; records, journals, letters, and such provide hints to who we are collectively and that is important. Hints that complete families and national stories. John Adams and Truman, David McCullough’s two Pulitzer Prize winning biographies, as well as The American Revolution help us understand ourselves better. Bruce belongs to my family, and we are not complete unless he is on the tree. Research helps make Life Good and yes it takes a lot of time, but it is time well spent.