Roots & Rabbit Holes

I’ve been slacking on the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge . It’s Week 5, and this is my first post of the year. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing. I challenged myself to complete one family history book on Storied in 2026, so I’ve been focused on one I’ve told before—the story of my great-great-grandparents, John Laberge and Mary Melanise Marcoux . In 1900, Melanise took John to court for failure to support her and their children. The newspaper published a harrowing

This week's topic for the 52 Ancestors Challenge is supposed to be "Oldest Story" but I've covered my family's oldest story many times...

Week 9 of 2025's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is "Family Secret." I'm not sure whether or not this was a family secret, but when...

Week 5 of 2025’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is “Challenge”   We’re all familiar with the Rolling Stones’ song “Mother’s Little...

Week 50 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is “Chosen Family.” When Melanise Laberge took her husband John to court for failure...

My great-grandmother Blanche’s sister, Rose, was a strong believer in love and marriage…so much so that she married four times!  “Love...

Week 41 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is Passed Down. I’ve become the de facto keeper of family heirlooms. I’m not great at...

Week 40’s theme for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is Preservation. During WWII, creating and maintaining Victory Gardens became an important...

Part II of week 25’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks covers the impact of my great-great grandfather John’s alcoholism on his family members and...

Week 25 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks covers the theme Broken Branches. I’m not 100% sure what constitutes a broken branch. Is it when a...