#77: Tradition | Ole (Lauritsen) Lorensen

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (2026-18): Tradition

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a series of weekly prompts to get you to think about an ancestor and share something about them. The weekly prompt is provided by www.amyjohnsoncrow.com. The prompt for the week of April 27 is "Tradition"

The Vanguard of a New Identity: Ole (Lauritsen) Lorensen

Tradition often suggests staying put—carrying on the customs, names, and lands of those who came before. But for my great-granduncle, Ole Lorensen, "tradition" was something he both carried with him and consciously reshaped. Born in Norway at a time when resources were scarce and farms were small, he became the catalyst for a generational shift that would eventually bring six of seven siblings to American shores.

#76: A Year of Change | 1904-1905 Caroline "Lena" Schmitz

A Year of Change: Caroline "Lena" Schmitz (1904–1905)

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a series of weekly prompts to get you to think about an ancestor and share something about them. The weekly prompt is provided by www.amyjohnsoncrow.com. The prompt this week (2026-17) is "Working for a Living" and I'm covering the early work of my great-grandmother Caroline "Lena" Schmitz who was born December 18, 1888, to Peter Schmitz and Catharine Pirron in New York City. For this week's blog post, I am focusing on a "Year of Change" for Lena, covering a pivotal window in her young adult life.

#75: "A Quiet Life" No More: Resurrecting Susan F. Moody

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (2026-16)

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a series of weekly prompts to get you to think about an ancestor and share something about them. The weekly prompt is provided by www.amyjohnsoncrow.com. The prompt for the week of April 13 is "A Quiet Life." I decided to interpret this prompt to highlight the "Quiet Life" of my wife’s great-great-grandmother, Susan F. Moody.

#74: The Deep Roots of Indigo—Joshua Epps and the Colonial Foundation

Halifax Hues #4: The Deep Roots of Indigo—Joshua Epps and the Colonial Foundation

We have traveled a long way in this series. We started with a handwritten note from a grandmother, proved a brotherhood through 19th-century tax ledgers, and stood on the battlefields of the Revolution with Moses Epps.

When we began, the goal was to prove that Daniel and William Epps were brothers and that the Moses Epps identified as their father was the same man. We’ve done that. But today, we push past the finish line. This document doesn't just confirm Moses; it reveals the generation that came before him—the bedrock of the entire Halifax cluster.

To truly understand the Epps family, we have to go back to the "darker, deeper roots" of the family, to the couple who first carved a home out of the Virginia wilderness: Joshua and Betty Epps.

The 1778 Will: A Father’s Blueprint

#73: The Ohioans! | Unexpected

The Ohioans! | Unexpected: The Paper Trail to Zurich

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (2026-15)

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a series of weekly prompts designed to encourage researchers to share the stories of those who came before us, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. The prompt for the week of April 6 is "Unexpected," which is the perfect lens through which to view the discovery that finally shattered a new brick wall in the Miller family tree.