Carry your family

story forward

Genealogy for Life

In some ways, Nicka Sewell-Smith’s path to becoming a genealogist was pretty typical: It all started with her family. She grew up in a tight-knit one where family history reigned supreme, and the concept of distant cousins wasn’t a thing. “It didn’t matter if I was someone’s fourth cousin; we were all just family,” said the member of Jackson-Madison Chapter in Jackson, Tenn.

And that family came together like clockwork for big reunions. “Because of the Great Migration, our family is spread out across 23 states and four countries, so we’d rotate where the reunion was held every two years,” she recalled.

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A Genealogy Journey

Roceta Gonzales always knew she had roots in America. As a child growing up in the Philippines, she often heard the story of her paternal great-grandfather, Colonel James Villard Heidt, an American officer fighting in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. He married Ms. Gonzales’ great-grandmother, but left the Philippines shortly after she gave birth to twins and never returned.

The story was hardly a source of pride for her family, but these days she’s grateful to know it, since the details have helped her unlock a rich ancestral past, with ties to the Revolutionary War and beyond.

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The Full Story

Historic sites haven’t always grappled with their connections to slavery. Believe it or not, it used to be common practice to simply omit the truth—or perhaps admit that slaves lived there but say nothing more. Now there are people like Elon Cook Lee, director of interpretation and education at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, who are helping historic sites lean into their complicated pasts to offer visitors a fuller, more complete version of their American story.

“The things that happened back then are still directly impacting our world now,” Mrs. Lee said. “Understanding the past, in its entirety, is the only true way to understand what’s going on right now so we can make better choices for the future.”

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Full Speed Ahead

What does Regina Jaquess love most about water skiing? It is not the feeling she gets when she nails a jump that sends her nearly 200 feet through the air. It is not the 14 gold medals she has won at the Pan American Games and the Water Ski World Championships. It is not even that she holds the women’s world record for slalom skiing. What she loves most about the sport is the community.

Ms. Jaquess, who is a professional water skier, holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and owns Emerald Coast Compounding Pharmacy in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. Water skiing has helped keep her tight-knit family close, she said. She has formed and maintained close friendships with water skiers all over the world, said the member of the West Florida Chapter, Destin, Fla.

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Helping Hands

In 1997, Karen Bernardo was disappointed with the lack of programs catering to children with special needs in her community of Wellesley, Mass. Her stepdaughter, Cassie, then a teenager, wanted to participate in activities and socialize with other kids, but there just weren’t many opportunities. So Mrs. Bernardo and her husband, Tom, created one.

That year, they launched Wellesley S.T.A.R.S. (www.wellesleystars.org), which offers a swim training and competition program for individuals with special needs ages 6 to adult.

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A Page Turner

That Aryssa Damron would become a librarian seemed inevitable—to everyone but her. “I grew up with a really strong relationship with my public library,” said Ms. Damron, who is from Ashland, Kentucky, and now calls Washington, D.C., home.

As a child, she routinely tested the limits of the Boyd County Public Library’s lending rules. “I think I could have 50 books checked out any given time,” she said. Later, she served on its teen advisory board. “They would let us weed the collection, which I thought was really cool.”

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Born to Serve

Military service is not just part of Candy Martin’s story—it’s a thread that runs through her family history. She grew up watching her father, a Veteran of World War II and the Korean War, spit-shine his boots before heading out for a drill weekend as a guardsman. Her mother sold savings bond stamps to her classmates.

“My family served in every war, starting with the Revolution,” said Mrs. Martin, who is from South Dakota. “I feel so lucky that I grew up in that type of environment—serving is what you do.”

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Colorado Daughter cultivates an authentic cultural experience

Holly Kinney has been immersed in American Indian culture since she was a child. Born in Denver to advertising executive parents with a passion for western art and history, Mrs. Kinney spent many summer vacations on the pueblos of New Mexico, visiting with her parents’ American Indian artist friends.

When she was 9 years old, her family moved into a new house—a full-size replica of Bent’s Fort, an important 1840s adobe fur trading post that, at that time, had all but disappeared from Colorado history. In addition to living quarters, the structure was to house a living history museum to help share the story of Bent’s Fort and the Kiowa American Indians who once inhabited the area.

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Atlanta Chapter, Atlanta, Ga.

Peggy Wilmoth’s childhood dream was to become an Army nurse. That dream has come true and then some. In 2015, after being confirmed by the 
U.S. Senate, Major General Wilmoth became the first nurse in the 106-year history of the Army Reserve to serve as Deputy Surgeon General. In this position, she advises the Army Surgeon General on the mobilization and readiness of Army Reserve medical personnel.

Her Army Reserve career began 35 years ago, when she was commissioned as a captain. A highlight of her career came in 1984, when MG Wilmoth earned the Expert Field Medical badge, one of the most prestigious Army special skill badges.

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When the Houston Astros won the World Series in November 2017, Twila Carter celebrated alongside fellow Houston residents and fans. This was the first World Series win for the team, and the victory came at just the right time—on the heels of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey just a few months before.

“It was a much-needed distraction for the entire city,” said the member of Twin Creeks DAR Chapter, Shenandoah, Texas. “Some people lost everything, and yet they talked about how exciting it was to watch the Astros win.”

For many Astros fans, winning the World Series can’t be topped. But Ms. Carter, who is executive director of the Astros Foundation and senior vice president of community relations, knows a big win is only the beginning. “I work in the feel-good side of baseball, so I know that winning the World Series means more support for our organization and a greater ability to help those in need,” she said.

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