From 2008 to 2010, I took time away from my niche as science writer when asked to write the history of first one, then another, then a third New England family. History's corridor is dimly lit; truths are hard to establish. You do what you can to make the story honest and lively, knowing that if you don't, history won't even be history. Researching each family was like unwinding a surprise ball; the more yarn unwound, the richer and more wonderful the details.

An American Family;  The Lymans and The Vale, 1631 to 1951 Privately Printed May 2009 Upon reaching the New World in 1631, the Lyman family went on to thrive, despite decades of strife with Indians and the French, deep-seated unrest with England and revolution, and eventually the country's own Civil War. This story focuses on multiple generations of the Theodore Lyman family, a lineage that prospered due to New England's shipbuilding and maritime trades, then the textile industry, and eventually the financial sector. The Vale in Waltham, Massachusetts, was once the Lymans' summer home and center of family life. Today, overseen by Historic New England, it is a National Historic Landmark and symbol of the early successes of a family and a nation.   To order, contact The Lyman Estate, 781-891-4882.
A Beacon Hill Family;  Wigglesworths & Rackemanns, Minots, Goddards, Parkmans, Sedgwicks, Blakes, and Other Kin, 1638 to 1988 Privately Printed 2009 This short history is devoted to one family, that of Edward Wigglesworth, Sarah Parkman Rackemann, and their six children, and yet by necessity it travels back in time to encounter an abundance of intriguing relatives: the poet Michael Wigglesworth, author of the country's first best-selling publication, The Day of Doom; a long line of divines, starting with Edward (1693-1765), Harvard's first Hollis Professor of Divinity; Thomas Wigglesworth, who quietly accumulated a fortune in the European and China trades; and the Rackemann brothers, Frederic and Louis, renowned pianists of their day. Copies reside at the Boston Athenaeum, Massachusetts Historical Society, and other Boston libraries.
The House That John Built;  Ten Generations of the Pickering Family of Salem, 1651 to 2001 Privately Printed 2010 In 1637, a yeoman from England by the name of John Pickering settled on a small lot in the new town of Salem. Over 350 years later, amazingly enough, the house built on this property is still standing, and John's direct descendants continue to converge under its old beams. The House That John Built ultimately traces ten generations of Pickerings, providing an evocative history that is as much about a remarkable string of ancestors as it is about the growth of a harbor town and a nation.  An early shipwright, a lionized lieutenant, a risk-taking sea captain, a top-ranking statesman, the world's foremost linguist, a preeminent naturalist, two celebrated astronomers. Open the door and out tumble forgotten faces, forgotten forces, forgotten lore.   To order, contact The Pickering House, pickeringhouse1@gmail.com.