Recently my dad showed me an album he had found with family photos dating back to the 1800s. This fascinating collection sparked much conversation about the past and our family’s history. 

As I looked at the faded photos, I began to wonder about my ancestors. What were their lives like? Which relatives had what family character traits? What happened to this relative? Why did she pass on so early? Didn’t this other one suffer from such and such disease? And so on. 

It’s easy to think of human ancestry as our history and to wonder what attributes have been handed down to current family members. The common belief is that we inherit both the positive and negative traits of our parents and their parents, etc.—that we are the beneficiaries of strengths or victims of weaknesses, diseases, and unpleasant idiosyncrasies passed down through generations.