Why was I so fascinated by a family history of someone else's family? It's a thoughtfully written history that goes beyond listings of vital statistics and facts to put the family into its geographical and social context across several generations. The author's Hammill family were affected by the same events and conditions that affected everyone else living the United States at the same time, such as the American Revolution and the Civil War. Reading about the impact of these events on the Hammill family gives me an idea of some of the choices available to my own ancestors who lived at the same time. Recommended for readers with an interest in family history or social history in the United States, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. ( )

Middling Folk: Three Seas, Three Centuries, One Scots-Irish Family by Linda H. Matthews is a fascinating look at one "middling" family; no heroes, no famous people, actually, there is nothing much to distinguish them from any other family. However, this family's journey from Scotland, to Ireland and finally the colonies has been meticulously researched and many types of records discovered; enough to make any genealogist envious. When the author laments not being able to find enough details to satisfy her desire to flesh out the people, she confesses that her historian side puts down her pen and she allows her novelist side to imagine how and why a particular event happened. It is a very effective way to deal with the story of a family over a very long period of time.

Linda Matthews very ably demonstrates how we can give life to our ancestors by incorporating social history, diaries, and other materials into the narrative to offer a fuller and richer understanding of their lives. She takes her Hammill ancestors and moves them from Scotland to Ireland and then to America. While the family eventually settled in Prince William County, Virginia, she offers glimpses of their lives before in Maryland and afterwards in Washington state as well. This is a very readable family history. The author does a great job making it clear what is documented and what is possible or probable based on various factors. She does take liberty in some clearly identified "aside" chapters to fictionalize accounts based on what she has discovered. I did feel that the narrative bogged down a bit in places, particularly in the information she learned from Southern Claims Commission records, but overall this is a very well-done book. Anyone interested in genealogy should read this to see how a readable family history can be accomplished. ( )

Surprisingly interesting history of a middle-class family from its roots in Scotland to the present-day in the American Northwest. The author is a descendant whose father researched deeply into their genealogy. Ms. Matthews, who has been both a professor of Medieval Studies at Northwestern University and founder/publisher of Chicago Review Press, has a very engaging writing style and an appealing inquisitiveness that encourages the reader through the sometimes confusing string of Hughs, Williams, and Katharines. Offers fascinating insights on some world-historical events through the eyes of seldom-heard-from "middling folk" participants. ( )