3 out of 4 stars
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The genealogy book, Our Lanham History and Related Families, is a trip in time, right back to the 1700’s. Clifford Lanham takes us on a journey that follows his family tree, starting with the Roger Lanham family. It starts with Josias Lanham who had a son named John, which was the first one of his family members to move to Maryland. The book is very informative, first going through all the layers of his family and then going back and showing all the Lanham’s wives genealogy. It shows the family coming over to America and moving into different regions, including Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, following the line of the Lanhams the whole time.
The book is extremely informative and it is definitely evident that the author put a lot of research into the information. He used over 100 different sources and it is obvious the years that have been put into the making of the book, but it also teaches you on history that you may use not only for learning about the Lanham family. These may include facts about slavery, confederation and maps of America all the way from the 1700’s. Alongside the information, the author uses many maps and illustrations to keep the reader engaged. These can include old photographs of family members, pictures of gravestones, and documents including probates, death certificates and marriage certificates with everything in between. Overall, these made up 96 photographs and 46 illustrations making the information much more interesting.
Although many people think they may be bored with the genealogy since it is not their own family, it does not necessarily feel like you have to be part of the Lanhams to enjoy it because of the background history. By the end of the book, you feel like you have just gone through the journey of the Lanhams and feel as though you are part of it all. Clifford Lanham included many other interesting things that made me smile at certain parts. These included wills and agreements which showed the person giving another person articles such as tobacco. The author did a good job of making it organized with the different chapters headed by the forefather he was going to explain next. He also showed corrections afterward, which helped fix some of the mistakes he had made.
Although the history is very informative, at certain parts the text is a little hard to read because of how extensive it is for the average person. Although this may be the case in putting it is the hands of the average reader, it really is not a problem for the purpose that the book is supposed to serve for the informative view. There were also some errors, such as on page 32, “(1b) Marchy Ann (Marcia Ann) Lanham, born 154...,” where the date does not look right. However, I completely must disregard this as there was so much information in the text, a small mistake like that would take nothing away from it.
Overall, I would rate Our Lanham History and Related Families by Clifford Lanham, 3 out of 4 stars because of how wonderfully put together it is and informative. I would recommend it for any person related to the Lanhams as it is well detailed. However, it is hard to read through from start to finish as a person not related to their family, and should be kept in the family. I would also recommend it to an older age reader who is deeply interested in genealogies. Overall, it is very well done.
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OUR LANHAM HISTORY and Related Families
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