Sometimes life surprises you in the smallest, most ordinary ways. For me, that surprise has come through digging into my Christian family tree. I didn’t expect to feel God so strongly when I opened old records, traced forgotten names, and pieced together the stories of my people. Yet here I am, realizing His faithfulness has been stretching through my family line all along.
By “Christian Family Tree”, I mean I was searching for my heritage, but I also wanted to know more about the Christians who came before me. I already knew about my grandpa, Solomon Mills, and his wife, Ethel. I lived their faithfulness up close and personal.
I wrote about my grandfather’s dad. You’ve got to check out his story and the United States monument whose name is on!
I ate Grandma’s special cookies and strawberry pie. I sat hours with my grandpa in the dusk of evening – either on the glider in the front porch or the back porch high above the yard beneath.
I have deep, meaningful memories of them pouring God’s Word into me by their service or their conversation.
However, I wanted to dig behind the curtains of their lives to see what precipitated their strong faith.
Like most people, I started with a DNA test from Ancestry.com. I was a little scared to do it, but if I think the government doesn’t have my DNA already, I’m crazy. So I did it.
Of course, the DNA results wouldn’t tell me about my people’s faith – but their journeys sure did. Their choices did.
I was so invigorated, I had to share them with you.
This series is called “Let me re-introduce myself to you.”
In my reintroduction, I am going to share the normal encouragement I like to share, but also stories about people who had to have faith to make the choices they made.
Some of them I found proof of in newspaper articles, others, I am just making an educated guess.
Either way, I know you’ll be inspired!
Let’s jump in!
A Christian Family Tree Rooted in God’s Faithfulness
One thing I’m learning in this season of my life is that God is never random.
Every birth, every hardship, every migration tells a bigger story.
It’s easy to think my life is just about me and what I’m facing today (some of it is HARD STUFF!), but when I look back at my Christian family tree, I see His hand moving generation after generation.
That thought steadies me in a world that feels so uncertain.
Wiley and Lucy’s Story
In my research, I uncovered the remarkable story of Wiley M. Pope, one of my ancestors.
Wiley was born around 1800 in South Carolina, into a wealthy White family.
Life took him to Mississippi, where he fell in love with Lucy — a courageous woman who had been enslaved.
Their union was one of love and devotion. How do I know?
I found a newspaper article about it!
Anyway, let me finish the story.
To protect his family, Wiley fled to Quindaro, Kansas.
The place I grew up.
God bless Judge Chadwick of Kansas
In Kansas, my third great-grandfather sought the help of Judge Chadwick in Lawrence.
In June 1860, Judge Chadwick granted emancipation for Wiley’s family — the first emancipation in Kansas, three years before the Emancipation Proclamation.
Here is how he did it. He went to Judge Chadwick, pleading because His children and wife were in danger of being sold to settle his debts.
Seems he lost must of his fortune in what he called “reversals.” Do you know what that meant? I never could quite figure it out.
Nonetheless, Judge Chadwick presented the idea of setting his family free so they would no longer be his property. He figured as his property, no one could steal or sell them – at least that is what I concluded.
Besides, I’d heard about the Irishman who fell in love with a slave and married her. I knew their union was love because after emancipation, Lucy stayed.
The complicated nature of power and love is not lost on me. But the breadcrumbs of my research confirm my theory that they loved one another.
The Pope family became one of the first five families to settle in Quindaro, a town that played a vital role in the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad.
What courage, what resilience, and what a picture of God’s providence in the midst of hardship! You can’t have all of those without knowing Jesus!
Hey, if you’d like to see the newspaper article, click here. It’s on Newspapers.com. You will hear the love in my third great-grandfather’s words.
Generations in a Christian Family Tree
Even today, Wiley and Lucy’s legacy lives on through their descendants. While many of us have grown apart, we are still here. In fact, one of us, the matrarch, is still in Quindaro. She’s carried me through so many hardships. I love her so.
Psalm 100:5 says:
“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Just like the genealogies in Scripture — those long lists of names we often skim — these stories matter because they remind us that God values legacy.
He values remembrance.
And He values the people behind the names of a Christian family tree.
As you read this and breathe, you are part of your Christian family tree.
What I’ve Learned
Here’s what I’ve noticed as I’ve studied my own Christian family tree:
- Learning about my ancestors strengthens my trust in God’s timeline. Girl, they have been through some hard times…and made it! So can I.
- Their resilience whispers courage to me when I feel weak.
- Their survival proves that God is bigger than the struggles of any one generation.
Deuteronomy 7:9 says:
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations.”
Isn’t that beautiful? His covenant doesn’t stop with us — it stretches into generations yet to come.
Our family stories matter because they show us we are made of resilient, tough stock! If my family could get through what they went through, I can survive my current struggles.
While I am unsure that some of them knew Jesus, I know I do! I know I can make it, and so can you!
Building Your Own Christian Family Tree
Maybe you’ve wondered if your story matters.
Maybe you’ve worried that your struggles will consume you.
Let Wiley and Lucy’s story — and maybe even your own family history — remind you: God’s hand is steady through the generations.
Reflection prompts for you:
- Where can I trace God’s hand in my family line or personal history?
- How has God carried me through seasons I thought I’d never survive?
- What kind of faith legacy do I want to leave for those who come after me?
Even if you don’t know the names or details, God does. And He is writing a faithful story through you just as He did through them.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for being faithful through the generations. Thank You for the stories of those who came before me — their endurance, their survival, their courage. Remind me that my life is part of a bigger story You are writing. Help me to leave a legacy of faith, love, and trust in You for those who come after me.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Thank you for letting me share a bit about my family.
If you want to hear more of their story, watch my video about them.
Also, let me know in the comments if you want more information about how I accumulated over 1,000 family members.
Note: The pic you likely clicked to get here was taken by a sweet young lady at my church. It marks the first time I smiled for real since losing my family and, most recently, my mother-in-law. It marks healing. I did crop her out for privacy, but that pic is dear to me.
