Thank you for this thoughtful comment, Andrew! I really appreciate it. And you nailed it — my grandfather's side of the family lived in Florida for a few generations, but we've traced some of us back to Louisiana so that makes total sense. Learning about the history of New Orleans, and how it compared to the rest of the south, answered a lot of questions that I didn't know I had.

When I first saw a photo of my great-grandfather, I was struck by how much he looked like my grandpa... but lighter. That was a surprise to me (and I don't even know if it's true, since the photos are monochromatic). But now I know there are a lot of little mysteries in my family tree, lots of moving around and mixing I can't yet account for. It's a puzzle, but one I enjoy trying to piece it together!