Yeah, having people who kept obsessive records of this stuff to preserve their "legacies" is pretty helpful with tracing backwards. I'm way more interested in the stories behind how these people got together and bumped uglies often enough to pop out a kid. What made the daughter of a Wampanoag chief attracted to the pale-faced town hermit? For someone with so many priests in my background, why do I have such an extensive family tree? Stuff like that.