Learn about an ancestor's involvement in a social movement
My grandfather, John Edward Rogers, worked as both a teacher and superintendent of an Indian re-education residential school in Montana from about 1914-1916. By profession, he was both a teacher and an ordained minister, and he moved his wife and newborn from Illinois to Montana to take the position. He surely believed he was doing the right thing.
I personally believe exactly the opposite. The horrors perpetuated on Native Americans by “well-meaning” white men and women is horrific. However, his convictions were formed by his own upbringing, experiences, societal mores and the times in which he lived, just like they are for all humans, no matter when or where we live.
My grandfather serves as a personal reminder to place my ancestors within the times that they lived; neither condemning nor condoning, simply telling their stories. Hopefully my ancestors will do the same for me.