Journey to the Past
Remember that song from Anastasia , the animated, not-at-all-historically-accurate 1997 film detailing "Anya's" (aka Anastasia Romanov's) journey to rediscover — and remember — her royal roots? Whether it was because Anya was a tomboy (my heart!), sassy (yep!), Russian (I'm 1/12!), fell in love with dreamboat Dimitri (90s John Cusack <3), or was a secretly a Princess (hey, you never know!), I felt a connection with Anastasia, and watching this movie as a 9 year old kid was one of the earliest times I remember becoming interested in family history. Since then, I've asked my family a lot of questions, but everything I've learned only goes back a few generations...as is the case, I imagine, for most Americans. Despite being a nation of immigrants, very few Americans really know where they came from — let alone know the stories of the actual people who set the whole damn thing in motion. For most Americans, this Journey to the Past is a winding r