The Lively Family Massacre

Imagine searching through your family history, hitting a brick wall, and receiving national attention and assistance to smash through that brick wall. In recent years several programs have been developed to provide entertainment and, at the same time, assistance in genealogy research. The latest of these programs is called “Legend Seekers,” a production Madonna Davis and Ken Marks to help researchers track family legends and folklore.

I have had the pleasure of viewing the first program in the series, and it receives high marks. Titled “The Lively Family Massacre,” the program documents the folklore of the Lively Family that was killed by Native Americans in 1813, Illinois. A daughter from the family survived only because she was living with another family at the time. Her descendents were introduced in the program, and using genealogy and local history professionals, the site and graves of the Lively family members were tracked down.

In what was an amazing bit of research, investigation, and luck the original burial sites of the Lively family were located on timber land owned by a private lumber company. Only through great fortune has the graves not been disturbed by almost 200 years of progress and development. It is also a very emotional highpoint when the ancestors find what is presumed to be the grave markers.

This is a great video. It is certainly worth viewing. And, the series promises to be equally valuable and entertaining. I would urge everyone to contact their local public broadcasting station and urge them to schedule “Legend Seekers” as part of their programming.