Ms. Scruggs,
I've even learned a couple of things from your post! Thanks for those suggestions!

You hit on a good topic for me - Is a narrative synonymous with chronology?? I have been toiling with this one for awhile.

For my upcoming family reunion, I am re-writing the history of my family, which began with my great-grandfather, who was the first person in our family in Mississippi. However, during my research, I have been able to trace back to his parents and grandparents who were slaves back in South Carolina. To me, I really feel that I should start writing about my great-grandfather (the known ancestor) first and then tie in his ancestors, so that people can see how each one was directly connected to him. If I start with the earliest-found ancestors and then work my way down to my great-grandfather, then it may be confusing from the "jump". I think it flows better by talking about the KNOWN ancestor and then tie in his foreparents. A lot of people suggest that a history should start with the earliest-found ancestor, sort of like a chronological order.

Melvin