As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it’s a good time to look beyond the history books and explore our own family histories. Who were our ancestors? Did they serve in the Revolutionary War? How did their descendants eventually make their way to Missouri?

Bill Eddleman is a genealogist and historian with the State Historical Society of Missouri who has spent years researching Missouri’s early settlers, the Civil War, and the stories that connect families to our past. He’s joining us to talk about how to trace those connections, what Revolutionary War veterans had to do with Missouri’s early settlement, and how you can start documenting your own family’s story.