About the Project

Author David Eagleman describes a third death as the future moment when a person’s name is spoken for the last time.

Inspired by Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives

Several people in this family tree lived and died so long ago that their names may not have been spoken by anyone in generations. By researching them, recording what can still be found, and saying their names again, this project gives them another place in the living memory of their family. They were real people. Their choices, struggles, journeys, and families helped create the path that eventually led to us.

Built for Eddie

This project is especially for my son, Eddie. I want him to be able to look backward and understand where he came from. When life leaves him uncertain about who he is or where he belongs, I want this tree to show him the path that led to him, the people whose lives made his possible, and the reasons he carries the name he does.

The name Sisson

My own place in that path is complicated. My biological father was a Grubbs. My biological mother came through the Tindell, Conway, and Pinkston families. However, I was born Thomas Edward Sisson and raised by Edward Sisson, my mother’s mother’s second husband. On paper he was my step-grandfather. In my life he was my dad.

Edward did not share my blood, but he gave me his love, his place in the family, and his name. That name now belongs to my son as well. In one sense, this immediate Sisson family begins with me. Without this record, a future descendant following the surname could reach my name and find no clear explanation of where it came from or why it continued.

I want future generations to know who Edward was, who I was, why I carried his name, and why I chose to pass it to Eddie. The fuller story is told in Named for a Father.

An American and Filipino family

The project also continues through my wife, Rio. Her Mazo and Lirio branches connect Eddie to the Philippines and to the grandparents, aunts, and uncles whose lives and memories shaped her understanding of family.

In Rio's native language, Tagalog, Lola and Lolo mean grandmother and grandfather. Tita and Tito mean aunt and uncle. Those titles will be used here with respect because they carry more than a translation. They carry culture, affection, and the relationships Rio knew growing up.

Records from the Philippines are not always as accessible as records in the United States, so much of this research begins with the memories of older Lolas, Lolos, Titas, and Titos. We are gathering those names and stories while the people who remember them can still share them.

Eddie stands where two family histories meet. Most of the branches traced through my side remained within the United States after earlier generations arrived from Europe. Through Rio, our family reached beyond those borders and joined American and Filipino histories, traditions, languages, and experiences. This is not a departure from the family story. It is the next chapter of it.

Preserving the path forward

Someday, future generations may look backward and see that this particular Sisson branch began with an unexpected family story. My hope is that they will not find an empty space. They will find names, records, explanations, and stories. Most importantly, they will know they belong to something that began long before them and is still moving forward through them.

Contributing information

Corrections, names, photographs, family documents, stories, and research leads may be sent to genealogy@thomsisson.com. Information is reviewed before being added to the public project, and the privacy of living people remains important.