I wasn’t sure what to expect when I ordered the Full Family Package for the Schneider name. I figured it might be a nice keepsake, but I didn’t think it would hit me the way it did.

The crest looked incredible, but the real surprise was the historical report. It traced the Schneider line all the way back to the early 1400s, including a William Schneider who was a landowner in Northumberland during the reign of Henry V. It even included records of our branch moving to Pennsylvania in 1743, with sources to back it up.

A few days after placing the order, I actually got an email from Adam, one of the researchers at Heritage. He reached out to explain how they traced the migration and shared some extra details they had uncovered, including that my grandmother’s side of the family originally came from a small village in Northern Germany before settling in Pennsylvania. I had never heard that before.

This would’ve meant a lot at any time, but especially now. I lost my mother recently, and Thompson was her family name. Reading through all those details, seeing real names and dates from centuries ago, gave me a connection to her and to where we come from. It felt personal, and honestly, something I’ll always keep.