An act of cowardice ended the life of two Americans this last July. Sean Copeland and his son, Brodie, were killed when a madman drove his truck into a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France. Eighty-four people died that day and more than a hundred others were injured.

When I heard about this tragedy on the news, I remember thinking it was horrific. But the event quickly dissipated from my thoughts. Perhaps attacks like this are happening too frequently these days. They are no longer etched into our brains like the images of 9/11. If someone had asked me a week ago what had happened in Nice, chances are I might not have even remembered the details at all.

That all changed Sunday. While I was perusing my DNA matches I came upon a descendant of Peter Holliday, the brother of Sarah (Holliday) Trantham, my 4th great grandmother. Realizing I hadn’t done any work on this branch, I started piecing together Peter’s children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so forth. With each generation, new leaves sprouted on my family tree. Sadly, I eventually landed on Sean, who is my 6th cousin, and his son, Brodie.

The senselessness of Sean’s death and that of Brodie’s consumed my thoughts for the rest of the day. I watched video after video of news reports in the aftermath of the attack trying to make sense of what had happened. It will never make sense.

A family vacation turned into an unimaginable nightmare that day for Sean’s widow and two older children who witnessed the deaths of their husband, father and brother. They were in the pursuit of happiness and they will never be the same again. And neither will I. For, they weren’t just two Americans; they were two members of my family tree and I grieve for them alongside their immediate family.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 6th cousin and 6th cousin, 1x removed
Common ancestors: Sean and I share 5th great grandparents, Henry and Sarah (Quackenbush) Holliday