Nearly every family oral history contains a story about how the family is related to some rich and famous person, perhaps even to royalty. And while many people can trace their family line back to Kings and Queens, the truth is that most of us will be researching for a VERY VERY long time before we can actually prove our connection to these individuals, if at all. The fact for many Americans is that we likely descend from more “salt of the earth” kind of people. And if your ancestors happened to be salt miners, I mean that quite literally. Historical records will show that many of our family trees include those who earned their living in the mining occupation.