This course invites family historians to move beyond names and dates to explore a more honest, human question: what did “success” and “failure” mean in an ancestor’s world?  By placing individual lives within their historical, social, and economic context, we reassess inherited stories and uncover the pressures, opportunities, and constraints that shaped every decision. From upward mobility and survival against the odds to bankruptcy, migration, and quiet resilience, we examine how ordinary lives succeeded—or struggled—on their own terms.