In the 1990s, The Thorntons are dabblers, Linear Sorcerers who use rituals to take some local power, but who's influence doesn't extend far beyond their County.
Rewind 170 years. The Family was just starting to establish itself when the Vampires took control of North America. A Matriarch, her children, and her Grandchildren, most of the later being too young to yet contribute to the Family's Magicks. They are maybe a little better off than most in Boston, but they don't have real power, and they want it.
The Family marks its practitioners by branding the Alchemical Symbol for Lead onto the Collarbone
Tarot: 5 of Wands