Archives for : March2017

The [insert your surname] Laws of Genealogy – Part 3

Closing out our list of “Laws of Genealogy,” consider these:

11. The 5-volume, 5000-page family history was guaranteed to have a write-up on everyone in the [insert your surname] family. Too bad it didn’t include an index and the names weren’t in alphabetical order.

12. Your [insert your surname] ancestor didn’t believe in legal documents – like wills – and relied on a hearty handshake, instead.

13. Your [insert your surname] ancestor left all his worldly possessions to his wife and children. He didn’t name them – he already knew who they were!

14. The [insert your surname] cousin doing all the family research die and her husband’s new wife cleaned house, including disposing of all the “old” papers in the boxes in the garage.

15. Your [insert your surname] ancestor went out of his way to keep his name out of official records so you would have something to do later – genealogy!

The [insert your surname] Laws of Genealogy – Part 2

Continuing with our list of “Laws” of Genealogy,

6. Ink or water spots make the name of your Great-Great-Grandmother [insert your surname] hard to make out clearly, on the ONLY document you’ve found that names her.

7. Your aunt [insert your surname] with all the family photographs gave them to her daughter, who kept the frames and threw away the pictures.

8. The “custodian” of the family Bible, [insert your surname], won’t let anyone look at it.

9. The [insert your surname] ancestor of whom the family spoke in hushed voices and reverent tones turned out to be a horse thief, a military deserter, a rum runner or, worse, died in the home of his mistress.

10. The [insert your surname] ancestor who walked 10 miles a day through blizzards and raging streams to school signed his name with an “X”.

Stay tuned, one more installment coming yet……have any of these sounded familiar in your research?