MURPHY'S LAW OF GENEALOGY
- The public ceremony in which your distinguished ancestor
participated and at which the platform collapsed under him turned out
to be a hanging.
- When at last after much hard work you have evolved the mystery
that you have been working on for two years, your aunt says, "I could
have told you that."
- You search ten years for your grandmother's maiden name to
eventually find it on a letter in a box in the attic.
- You never asked your father about his family when he was alive
because you weren't interested in genealogy then.
- The will you need is in the safe on board the Titanic.
- Copies of old newspapers have holes occurring only on the
surnames.
- John, son of Thomas the immigrant whom your relatives claim as
the family progenitor, died on board ship at the age of 10.
- Your great grandfather's newspaper obituary states that he
died leaving no issue of record.
- Another genealogist has just insulted the keeper of the vital
records you need.
- The relative who had all the family photographs gave them all
to her daughter who has no interest in genealogy and no inclination to
share.
- The only record you find for your great grandfather is that
his property was sold at a sheriff's sale of insolvency.
- The one document that would supply the missing link in your
dead end line has been lost due to fire, flood, or war.
- The town clerk to whom you wrote for the information sends you
a long handwritten letter which is totally illegible.
- The spelling of your European ancestor's name bears no
relationship to its current spelling or pronunciation.
- None of the pictures in your recently deceased grandmother's
photo album have names written on them.
- No one in your family tree ever did anything noteworthy, owned
property, was sued or was named in a will.
- You learn that your great aunt's executor just sold her life's
collection of family genealogical materials to a flea market dealer
"Somewhere in New York City."
- Ink fades and paper deteriorates at a rate inversely
proportional to the value of the data recorded.
- The 37 volume, 16,000 page history of your county of origin
isn't indexed.
- You finally find your great grandparents' wedding record and
discover that the bride's father was named John Smith.
- Deborah Davis, Brasstown, NC
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