March 2000 Humor

Murphy's Laws of Family History
Submitted by GFS Shell@aol.com

The keeper of the vital records you need will just have been insulted by another genealogist.
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Your great-grandfather's obituary states that he died, leaving no issue of record.
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The town clerk you wrote to in desperation, and finally convinced to give you the information you need, can't write legibly, and doesn't have a copying machine.
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That ancient photograph of four relatives, one of whom is your progenitor, carries the names of the other three.
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Copies of old newspapers have holes which occur only on maiden names.
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No one in your family tree ever did anything noteworthy, always rented property, was never sued, and was never named in wills.
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You learned that Great Aunt Matilda's executor just sold her life's collection of family genealogical materials to a flea market dealer "somewhere in New York City."
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Ink fades and paper deteriorates at a rate inversely proportional to the value of the data recorded.
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The critical link in your family tree is named "Smith."

© 2000 GFNEWS, a monthly publication of the Golden Gate Genealogy Forum, Inc. of Franklin, MA.
(America Online Keyword: roots.) The Editors welcome your ideas and articles,
success stories, favorite genealogy research tips, comments and suggestions.