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Murphy's Law for Genealogists
The public ceremony in which your distinquished
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 solved the mystery you have been working on for two years, your
aunt says, "I could have told you that"
You grandmother's maiden name that you
have searched for for four years was on a letter in a box in the attic
all the time.
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 age 10.
Your great grandfather's newspaper obituary
states that he died leaving no issue of record.
The keeper of the vital records you need
has just been insulted by a another genealogist.
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 for
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 for your European ancestor's
name bears no relationship to its current spelling or pronounciation.
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 wills.
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, sixteen thousand page history
of your county of origin isn't indexed.
You finally find your great grandparent's
wedding records and discover that the bride's father was named John Smith.
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