* NEWS ARTICLE: Murphy�s Law "Hoosier Times" Newspaper - Bloomington, IN - 10 Oct 2004 "Murphy's Laws Hold True for Family Research" By: Mona Robinson The following 12 Murphy's Laws of genealogical research came from an old Greene family newsletter, via genealogist Don Matson. They're so true that they may not seem all that funny. 1. The family you are looking for will be on the last page of the unindexed (of course) census film you check. but if you begin at the end of the roll, they will be on page 1. 2. The microfilm that you have diligently searched page-by-page will have an index at the end. 3. All of your spouse's ancestors will be mentioned in county histories. None of yours will be. 4. If you need just one record, the microfilm will have page numbers. If you need three or more records, there won't be any page numbers and the record will not be in proper order. 5. The book you need most will be out being rebound. 6. You will need item 23 on a microfilm roll that has 22 items. The rest of the film is continued on another roll that is "missing and presumed lost." 7. Just before the entry you need, the records will end. They will begin again two years after the date you need. 8. If one brother is left out of the genealogy of the family, guess whose ancestor he will be? 9. If there is a family history on one branch of the family tree, it won't be yours. 10. When you finally find the microfilmed probate records, the book will be so tightly bound that you can only make out the first two letters of the name of the person who may be your ancestor. 11. The researcher you hire to read original records will inform you that only that particular probate packet is missing. 12. During the last hour of your trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, you will find everything you've hunted for all week, but you won't have time to copy it. � To Forget One's Ancestors is to Be a Brook Without a Source, a Tree With Out a Root�,