Interesting rules, thought some of you might enjoy them, I did Mary Ann >Subject: Genealogy rules > > > > > > Dollarhide's Rules For Genealogy > > > > 1. Treat the brothers and sisters of your > > ancestors as equals....even if some of them were in jail. > > 2. Death certificates are rarely filled in by the person who died. > > 3. When visiting a funeral home, wear old clothes,no make-up, and > > look like you have about a week to live...the funeral director will >give > you anything you ask if he thinks you may be a customer soon. > > 4. The cemetery where your ancestor was buried does not have > perpetual care, has no office, is accessible only by a muddy > road, has snakes,tall grass, and lots of bugs...and many of the > old gravestones are in broken pieces , stacked in a corner > under a pile of dirt. > > 5. A Social Security form SS-5 is better than a birth certificate >because > > few people had anything to do with the information on their > own birth certificate. > > 6. The application for a death certificate you want insists that you > > provide the maiden name of the deceased's mother...which is exactly > what you don't know and is the reason you are trying to get the death >certificate in the first place. > > 7. If you call Social Security and ask where to write for a birth > certificate, tell them it is for yourself...they won't help you if you >say you want one for your >great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather > who died in 1642. > > 8. When you contact the state vital statistics office in your home state > > and ask if they are "on-line" and they respond, "on what?," you may > have a problem. > > 9. A census record showing all twelve children in a family proves only > > that your ancestors did not believe in birth control. > > 10. Work from the known to the unknown. In other words, just because > > your name is Washington doesn't mean you are related to George. > > 11. With any luck, some of the people in your family could read and > > write and may have left something written about themselves. > > 12. It ain't history until it's written down. (See#19) > > 13. A genealogist needs to be a detective. Just gimme da facts, ma'am. > > 14. Always interview brothers and sisters together in the same room. > > Since they can't agree on anything about the family tree it makes for > great fun to see who throws the first punch. > > 15. The genealogy book you just found out about went out of print last > > week. > > 16. A good genealogical event is learning that your parents were really > > married. > > 17. Finding the place a person lived may lead to finding that person's > > arrest record. > > 18. It's really quite simple. First you start with yourself, then your >parents, then your grandparents... then you QUIT . .and start >teaching > > classes in genealogy. > > 19. If it's not written down, it ain't history yet.(See #12) > > 20. In spite of MTV, computer games, and skate boards, there is always > > a chance that your grandchildren will learn how to read someday. > > 21. "To understand the living, you have to commune with the dead, but > > don't commune with the dead so long that you forget that > > you are living!" > > (From midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John > > Berendt) - ------------------------------------------------------ Mary Ann Kaylor & Shirley Aleguas In IL - Morgan Area Genealogical Association & Waverly GHS http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilmaga/index.html Dedicated to Free Online Resources from West Central IL MAGA Mailing List: ILMAGA-L-request@rootsweb.com My Family Genealogy http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~makaylor/index.html Surnames: KAYLOR, TEDROW, CONVERSE, STEWART, PHELAN ROBISON, NELSON, ENGLAND, JONES, ROBERTS, ICKES, CORY, BOBBITT, BOYD and many others