>"Murphy's law for genealogists" >> >* The public ceremony in which your distinguished ancestor > >participated and of 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." >>> >* Your grandmother's maiden name that you have > >searched for for four years was in 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 rela- > >tives 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 another genealogist. >>> >* The relative who had all the family photographs gave > >them all to her daughter who has no interest in geneal- > >ogy 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 deadend 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 ancestors' name bears no > >relationship to the current spelling or pronunciation. >>> >* None of the pictures in your recently deceased grand- > >mother's photo album have names written on them. >>> >* No one in your family tree ever did anything note-wor- > >thy, 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 grandparent's wedding records > >and discover that the bride's father was named John Smith. > >