Sorry if this is old stuff for you veterans, but I thought it might be fun for those who have never seen it before. Deanna Murphy's Law for Genealogists >> *The public ceremony in which your distinguished 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". >> *Your 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 of your European ancestor's name bears no relationship to >> its current spelling or pronunciation. >> *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 inversel proportional to the >> value of the data recorded. >> *The 37-volume, 16,000-page history of your county of origin isn't >> indexed. >> *You finally find your great grandparent's wedding records and discover >> that the brides' father was named John Smith. >>