Thurmon, The company president makes his point well, but methinks he was no genealogist. A competent genealogist would surely have cited his sources for the various assertions. What was his evidence for the Louisiana purchase? When did France conquer Spain & what was the evidence? What evidence was there of Columbus's privileges allegedly granted by the good Queen Isabella? What evidence that she was "good" and what that she was "a Queen"? What evidence of her getting the Pope's blessing? What evidence was there that the Pope was the emissary of Jesus Christ? What was the evidence for the claim that Jesus was the Son of God? And what that God made Louisiana? Always cite your sources! Best as always ..... Chris > -----Original Message----- > From: Thurmon E King [mailto:thurmonking@juno.com] > Sent: 28 October 2003 21:46 > To: SACKETT-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [SACKETT-L] Genealogy should be so easy !! > > > Hi, > > Chris has been posting some old land records. And while sorting through > my files to clear some disk space I ran across a humorous article I have > about tracing land titles. > > Too bad our genealogical research couldn't be simplified in this manner. > > Regards, > > Thurmon > ---------------------------- > Excerpted from the Empire State Surveyor, New York Society of > Professional Surveyors, November 1990: > > One of the best examples of how ridiculous government paperwork can be is > illustrated by a recent case in Louisiana. A company president was > trying to buy some land in Louisiana for a plant expansion, and he wanted > to finance this new facility with a government loan. > > His lawyer filled out all the necessary forms and applications and sent > them appropriately. The government reviewed his application and abstract > and sent the following reply: > > "We received today your letter enclosing application for your client > supported by abstract of title. We have observed, however, that you have > not traced the title previous to 1803, and before final approval, it will > be necessary that the title be traced back previous to that year. Yours > truly, etc." > > As a result, the lawyer sent the following letter to the government: > > "Gentlemen, your letter regarding title received. I note you wish said > title to be claimed back further than I have done it. I was unaware that > any educated man failed to know that Louisiana was purchased by the > United States from France in 1803. The title of the land was acquired by > France by right of conquest of Spain. The land came into possession of > Spain in 1492 by right of discovery by a Spanish-Portuguese sailor named > Christopher Columbus, who had been granted the privilege of seeking a new > route to India by Queen Isabella of Spain. The good queen, being a pious > woman and careful about title, took the precaution of securing the > blessing of the Pope of Rome upon Columbus' voyage before she sold her > jewels to help him. > > Now the Pope, as you know, is the emissary of Jesus Christ, who is the > Son of God. And God, it is commonly accepted, made the world. > Therefore, I believe it is safe to assume that He also made that part of > the United States called Louisiana, and I hope to hell that you're > satisfied."