A big difference is that many of our ancestors were poor and could not make arrangements like some of the more affluent were and are able to do. The most deplorable aspect of that situation is how few dollars are needed to get a witness to say tell the story you want him to relate. In a message dated 1/30/2008 8:43:54 P.M. Central Standard Time, djbarkley1949@yahoo.com writes: When I first began my family history journey I was all pumped up on finding who my royal ancestors were because Granny said we descended from some very noble people. Well, as I progressed in my journey, I discovered that, yes, there were a couple of 'sort of' notable folks way back when, but for the most part they were just common folks..with a few exceptions. One got hung for horse theft, one was shot over a counterfeiting dispute. several were involved in the abhorable behavior of the Bushwhackers, others were crazy with bloodlust in another war...I could go on. In fact, I made the remark to my mother just recently that the more I discovered, the less I wanted to know about one particular branch of the family. We can't pick and choose our ancestors, we don't have to condemn them or elevate them...they were who and what they were, and I guess some of that goes into all of us. It's our own choice whether or not to follow their pathes. I was feeling a lot of shame and remorse over the actions of one of my more recent family members and someone told me..."You didn't do it, you aren't to blame for it, you should feel no shame. Just sorrow that they were people who did bad things." Maybe so, it's sometimes difficult to decide just what stance to take - most of us are not royalty, not even an Indian princess! --------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TNWAYNE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489