Genealogy Humor

“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” —Mark Twain

I have an ancestor who was a newspaper man along with Samuel Clements.

And I've been chasing documentation of that "fact" for years now ... For some reason Mark Twain left his name out of his (copious) writings ....

Here is a joke for you... Hope you get a laugh from it.

I can see this happening at a genealogist's grave...
Two men were walking home after a party and decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery just for laughs. Right in the middle of the cemetery they were startled by a tap-tap-tapping noise coming from the misty shadows.

Trembling with fear, they found an old man with a hammer and chisel, chipping away at one of the headstones.

"Holy cow, Mister," one of them said after catching his breath, "You scared us half to death -- we thought you were a ghost! What are you doing working here so late at night?"



"Those fools!" the old man grumbled. "They misspelled my name!"

I like that one.

I particularly liked it....people ALWAYS misspell my name.

And Mark Twain has a hoot also.

Looking to be a gorgeous day today.....70's to low 80's and sunny....but the pollen county will be high.....and the black flies ARE out.....either that or I have track marks on my forehead.

Thank you for the chuckles.

The records you need were in the building that burned - the story of my grandfather to a tee. How could I prove that he was a Canadian citizen when the records burned and all the records that I could find were in the US. His only written records were a homestead certificate in southern Alberta. Then we also got lost when his surname in Canada and the US was different than his surname in his native Norway. Murphy's law ruled.

And how about when the person stays put but the town, county, province ... Country! moved. Changed languages. Fun times.

Thanks for the comments. This is what I was hoping for...

Found this & hope everyone will enjoy it.

Genealogy Alphabet Soup
An “ode to genealogy”

A -- Is for ancestors, from which we are descended.
B – Is for genealogy books, and reading them is recommended.
C – Is for the care with which we handle ancient records.
D – Is for our role as family history detective.
E – Is for the enormous amounts of time we spend on research.
F – Is for the family, whose history is what we search.
G – Is fairly obvious, that’s for genealogy.
H – Is for how did people ever do this without technology.
I – Is for the interest that we have in this “sport”
J – Is for our journal where we write our report.
K – Is for the king if you descend from royalty.
L – Is for the legends that surround our family.
M – Is for money if you do genealogy work for pay.
N – Is for the burning need to do genealogy each day.
O – Is for online which is a good place to find records.
P – Is for your family’s past which you may find out is checkered.
Q – Is for questions, and genealogists have a few.
R – Is for research, and that is what we do.
S – Is for searching which we do until we find.
T – Is for treasure, my family’s history is mine.
U – Is for unusual things like great-grandpa Wilbrod’s name.
V – Is for our efforts which we hope are not in vain.
W – Is for why it is that we do what we do.
X – Is for x-rays, because those are records too.
Y – Is for you, the genealogist.
Z – Is for zipping along on your research quest.

great-grandpa Wilbrod. WILBROD? Oye.

Check a mother or grandmother's maiden name....OR a family that migrated with a family that migrated WITH your family.

A number of unusual names come into the family that way......my own grandfather Harrisonn PECK Baldwin, was his being named in honor of the Peck family (his Aunt marrried Joel Peck) that migrated with the Baldwin's.....(the Peck family must have provided some qualities that were appreciated by the Baldwin's.....they intermarried a number of times over history.....many other such namings became part of the extented family over time......same with the other families I have found.....

Sometimes they are picked up by the families that married into the siblings.

Who Am I?

I started out calmly, tracing my tree,
To see if I could find the makings of me.
And all that I had was Great-Grandfather’s name,
Not knowing his wife or from where he came.

I chased him across a long line of states,
And came up with pages and pages of dates.
When all put together, it made me forlorn,
Poor Great-Grandpa had never been born!

One day I was sure the truth I had found,
Determined to turn this whole thing upside down.
I looked up the record of one Uncle John,
But then found the old man to be younger than his son.

Then when my hopes were fast growing dim,
I came across records that must have been him.
The facts I collected made me quite sad,
Dear old Great-Grandfather was never a Dad!

It seems that someone is pulling my leg.
I am not at all sure I wasn’t hatched from an egg.
After hundreds of dollars I’ve spent on my tree,
I can’t help but wonder if I’m really “ME!”

~ Author Unknown ~

"It's hard to understand how a cemetery can raise its burial cost and blame it on the cost of living!"

************************************************

Genealogy

Genealogy begins as an interest,

Becomes a hobby;

Continues as an avocation,

Takes over as an obsession,

And in its last stages,

Is an incurable disease.


--Author Unknown

Here I'm Reading and Having Fun, Patricia Ann Scoggin. Thanks For Sharing. I'm Not Posting, Cause - "Crazy" is a relative term in my family. By the Way, I'll Try:

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

Dear Santa:

Don't bring me new dishes;
I don't need a new kind of game.
Genealogists have peculiar wishes;
For Christmas I just want a surname!
A new washing machine would be great,
But it isn't the desire of my life.
I've just found an ancestor's birth date,
Now I need the name of his wife.
My heart doesn't yearn for a ring
that would put a real diamond to shame.
What I want is a much cheaper thing:
Please give me Martha's last name!
To see my heart singing with joy,
Don't bring me a red leather suitcase.
Bring me a genealogist's toy:
A surname, with dates and a place!

P.S.:Oh My God, I am Godoy And not Imagine Where it Came From My Third Grandfather Godoy! But I am Godoy by my 4ThGrandmother also, which only increases my problems. About Her I Know and have Every family documented since 1567. My Grandfather Azevedo, omitted Many Information On Getting involved with Masonic Order and Militarism. My 12th Grandfather was a Calvinist and came to Brazil with Villegagnon, invented a surname that has invaded 3 Continents and their records not found in France. And That's NoT a Joke, It's Tragic! Oh, I am Castro Too! A Big Problem, Cousins ​​Cousins ​​Cousins ​​Brothers Married With Cousins Brothers, Great Granddaughter of brothers and cousins ​​of cousins ​​Granddaughter Brothers. Genetics? All Crazy! Well, I'm Stoping Now...I Need a Rest, Cause Tomorrow I'll see a new Old Cemetery. If I keep writing in the coming days, You will know that I have not been bitten by a snake. Thanks alot Good Persons.

Maria, thank you for your contribution--it is tooooooo funny!!! Between the marriage of cousins to cousins or sisters & brothers marrying sisters & brothers, etc and reusing one name for so many, tracing the family tree is a real challenge!!! (I really appreciate the Chain of ancestors that is found in Geni--even when it sometimes isn't accurately reflecting the relationships which is so frustrating!!!)

I hope that others will also contribute jokes, poems, stories (real or imagined!) and anything else that could be considered genealogy/family tree humor!!!! This is for everyone in Geni & would hope that others will also feel free to contribute.

In fact I appreciate the comments/observations that everyone has contributed!!! The only way that I know that this discussion is being read is by the comments... even a few words is appreciated!!!

Have a great day everyone... Keep smiling (it makes others wonder what you are up to....) Hugs & Angels be with you,
Pat

This one is a little long by an unknown author so will divide it up. I hope it sparks some responses.

According to the Dictionary Genealogy is:
1. A record or account of the descent of a family, group or person from an ancestor or ancestors; a family tree.
2. Direct descent from a progenitor; lineage or pedigree.
3. The study or investigation of ancestry and family histories.

To me, however, genealogy is a whole lot more than those three dry sentences.
1. It is finding my roots, my family, and my home.
2. It is seeing my grandparents as a young couple in a census record with their two baby girls; children who I know will be dead within the year.
3. It is seeing my mother as a one-month-old child.
4. It is seeing my great grandfather's signature on Civil War records and knowing that he and others like him must have gone through hell.
5. It is even finding the skeletons in the closets or the black sheep of the family.
6. It is finding that my family went through some terrible times, but also knowing that they survived.
7. It is seeing in my mind's eye the careworn faces of all of those who have gone on before me.
8. It is listening to old stories told by our elders and passing those precious stories down. It is writing down those stories and facts for our children and their children.
9. It is finding cousins I had not seen or heard from in fifty years.
10. It is finding new cousins and new friends, people who have come to mean so very much to me.
11. It is the realization of how important family is.
12. It is the realization of how important it is to honor those ancestors who came before us.

13. But most of all, it is the sharing of information with others who like me love the research. It is not just dusty records or words.
14. It is not only sharing the excitement of finding a new ancestor, but also sharing the frustrations of not being able to find what you are looking for.


15. It is the bouncing of ideas back and forth of theories of what might be and commiserating with another when that theory falls through, which it often does. It is being able to say, "Look! Look what I have found!" and knowing that your excitement will be shared and understood.
16. It is being able ask a question on a mailing list, knowing that what you are asking may be dumb but knowing that you will not be treated with disrespect.


17. It is people who give of their time and their energies to help you.
18. It is people who volunteer their time and energies to do lookups on the various county web pages. It is people who volunteer their time and energies for the various historical societies.


19. It is people who give of their time to transcribe old documents and microfilm, and who share that knowledge, whether it is through books sold by historical societies or on web pages.
20. It is people who go through old cemeteries and take the time to write down those who are buried there and share that knowledge gladly.
21. It is people who share old photographs, old letters and their old family stories, not expecting anything back other than a thank you and the knowledge that they have helped another in their family quest.
22. It is people who go above and beyond what is asked of them because they love genealogy. They love the fun of it, the frustrations of it and the excitement of it.
23. It is also the knowledge that you are passing down something of worth; that you are leaving behind a little something of yourself. It is the knowledge that through all of your research you may have made a difference, however small it may be.
24. That is a little of what genealogy means to me.
(Author unknown)

My brother and I were at the cemetery yesterday putting flowers on the graves of our parents and grandparents in preparation of Memorial Day. I noticed a stone a few rows back which looked like it had duct tape covering one of the names and dates. It was a large stone, and one of the newer ones in that part of the cemetery. Curious, I walked back to look. On the tape, in permanent marker, was written "Do not remove- gonna be replaced."

Various possibilities have been running through my mind- a divorce? He doesn't want her name on his stone, or she doesn't want her name on his? It must be something pretty serious to go to all that expense.

An after burial divorce? ;-)

Since it was new I guess the stone maker had made an error and had to make a new one.

Some people, like my husband and myself, put up stone markers before either spouse dies. We just have our names and dates of birth on it for now. I was guessing this was the case with this couple.

If it was broken, perhaps vandalism OR someone spelled the name wrong (?)

Having your name on a gravestone before you are dead?
Creepy!!!!

There didn't appear to be any vandalism- that cemetery doesn't have a problem with it like some. The entire first and last name were covered as well as the entire date (couldn't tell if it was only a dob or what) at the bottom with a separate piece of tape. I've seen errors before, but usually not on the entire name and date.

Some people find it creepy, Bjorn, but my husband and I wanted to have our burial plot, pick out our own stone, and get the initial planning and expense done so it wouldn't be left to our son. My parents did the same thing, as well as my aunt. And you often see stones in cemeteries in this country with only the names and dates of birth on them. Planning ahead!

And if your husband dies and you marry again you will use duct tape yourself?

Actually, the idea that you buy the stone, have the names put there (without end dates), then divorce....may not be too far off......my own greatgrandather was disenterred and sent to a different state.....(tho his name was not already on the stone).

And an aunt....who is living, is already on her late husband stone although she has been re-married almost 30 years.....

Can the stone carver fill in names? Or would a new stone have to be made?

Humor:

#"I didn't really want to get into genealogy!
#Kept putting it of!
#When I within six weeks of starting had my
#father narrowed down to one of three or four people!"

You can have anything you want added to a stone.

Many people around here who lose a spouse to death and remarry are buried with their first spouse when they die.

We have something similar tradition in Norway if there is no children in the other marriages, - for the children's sake the parents share the same grave.

But we never pre-enter a name on a gravestone.

What if the women take the new husbands name?

Found in a Vermont Cemetery:

*Sacred to the memory of my husband John Barnes, who died Jan. 3, 1803; His comley young widow, aged 23, has many qualiications of a good wife, and yearns to be comforted.

In a London, England Graveyard:
*Ann Mann
*Here lies Ann Mann
*Who lived an old maid;
*But died an old Mann
*Dec. 3, 1767