1. Thou shalt name your male children:
James, John, Joseph, Josiah, Abel, Richard, Thomas, William.
2. Thou shalt name your female children:
Elizabeth, Mary, Martha, Maria, Sarah, Ida, Vriginia, May
3. Thou shalt leave NO trace of your female children.
4. Thou shalt, after naming your children from the above lists, call them by strange nicknames such as : Ike, Eli, Polly, Dolly, Sukey - making them difficult to trace.
5.Thou shalt NOT use any middle names on any legal documents or census reports, and only where necessary, you may use only initials on legal documents.
6. Thou shalt learn to sign all documents illegibly so that your surname can be spelled or misspelled, in various ways " Hicks, Hix, Hixe, Hucks, Kicks.
7. Thou shalt , after no more than 3 generations, make sure that all family records are lost, misplaced, burned in a court house fire, or buried so that NO future trace of them can be found.
a) you may have come from - England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, ...or Iran.
b) you may have American Indian ancestry of the _____ tribe....
c) you may have descended from one of three brothers that came over from .......
9. Thou shalt leave NO cemetery records, or headstones with legible names.
10. Thou shalt leave NO family Bible with records of birth, marriages, or deaths.
11. Thou shalt ALWAYS flip thy name around. If born James Albert, thou must make all the rest of thy records in the name of Albert, AJ, JA, AL, Bert, Bart or Alfred.
12. Thou must also flip they parents names when making reference to them, although "Unknown" or a blank line is an acceptable alternative.
13. Thou shalt name at least 5 generations of males, and dozens of their cousins with identical names in order to totally confuse researchers.
14. And don't forget to change your surname all together. 'Now I dare them to find me'.
1. Thou shall not bore the county clerk with stories of thy great-grandmothers adventures crossing the ocean.
2. Thou shall have thy name and dates written in an orderly manner - not on 15 scraps of papers.
3. Thou shall be kind and courteous to county employees and remember thee manners.
4. Thou shall study the county map so thou will know where thee should be.
5. Thou shall not expect thy grandfathers name to be spelled exactly as thee spell his name.
6. Thou shall under no circumstances try to do research in the county clerk's office on election day.
7. Thou shall keep in mind that the county employees have other business to attend to besides helping find thy ancestors.
8. Thou shall not complain about "Right to Privacy" laws that prohibit you from knowing all the affairs of thy relatives.
9. Thou shall accept the fact that some records simply do not exist.
10. Thou shall not even be tempted to take original papers. A copy will serve you just as well.
It was the first day of census, and all through the land;
The pollster was ready .. a black book in hand.
He mounted his horse for a long dusty ride;
His book and some quills were tucked close by his side.
A long winding ride down a road barely there;
Toward the smell of fresh bread wafting, up through the air.
The woman was tired, with lines on her face;
And wisps of brown hair she tucked back into place.
She gave him some water ... as they sat at the table;
And she answered his questions .. the best shewas able.
He asked of her children ...Yes, she had quite a few;
The oldest was twenty, the youngest not two.
She held up a toddler with cheeks round and red;
His sister, she whispered, was napping in bed.
She noted each person who lived there with pride;
And she felt the faint stirrings of the wee one inside.
He noted the sex, thecolor, the age ....
The marks from the quill soon filled up the page.
At the number of children, she nodded her head;
And saw her lips quiver for the three that were dead.
The places of birth she "never forgot";
Was it Kansas? or Utah? or Oregon ...or not?
They came from Scotland, of that she was clear;
But she wasn't quite sure just how long they'd been here.
They spoke of employment, of schooling and such;
They could readsome and write some....though really not much.
When the questions were answered, his job there was done;
So he mounted his horse and he rode toward the sun.
We can almost imagine his voice loud and clear;
"May God bless you all for another ten years".
Now picture a time warp .... it's now you and me;
As we search for the people on our family tree.
We squint at the census and scroll downso slow;
As we search for that entry from long, long ago.
Could they only imagine on that long ago day;
That the entries they made would effect us this way?
If they knew, would they wonder at the yearning we feel;
And the searching that makes them so increasingly real.
We can hear if we listen the words they impart;
Through their blood in our veins and their voice in our heart.