GENEALOGITIS
By: Ruby Price
From: Oklahoma Yesterday
Vol. II. No. 2, Summer 1978
There is a new disease these days for which there is no cure. So, if it gets
a grip on you "You've had it," that's for sure.
This genealogitis, at least that's what I call it, has no known vaccination
that can ever quite forestall it.
It strikes the rich, it strikes the poor. The old and young alike, and every
nation feels it's sting, when the bug makes a strike.
In fact, I'm struck with it myself, I know whereof I speak, this stuff has
kept progressing 'till it almost makes me weak.
Some symptoms of this dread disease are buying old books, and, you'll find
yourself in graveyards and dusty attic nooks.
You write all kinds of letters for no stone is left unturned. Sometimes, for
only postage stamps, a gold mine is returned.
Just let me say, in closing, that when all is said and done, this malady has
brought me joy and such a lot of fun.
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This poem sounds vaguely
familiar......hmmmm...............................................
Grandma Climbed The Family Tree
There's been a change in Grandma, we've noticed as of late.
She's always reading history, or jotting down some date.
She's tracing back the family, we'll all have pedigrees,
Grandma's got a hobby, she's Climbing Family Trees...
Poor Grandpa does the cooking, and now, or so he states,
he even has to wash the cups and dinner plates.
Well, Grandma can't be bothered, she's busy as a bee,
Compiling genealogy for the Family Tree.
She has not time to baby-sit, the curtains are a fright.
No buttons left on Grandpa�s shirts, the flower bed's a sight.
She's given up her club work, the serials on TV,
The only thing she does nowdays is climb that Family Tree.
The mail is all for Grandma, it comes from near and far.
Last week she got the proof she needs to join the DAR.
A monumental project - to that we all agree,
A worthwhile avocation - to climb the Family Tree.
She wanders through the graveyard in search of dates and name,
The rich, the poor, the in-between, all sleeping there the same.
She pauses now and then to rest, fanned by a gentle breeze,
That blows above the Fathers of all our Family Trees.
Now some folks came from Scotland, some from Galway Bay,
Some were French as pastry, some German all the way.
Some went on West to stake their claims, some stayed there by the sea,
Grandma hopes to find them all as she climbs the Family Tree.
There were pioneers and patriots mixed with our kith and kin,
Who blazed the paths of wilderness and fought through thick and thin.
But none more staunch than Grandma, whose eyes light up with glee,
Each time she finds a missing branch for the Family Tree.
Their skills were wide and varied from carpenter to cook,
And one, alas, the records show was hopelessly a crook.
Blacksmith, farmer, weaver, judge, some tutored for a fee,
One lost in time, now all recorded on the Family Tree.
To some it's just a hobby, to Grandma it's much more.
She learns the joys and heartaches of those who went before.
They loved, they lost, they laughed, they wept - and now for you and me,
They live again in spirit around the Family Tree.
At last she's nearly finished, and we are each exposed.
Life will be the same again, this we all suppose.
Grandma will cook and sew, serve crullers with our tea.
We'll have her back, just as before that wretched Family Tree.
Sad to relate, the Preacher called and visited for a spell.
We talked about the Gospel and other things as well.
The heathen folk, the poor, and then � twas fate, it had to be �
Somehow the conversation turned to Grandma and the Family Tree.
We tried to change the subject, we talked of everything,
But then in Grandma�s voice we heard that old familiar ring.
She told him all about the past, and soon twas plain to see,
The Preacher, too, was neatly snared by Grandma and the Family Tree.
by Virginia Day McDonald, Macon, GA
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- HOW MANY RELATIVES DO YOU HAVE?
- Think you have enough to keep you busy??
- Let's see...........................
- 1 YOU
- 2 parents
- 4 grandparents
- 8 g grandparents
- 16 gg grandparents
- 32 ggg grandparents
- 64 gggg grandparents
- 128 ggggg grandparents
- 256 gggggg grandparents
- 512 ggggggg grandparents
- 1024 gggggggg grandparents
- 2048 ggggggggg grandparents
- 4096 gggggggggg grandparents
- 8192 ggggggggggg grandparents
- 16,184 gggggggggggg grandparents
- 32,768 ggggggggggggg grandparents
- 65,536 gggggggggggggg grandparents
- 131,072 ggggggggggggggg grandparents
- 262,144 gggggggggggggggg grandparents
- 524,288 ggggggggggggggggg grandparents
- 1,048,576 gggggggggggggggggg grandparents
- 2,097,152 ggggggggggggggggggg grandparents
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The Genealogist's Psalm
Genealogy is my pastime, I shall not stray;
It maketh me to lie down and examine half-buried tombstones.
It leadeth me into still Court Houses,
it restoreth my ancestral knowledge.
It leadeth me in paths of census records and ships'
passenger lists
for my surname's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the shadows of research
libraries and microfilm readers,
I shall fear no discouragement;
for a strong urge is within me;
the curiosity and motivation
they comfort me.
It demandeth preparation of storage space for the
acquisition of countless documents;
it anointest my head with burning midnight oil,
my family group sheets runneth over.
Surely birth, marriage, and death dates shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of a family-history seeker
for ever.
--Wildamae Brestal
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Elusive Kinsman
Alas, my elusive kinsman
You've led me quite a chase
I thought I'd found your courthouse
But the Yankees burned the place.
You always kept your bags packed
Although you had no fame, and
Just for the fun of it
Twice you changed your name.
You never owed any man, or
At least I found no bills
In spite of eleven offspring
You never left a will.
They say our name's from Europe
Came state side on a ship
Either they lost the passenger list
Or granddad gave them the slip.
I'm the only one looking
Another searcher I can't find
I pray (maybe that's his fathers name)
As I go out of my mind.
They said you had a headstone
In a shady plot
I've been there twenty times, and
Can't even find the lot.
You never wrote a letter
Your Bible we can't find
It's probably in some attic
Out of sight and out of mind.
You first married a .....Smith
And just to set the tone
The other four were Sarahs
And everyone a Jones.
You cost me two fortunes
One of which I did not have
My wife, my house and Fido
God, how I miss that yellow lab.
But somewhere you slipped up,
Ole Boy, Somewhere you left a track
And if I don't find you this year
Well...... Next year I'll be back!
Author: Wayne Hand
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Genealogy Funny Papers Start Page
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Smelser
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Free databases where you will find many, many Smelser/Smeltzer/Smelcer
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Census
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Directory of free census records online and information about researching
census records. This site also offers directories of genealogy
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