Make Fun Of Life! - Generations

Who Am I?

6/6/2020

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 whence 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 old 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’m 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.

by Author Unknown

Genealogy and Ancestors

3/21/2020

“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

“It’s 2020 - do you know where your great-great-grandparents are?” -Author Unknown

“Just as the highest branches of the tree draw nourishment from the deepest roots, we each are a product to some extent of those who went before us.” -Oscar Hammerstein III

“Saving your family’s history may be work, but it’s worth it. Children who know their origins have an advantage over the others. They know who they are, what they are, why they are, and where they’re headed. Children who understand all of that are the richest kids on earth.” -Stephen and Janet Bly

So one day you are working on your family tree, and you notice that some branches connect more than once, and then you realize your family tree has branches that connect with other people’s family trees, and then you realize that all humans are related to each, all dogs are related to each other, all ducks are related to each other . . . even the rocks and bugs are all related . . . and everything in the Universe is connected to everything else . . . wait, now you’re starting to think like some lunatic who has been bitten by the quantum physics bug . . . you have to stop doing that and just go back to working on the family tree!

“Genealogical Theory of Relativity: If you go back far enough, we are all related.” -Author Unknown

Being Creative with Troublesome Kin. You are working on your family genealogy and for sake of example, let’s say that your great-great uncle, Remus Starr, a fellow lacking in character, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. A cousin has supplied you with the only known photograph of Remus, showing him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture are the words: “Remus Starr: Horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison, 1885. Escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged, 1889.” Pretty grim situation, right? But let’s revise things a bit. We simply crop the picture, scan in an enlarged image and edit it with image processing software so that all that is seen is a head shot. Next, we rewrite the text: “Remus Starr was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and close dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1885, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he played a vital role in an investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.”

“The average man will bristle if you say his father was dishonest, but he will brag a little if he discovers that his great-grandfather was a pirate.” -Mark Twain

“I used to have a life, then I started doing genealogy.” -Author Unknown

The Lincoln Family, the family of American President Abraham Lincoln, is no more. When Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith passed on, he was the end of the Lincoln family lineage. Abraham Lincoln had one child, Robert Todd Lincoln, whose children were Mary, Abraham II, and Jessie. Abraham II, the only son, passed on at the young age of 16. Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith was Jessie’s son by her first husband, Warren Beckwith. Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith passed away on 24 December 1985. He was the last living Lincoln descendant. This means there are no descendants of Abraham Lincoln alive today.

“I’m searching for myself in the family tree - have you seen me?” -Author Unknown

“Always remember that being descended from a hero or a sufferer or a leader does not make you great. You will have to put forth your own efforts in life to earn whatever you are to become.” -Author Unknown

“What do you mean, my grandfather didn’t have any children?” -Author Unknown

You
2 parents
4 grandparents
8 gr grandparents
16 gg grandparents
32 ggg grandparents
64 gggg grandparents
128 ggggg grandparents
256 gggggg grandparents
512 ggggggg grandparents
1,024 gggggggg grandparents
2,048 ggggggggg grandparents
4,096 gggggggggg grandparents
8,192 ggggggggggg grandparents
16,384 ggggggggggg 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
4,194,304 gggggggggggggggggggg grandparents
You have a lot of work to do.

“I want to find all of them! So far I only have a few thousand.” -Author Unknown

Ocupsyshun - sencus taker: “I am a cencus takers for the city of Bufflow. Our City has groan very fast in resent years and now in 1865, it has become a hart and time consuming job to count all the peephill. There are not many that can do this werk, as it is nesessarie to have an ejucashun, wich a lot of pursons still do not have. Anuther atribeart needed for this job is good speling, for many of the pepill to be counted can hardle speek inglish, let alon spel there names!” -Author Unknown

“Adding a new cousin a day to the family tree keeps the boredom away.” -Author Unknown

“As any genealogist will tell you, all humans are relatives of each other. If anyone tries to tell you they are not related to ‘certain other people,’ ask them, “So who is the alien from outer space, them, or YOU?’” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“My hobby is genealogy, and I also raise dust bunnies as pets.” -Author Unknown

“This sad little lizard told me that he was a Brontosaurus on his mother’s side. I did not laugh; people who boast of ancestry often have little else to sustain them. Humoring them costs nothing and adds to happiness in a world in which happiness is in short supply.” -Robert Heinlein (Robert Anson Heinlein (1907 - 1988)): “The Notebooks of Lazarus Long” (1978)

Benjamin Franklin stated that he was the fifth son of the fifth son, going back five generations in his family. Unfortunately, a quick check of his genealogy does not bear this out, so even with the most respectable people, we must verify their statements.

“Like branches of a tree, our lives may grow in different directions, yet our roots remain as one.” -Author Unknown

“I looked up my family tree . . . and my nutty uncle was sitting up there laughing at me.” -Author Unknown

Due to the scarcity of ink for writing or for some other reasons - we are half-joking about this - some given names, or first names, were once commonly abbreviated, as shown in the following examples.
- Charles: Chas
- George: Geo
- Thomas: Thos
- William: Wm
- Can you think of other names that were once commonly abbreviated?

“Roots allow us to withstand storms.” -Author Unknown

“The man who has nothing to boast of but his illustrious ancestry, is somewhat like a potato - the only good thing is under ground.” -Thomas Overbury (about 1581 - 1613): as quoted in John Ireland: “Letters and Poems by the Late Mr. John Henderson” (1786)

Actor Humphrey Bogart and royal family member Princess Diana are seventh cousins.

“I’m not stuck on genealogy, I’m ancestrally challenged.” -Author Unknown

“Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” -Author Unknown: as quoted in “The Bible,” ‘Joel,’ chapter 1, verse 3

“So, you are busily and eagerly compiling information on your ancestors, and not making a complete set of information for yourself and your living relatives . . . leaving the generations that will come after you in the same situation with regard to you that you are in with regard to your ancestors. Seems a little unfair to place this burden on posterity, so why not get busy right now putting together some information about yourself, your immediate family, and your close and distant living relatives, to leave to posterity . . . to make their lives a little richer?” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

“Genealogists live in the past.” -Author Unknown

“There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.” -Helen Keller (Helen Adams Keller (1880 - 1968))

“I looked up my family tree and found out I was the sap.” -Rodney Dangerfield (pseudonym of Jacob Cohen (1921 - 2004))

Every family has one. No one is sure how to explain quite how it happens. He or she can make you question yourself as well. They are just a little ‘different.’ Maybe eccentric or odd. That person is the Family Historian, also known as Amateur Genealogist.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was related to five other American Presidents by blood and six by marriage.

The following was overheard at a recent ‘high society’ party. “My ancestry goes back all the way to Alexander the Great,” said Christine. She then turned to Miriam and asked, “How far back does your family go?” “I don’t know,” replied Miriam, “All of our records were lost in the flood.”

“Do well and you will have no need for ancestors.” -Voltaire (pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet (1694 - 1778))

“One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the Earth abideth forever.’ -Author Unknown: as quoted in “The Bible,” ‘Ecclesiastes,’ chapter 1, verse 4

“A family tree can wither if nobody tends its roots.” -Author Unknown

End of a line: The last descendant of the prolific musical Bach family passed away on Christmas Day of 1845. No more do they walk the Earth.

“Genealogists are time unravelers.” -Author Unknown

“Everyone has ancestors and it is only a question of going back far enough to find a good one.” -H. K. Nixon (Howard Kenneth Nixon (1927 - 2009))

“To a genealogist, everything is relative.” -Author Unknown

“It is heartrending to read the entries in many an old family Bible - the records of suffering, distress, and blasted hopes.” -Alice Morse Earle (1851 - 1911)

“Only a Genealogist regards a step backwards as progress.” -Author Unknown

“It is indeed desirable to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors.” -Plutarch (about C.E. 46 - C.E. 120)

“The greatest thing about man is his ability to transcend himself, his ancestry, and his environment, and to become what he dreams of being.” -Tully C. Knoles

“The cheapest way to have your family tree traced is to run for public office.” -Author Unknown

Riddle: Margaret and her female relatives got together for lunch. Present were 1 great-grandmother, 2 grandmothers, 1 great aunt, 4 mothers, 3 aunts, 3 first cousins, 4 sisters, 6 daughters, 4 nieces, 4 granddaughters, 1 great niece, 1 great granddaughter and 2 first cousins once removed, making a total of 7 people! How could the total be correct?
Solution: Those present included Margaret; her daughters Patricia and Marilyn; Patricia’s daughter Tracy; Marilyn’s daughters Megan and Kimberly; and Megan’s daughter Rachel.

“I think that I shall never see a completed genealogy!” -Author Unknown

“I climbed my family tree, got stuck in it, and can’t get down!” -Author Unknown

“Isn’t genealogy fun? When you find the answer to one problem, it leads to two more!” -Author Unknown

“My family tree is a few branches short! Any and all help appreciated.” -Author Unknown

The Laws of Genealogy
- Copies of old newspapers have holes, which occur only on last names.
- No one in your family tree ever did anything noteworthy, always rented property, was never sued, and didn’t leave a will.
- That old photo of four relatives carries the name of the three who are not your ancestor.
- The 37 volume, 16,000-page history of your country of origin is not indexed.
- The critical link in your family tree is named ‘John Smith.’
- The keeper of the vital records you need will have just been insulted by another genealogist.
- The will you need is in the safe on board the Titanic.
- You learned that great aunt Matilda’s executor just sold her life’s collection of family records to a flea market dealer “somewhere in New York City.”
- Your great-grandfather’s obituary states that he passed on and left no records.

“Genealogy is like playing hide and seek: They hide . . . I seek!” Author Unknown

“We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies.” -Shirley Abbott

“Genealogy: Tracing yourself back to better people.” -Author Unknown

Is it time for a family reunion, including close relatives and distant relatives such as fifth cousins?

“Now that I’ve found genealogy, will I ever find time to mow the lawn again?” -Author Unknown

“Like branches on a tree we grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one.” -Author Unknown

This is MFOL! . . . and we intend to trace our ancestors back to the very beginning . . . more fun ahead . . .

Don’t Say We’re Old

1/16/2020

Don’t Say We’re Old

You may think we’re old guys,
     You may call us senior citizens,
You may call us elderly,
     But just you stop to consider . . .

We call ourselves living the good life,
     Because we made it!
We endured the hard times,
     We even survived the good times!

We made it past high chairs,
     We made it through grade school,
Middle and high school,
     College and trade school!

Our first and last jobs,
     Mortgages and car payments,
Children and grandchildren,
     We made it to the good life!

In conclusion, we want you to know we wouldn’t have missed any of those things for the whole world, but yet and still . . . now our time is finally our own to choose to spend as we like. We’ve got our wives and growing grand-families and our friends, we’ve got our homes, our years of work that built our successes . . . we’re not old, we’re experienced, and we’re not frail, we’re taking our time on the scenic route . . . and we’ve still got a lot of living to do on this big blue marble!

by David Hugh Beaumont

David Hugh Beaumont was born in 1966 in the United States of America. He is a website content creator, a writer, a researcher, and an editor.

No Footprints on the Sands of Time

1/15/2020

No Footprints on the Sands of Time

It’s nice to come from gentle folk
     Who wouldn’t stoop to brawl
Who never took a lusty poke
     At anyone at all.
Who never raised a raucous shout
     At any country inn
Or calmed an ugly fellow lout
     With a belaying pin.
Who never shot a revenuer
     Hunting for the still.

Who never rustled cattle, who’re
     Pleased with uncle’s will.
Who lived their lives out as they ought,
     With no uncouth distractions,
And shunned like leprosy the thought
     Of taking legal action.
It’s nice to come from gentle folk
     Who’ve never known disgrace,
But oh, though scandal is no joke
     It’s easier to trace!

by Virginia Scott Miner: as published in the “Saturday Evening Post” (22 November 1941)

A Valentine

5/21/2019

A Valentine

I found an old, old valentine
     Of my mother’s yesterday;
An age-stained, lacy, lovely thing
     That she had put away
Between the covers of a book;
     And as I touched it there,
I saw her young and beautiful,
     The sunlight in her hair,
The love-light in her bright, young eyes
     That years could not destroy;
And through the paper lace there walked
     My father as a boy.
Somewhere along the heavenly lanes
     Today, their eyes ashine,
I think he asks her once again
     To be his valentine.

by Grace Noll Crowell (1877 - 1969)

Mutual Pride?

5/9/2019

Mutual Pride?

If you could see your ancestors
     All standing in a row,
Would you be proud of them, or not,
     Or don’t you really know?

Some strange discoveries are made
     In climbing family trees.
And some of them, you know,
     Do not particularly please.

If you could see your ancestors
     All standing in a row,
There might be some of them, perhaps,
     You wouldn’t care to know.

But there’s another question
     Which requires another view.
If you could meet your ancestors,
     Would they be proud of you?

by Author Unknown

Generation Gap

1/26/2019

Generation Gap

A lad wished he were older,
     A really grown-up man;
He’d go to work each day -
     Do things his daddy can.

Dad looked so wistfully
     At Grandpa in the shade
And wished he could retire;
     Grandpa sure had it made!

Grandpa was just thinking,
     As he looked for his cane,
How he’d like to travel back
     And be a boy again.

by Delphia Frazier Smith

Delphia Frazier Smith was born on 24 April 1921 near Saddle, Arkansas, United States of America. She became a poet. Delphia Frazier Smith passed on at 92 years of age on 29 March 2014 in West Plains, Missouri, United States of America.

The Bridge

1/13/2019

The Bridge

The way I walk
I see my mother walking
My feet secure
and firm upon the ground.

The way I talk
I hear my daughter talking,
And hear my mother’s echo
in the sound.

The way she thought
I find myself now thinking,
The generations linking
In a firm continuum of mind.

The bridge of immortality
I’m walking,
The voice before me
echoing behind.

by Dorothy Hilliard Moffatt

Dorothy Hilda Hilliard Moffatt was born on 8 January 1907 in England. She was married to Orlando Cameron Moffatt. She became a poet. Her books include, “Time for Remembrance: Selected Poems” (October 1994) and “Too Many Apples” (1995). Dorothy Hilda Hilliard Moffatt passed on at 93 years of age on 28 April 2000 in the United States of America.

The Minuet

1/12/2019

The Minuet

Grandma told me all about it,
Told me so I could not doubt it,
How she danced, my grandma danced, long ago!
How she held her pretty head,
How her dainty skirts she spread,
How she turned her little toes,
Smiling little human rose!
Grandma’s hair was bright and shining,
Dimpled cheeks, too! ah! how funny!
Bless me, now she wears a cap,
My grandma does, and takes a nap every single day;
Yet she danced the minuet long ago;
Now she sits there rocking, rocking,
Always knitting grandpa’s stocking -
Every girl was taught to knit long ago -
But her figure is so neat,
And her ways so staid and sweet,
I can almost see her now,
Bending to her partner’s bow, long ago.
Grandma says our modern jumping,
Rushing, whirling, dashing, bumping,
Would have shocked the gentle people long ago.
No, they moved with stately grace,
Everything in proper place,
Gliding slowly forward, then
Slowly curtseying back again.
Modern ways are quite alarming, grandma says,
But boys were charming -
Girls and boys I mean, of course - long ago,
Sweetly modest, bravely shy!
What if all of us should try just to feel
Like those who met in the stately minuet, long ago.
With the minuet in fashion,
Who could fly into a passion?
All would wear the calm they wore long ago,
And if in years to come, perchance,
I tell my grandchild of our dance,
I should really like to say,
We did it in some such way, long ago.

by Mary Mapes Dodge

Mary Mapes Dodge was born as Mary Elizabeth Mapes on 26 January 1831 in New York City, New York, United States of America. She was married to William Dodge. She became a writer, a poet, and an editor. Her published works include “Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates” (1865). Mary Mapes Dodge passed on at 74 years of age on 21 August 1905 in Tannersville, New York, United States of America.

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