Genealogy Chat

Found on another board, but it is soooo true :-) I want ancestors with names like Rudimentary Montagnard or Melchizenick von Steubenhoffmannschild or Spetznatz Giafortoni, not William Brown or John Hunter or Mary Abbott. I want ancestors who could read and write, had their children baptized in recognized houses of worship, went to school, purchased land, left detailed wills (naming a huge extended family as legatees), had their photographs taken once a year -- subsequently putting said pictures in elaborate isinglass frames annotated with calligraphic inscriptions, and carved voluble and informative inscriptions in their headstones. I want relatives who managed to bury their predecessors in established, still-extant (and indexed) cemeteries. I want family members who wrote memoirs, who enlisted in the military as officers and who served in strategically important (and well-documented) skirmishes. I want relatives who served as councilmen, schoolteachers, countyclerks and town historians. I want relatives who `religiously' wrote in the family Bible, journalizing every little event and detailing the familial relationship of every visitor. In the case of immigrant progenitors, I want them to have arrived only in those years wherein passenger lists were indexed by National Archives, and I want them to have applied for citizenship, and to have done so only in those jurisdictions which have since established indices. I want relatives who were patriotic and clubby, who joined every patrimonial society they could find, who kept diaries, and listed all their addresses, who had paintings made of their houses, and who dated every piece of paper they touched. I want forebears who were wealthy enough to afford, and to keep for generations, the tribal homestead, and who left all the aforementioned pictures and diaries and journals intact in the library. But most of all, I want relatives I can FIND!!! © Barbara A. Brown Ms. Brown's 'I Want' article was originally posted in 1994 to the National Genealogical Conference, FIDO bulletin board forum.

LOL! My mother always said that 'I want' never gets!

So do I!!! Susan

hiya, So true george!!!!! if only it was that easy, but then, it would make life a little boring, having all the info without having to do any real work for it, However, Some info/photos would be nice LOL Julie

oooh yes, some photos PLEASE! I only have a couple of photos and would love more.

How true not an ancestor rather a distant relative, grandfather's cousin but Can I nominate Charles Sylvester Horne for a good relative award. 1. father owned the local newspaper so his family were well documented. 2. Given mother's surname as second christian name. 3. when a student wrote weekly letters home which family kept. 4. attended Oxford so made the allumi list. 5. became minister for a church in London published copious sermons. hymns etc which can be found in the methodist hymn book. 6. became M.P. for Ipswich lots of records of speeches to be found in Hansard. mentions in times archive etc. 7. died while on lecture tour in Ontaria ensuring death record mentioned cause of death, address. 8. biography with lots of photos, quotes from letters etc. published shortly after death copy obtained from Amazon 9. Son Kenneth Horne had own radio series 'beyond our Ken' round the Horne' tapes still obtainable from BBC archive. 10 Kenneth married a Lady so is mentioned on lots of pedigree charts Debrett's etc. Now has anyone seen William Fraser born Inverness 1912?

I notice that the lady doesn't mention any thieves or paupers!

Goodness, Annie, you're related to Kenneth Horne? I remember that radio series well. Very funny.

Sssssssssoo do I George lol Mau x;0)

George I want that too. Esp the bit about leaving it all in a library. My hubbys extended family have a heap of info, letters etc but as his gg grandfather died young they lost contact and while I have found one lady she wont share the knowledge. Annie - you may have to cease posting here for a while till the rest of us get over our jealousy at your rellies. It was bad enough what you wrote but to have others say 'i remember Him' ... Actually what I'd like is the time and money to find everything for myself. Toni

I forgot to add a whiff of scandal on Balderdash and piffle recently ' Round the Horne' was credited with introducing homosexual slang to the British public. Fabulosa or what. For fans my Horne family came from Moreton in Marsh immortalised as Much binding in the marsh. They were strong chapel goers and disaproved of Keneth advertising sherry on T.V.

All I can say is, where would be the fun in that?! Kate.