Genealogy is a hobby that can be quite serious. There is a lot of research, and fact checking, and digging around for little scraps of historical information. It is about accuracy, and verifiable sources of information. But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun with it. A quick search through the internet will reveal that genealogists do, in fact, have a sense of humor!
As you sift through thousands of names, you might find a name that just sounds funny. For example, my grandmother told me a story about two kids that lived in her neighborhood when she was growing up. This sister and brother went to the same school that she did, and, although she couldn’t recall any stories about what these two siblings did, she never forgot their names. Their surname was Pigg. The girl was named Ima and her brother was named Ura. Now, that’s funny!
There are also some famous genealogy related quotes that end up on many genealogy websites.
“Why waste your money looking up your family tree? Just go into politics; your opponents will do it for you.” – Mark Twain
“I don’t have to look up my family tree because I know that I’m the sap.” – Fred Allen
“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” – George Bernard Shaw
“He who has no fools, knaves, or beggars in his family was begot by a flash of lightning.” – Old English Proverb
There are several versions of the “Murphy’s Law for genealogists”. Murphy’s Law, of course, states that if something can go wrong, it will. This includes frustrating, yet amusing, situations that many people find while doing genealogy research.
After years of intense research, you find proof of that long lost ancestor. Instantly, your Uncle George says “Oh, I knew that! I could have told you that!”
The surname of your ancestor is Smith, and it turns out he married someone with the last name Jones.
The document you need went down with the Titanic, or burned in the Great Chicago Fire.
These are just a few examples how genealogy can be quite humorous at times. It’s always good to be able to laugh at yourself. Having a sense of humor about your genealogy research is a great way to cope when you hit the proverbial “brick wall” and get frustrated. It also gives you some amusing stories you can share with other genealogists.
Image by Tammra McCauley on Flickr