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From: Martin Willcocks <>
Subject: RE: Murphy's Laws of Genealogy
Date: Sat, 02 Apr 2005 12:30:48 -0700


Hi Edna:

Too true!!!
I have personally experienced:
<>
2. When at last after much hard work you have evolved the mystery that
you have been working on for two years, your aunt says, "I could have
told you that." (my sister, actually)

4. You never asked your father about his family when he was alive
because you weren't interested in genealogy then. (Well I did, and he
told me, but never mentioned any of his uncles!)

12. The one document that would supply the missing link in your dead end
line has been lost due to fire, flood, or war. (records pre 1939
destroyed by a bomb in 1940, 1851 census in Manchester water-damaged.)

20. You finally find your great grandparents' wedding record and
discover that the bride's father was named John Smith. (not quite, but I
do have a great-uncle unmentioned by my father, Louis Squire WILLCOCKS
who married a Sarah Ann SMITH, parents Geirge SMITH and Jane NEW.

I'd like to add:

21. The census you are looking for has not been indexed and never will be!

22. Parish records for the county you are looking in are permanently
sealed and not available for viewing unless you go to a remote record
office with no parking nearby and order a reader at least two months in
advance, and then show up within 1 minute of the appointed time or the
reader goes to someone else after you've travelled 5,000 miles to get there!

23 (corollary to above) The church, records office, etc. you want to
see is closed on the only day you are able to visit (especially if you
have travelled 5,000 miles or more to get there!).

Once again, many thanks for all your help on and off this list.

Regards
Martin Willcocks
Taylorsville, UT. USA.

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