Roberts Roots & Branches

Family love is messy,  clinging,  and of an annoying and  repetitive pattern,  like bad wallpaper.   ---Fredrick Nietzsch

"A man with a hump-backed uncle  mustn’t make fun of another man’s  cross-eyed aunt."   ---Mark Twain

The public ceremony in which your distinguished ancestor participated and at which the platform collapsed under him turned out to be a hanging. When at last after much hard work you have solved the mystery you have been working on for two years, your aunt says, “I could have told you that.” Your grandmother’s maiden name that you have searched for for four years was on a letter in a box in the attic all the time. You never asked your father about his family when he was alive because you weren’t interested in genealogy then.  The will you need is in the safe on board the Titanic. Copies of old newspapers have holes John, son of Thomas, the immigrant whom your relatives claim as the family progenitor, died on board ship at age 10. Your great grandfather’s newspaper obituary states that he died leaving no issue of record. The keeper of the vital records you need has just been insulted by another genealogist. The relative who had all the family ph...

“But, every American family has its own story to tell; stories of sacrifice, dedication, perseverance.  Every American family has its own heroes, and these people want their stories remembered, they want their stories celebrated.” Stan Ellsworth, host BYU American Ride, Opening General Session Roots Tech 2016, 4 Feb 2016.

“Family faces are magic mirrors.     Looking at people who belong to us,  we see the past, present and future.”      ---Gail Lumet Buckley

"Laugh lines crinkled her eyes as your grandma told her favorite story from her youth. You’ve heard it before, but could never imagine interrupting. It’s too fascinating to listen to your grandma’s memories about her first days at new schools, adventures with her sisters, and how she met your grandfather.   Stories are what bring family history to life."     ---Hanna, Karen, The 4 Family Stories You Must Save for Your Children, Family Search blog, posted January 30, 2015  https://familysearch.org/blog/en/4-family-stories-save-children/

“Life is richer  when we come to know the people  and stories that have shaped our lives.” ----Johnson, Jenni BA,  “10 Ways Family History Can Help Your Family”,  Everton’s Genealogical Helper, page 71.

“A man finds room in the few square inches of the face  for the traits of all his ancestors;  for the expression of all his history,  and his wants.”   ----- Ralph Waldo Emmerson (1803-1882)

“As with any large online database,  if you find your ancestors you think it is great.  If you don't find your ancestors,  you don't think it is worth much.  But like everything in genealogy;  the game is in the search.”  ---James Tanner, Genealogysstar.blogspot.com, posted 19 Aug 2014