Geneology

[McFarkus]

I find that the rogues and scoundrels usually had much more interesting life stories.)

I agree. My mother had a couple of 'little old lady' cousins who were working feverishly on genealogy and telling everyone about it until one day they were silent. Apparently they'd found a horse thief in the tree and were so embarrassed they just stopped.

One of the refreshing things to find among notes are things like 'executed', 'hanged, drawn & quartered', and 'murdered.' Though they often don't go into the reasons why. I like having rapscallions in the tree.

[gilmore]

I agree. My mother had a couple of 'little old lady' cousins who were working feverishly on genealogy and telling everyone about it until one day they were silent. Apparently they'd found a horse thief in the tree and were so embarrassed they just stopped.

...

Your cousins may have been wiser than you think.

Last winter I discovered something scandalous that had been covered up for over 90 years. I made the mistake of sharing it with a cousin whom I thought of as mature, level-headed and sensible. Evidently she was so shocked and/or hurt by the news that she hasn't spoken to me since. She won't return my repeated phone calls. She is one of my favorite relatives, and I deeply regret that we are estranged.

[McFarkus]

Your cousins may have been wiser than you think.

Last winter I discovered something scandalous that had been covered up for over 90 years. I made the mistake of sharing it with a cousin whom I thought of as mature, level-headed and sensible. Evidently she was so shocked and/or hurt by the news that she hasn't spoken to me since. She won't return my repeated phone calls. She is one of my favorite relatives, and I deeply regret that we are estranged.

The person I was talking about has been dead for a couple of hundred years.