{"id":47831,"date":"2019-02-07T11:05:42","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T16:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=47831"},"modified":"2019-02-08T15:13:58","modified_gmt":"2019-02-08T20:13:58","slug":"early-genealogy-jokes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/early-genealogy-jokes.html","title":{"rendered":"Early Genealogy Jokes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak searches old newspapers to find some of the early genealogy-related jokes that our ancestors enjoyed. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background.<\/em><\/p>\n

Have you ever wondered who was the first to coin a genealogy joke? Many of the more obvious ones are not original to our generation of family historians. If you\u2019re curious, search for known punch lines in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> and you\u2019ll find quips referring to turning over new leaves, going up the family tree, and so forth.<\/p>\n

But then again, there are a whole lot more genealogy jokes that have been forgotten. To brighten your genealogy research day, let me present some tongue-in-cheek observations that seem apropos when blogging about our favorite subject: genealogy.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
El Paso Herald-Post (El Paso, Texas), 24 January 1912, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Grave Humor<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of grave humor out there, and even the occasional lampoon, such as this one about Mr. Childs on grave subjects.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Morning Star (Rockford, Illinois), 10 February 1894, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My theory is that there must have been a genealogist, or a relative of a genealogist, on the staff of some newspapers. Take, for instance, these gems.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Colored Citizen (Wichita, Kansas), 21 November 1903, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
El Paso Herald-Post (El Paso, Texas), 10 October 1912, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 30 July 1919, page 20<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 30 July 1919, page 20<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Coat of Arms<\/strong><\/p>\n

And then there are related subjects, such as observations on the family coat of arms.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 11 October 1908, page 69<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Estate Humor<\/strong><\/p>\n

And let\u2019s not forget jokes about wills and estates. This is one of my favorites!<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
New Orleans Item (New Orleans, Louisiana), 17 December 1907, page 12<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mayflower<\/strong><\/p>\n

In honor of the many comments our readers and cousins made on my 25 November 2013 article, Researching Your Pilgrim Ancestry from Mayflower Ship Passengers<\/a>, I\u2019d like to share this one:<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
El Paso Herald-Post (El Paso, Texas), 13 January 1912, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And finally, here\u2019s one of my own quips:<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a><\/p>\n

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