First World Problems...

Wow...that really is a First World Problem! We have the leisure time to examine our pasts and try to learn as much about our ancestors as we can.

And because we live in an information cornucopia, we expect that everything will eventually appear.

But...that isn't the case!

That's my great uncle...and I know nothing about him! Nor will I ever. Whatever information there was describing his life has been lost. It is simply impossible to recreate, which in the grand scheme of things is fine. But I sure would have liked to have known what happened!

Posted by: CBD at 02:00 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 1

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 02:00 PM (Ia/+0)

2 First!

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 02:01 PM (ayRl+)

3 There has to be plenty of information available

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 02:01 PM (Ia/+0)

4 and I know nothing about him! Nor will I evr.

He's dead, Jim

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at August 30, 2026 02:02 PM (XLHdq)

5 although I know about my great and great, great grandfather, much beyond that is missing besides births, deaths and a general indication of who they were

Posted by: Kindltot at August 30, 2026 02:03 PM (rbvCR)

6 CBD, does not the cemetery have in its records the layout of the property and who's interred in each spot? Seems like the office of the cemetery would be a logical starting point to begin records research … I hope you discover the information you seek.

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 02:04 PM (ayRl+)

7 Birth records,possibly photographs.
15yo don't usually jusy drop over, accident maybe?
Guess it could be illness as well

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 02:04 PM (Ia/+0)

8 Having shamed all of my ancestors, I'm too embarrassed to find out much about them.

Posted by: Weasel at August 30, 2026 02:06 PM (TMF5Z)

9 Newspapers? Court records? Hospital records? Synagogue records?

Posted by: Aaron Guzman at August 30, 2026 02:07 PM (P7U08)

10 Blessings on him, CBD.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:08 PM (odBC9)

Posted by: Savage Henry at August 30, 2026 02:08 PM (ZxPkt)

12 My epitaph will be 'I told you I was sick.'

Posted by: Savage Henry at August 30, 2026 02:10 PM (ZxPkt)

13 I am assuming that CBD has already done some legwork on this before making the point that "Whatever information there was describing his life has been lost."

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:11 PM (odBC9)

14 ... but, still, never say never!

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:12 PM (odBC9)

15 Query: That's MARBLE. It's HARD. It does NOT work easily. NOISE would have been made during the defacement. That aside, the creation of the lettering on the stone would have generated 'high' and 'low' areas of cutting. The HIGH areas would have a different color signature under X-ray than the LOW areas. I'm not suggesting you invest in hiring a firm to perform X-rayography on the stone, but it's a method that could (emphasis: COULD) generate an image of the defaced letters.

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 02:13 PM (ayRl+)

16 My FWP is rebuilt my gas grill but haven't got it fired up yet. Didn't do it as it should though had good sparks and smell gas, no lighting though.

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 02:13 PM (Ia/+0)

17 What does the headstone say?

Posted by: vmom deport deport stab deport at August 30, 2026 02:14 PM (Ydd86)

18 Addendum: I'd STILL start with questions posed to the office staff and cemetery administrator …

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 02:14 PM (ayRl+)

19 CBD:
I had a similar incident with my son a few months ago. I was talking about the Sharpe TV series, and he said, Why are you wasting the little time we have together about something like that?

And I said, That's your history. You didn't know that?

He had, through me, ancestors who had fought in the British army all the way to Waterloo and then said, There has to be a better life, and emigrated to this country.

And no, he didn't know that. Nobody (me) had told him.

I resolved then--and I recommend this to all of us who are over 29--that my version of a Christmas letter from now on will be a brief biography of every family ancestor I can trace. If I send it to enough relatives, a few might remember for the next generation.

Posted by: Wenda at August 30, 2026 02:15 PM (X4ut0)

20 My parents were cremated. There's no memorial I'm aware of other than a plaque on a wall at the retirement community they died at.

Mom passed during covid. No memorial.

My wife's family (the deceased) are buried at a small, hilltop cemetery in very rural West Virginia. It's actually a beautiful place.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 30, 2026 02:15 PM (2Cry5)

21 It looks like a tree trunk, I think. In the round.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:15 PM (odBC9)

22 Wenda, that's a wonderful idea

Posted by: vmom deport deport stab deport at August 30, 2026 02:16 PM (Ydd86)

23 Interesting. 15 year of age and a gregorian calendar dated 1925. There's a story there somewhere.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at August 30, 2026 02:18 PM (nlLAo)

24 It's a beautifully carved stone. z"l.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 30, 2026 02:19 PM (RIvkX)

25 My Dad's buried in his family's tomb. It looks normal enough - until: When you examine the list of names going from top to bottom, his Dad's the first in line, then his Mother, then Dad. If you look closely ENOUGH, and examine Birth/Death dates, you'll see the birth dates are the usual. When you examine the dates of DEATH, tho', you'll note all three of them died on April 3d, but years apart. Want more? Okay: All three of them died at 0230 in the morning. When my aunts told me about that, I finally understood why Dad kept asking the date and time for two weeks before he died …

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 02:20 PM (ayRl+)

26 the legend is inside a heart shape?

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:22 PM (odBC9)

27 Thanks for showing it to us, CBD.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:22 PM (odBC9)

28 Often drowning back in those days. My grandmother lost two brothers that way, at different times.

Posted by: From about That Time at August 30, 2026 02:24 PM (sl73Y)

29 תנצב"ה

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at August 30, 2026 02:27 PM (aI58f)

30 My problem with my family tree is it becomes a tangled web of French and British Royalty yet I own no castle.

Posted by: Reforger at August 30, 2026 02:27 PM (G1F7l)

31 Part of American culture is letting go of the past, which lets us live more or less in peace with our countrymen.

The alternative is the never-forgotten grievances and blood feuds of The Old Country.

I, personally, have made enough enemies on my own and I'd really rather not have to worry about the enemies my grandfather made, even if they were shiftless Okie bastards.

Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at August 30, 2026 02:27 PM (A62KL)

32 29 תנצב"ה
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at August 30, 2026 02:27 PM (aI58f)

That's in the very last line!

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:28 PM (odBC9)

33 There is a relative in both my family and in Mrs. F's family who were amateur genealogists.

My father's mother was the youngest of her siblings and the only one in her family not born in Austria. Some never emigrated, one died in quarantine on Ellis Island.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 30, 2026 02:29 PM (RIvkX)

34 Age 15. Perhaps one of those diseases we now have vaccines for. Pretty common back then.

Posted by: Tuna at August 30, 2026 02:29 PM (lJ0H4)

35 June 7, wouldn't think drowning, July or August good possibility

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 02:30 PM (Ia/+0)

36 That's in the very last line!

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:28 PM (odBC9)
-

https://tinyurl.com/btf54y2p

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at August 30, 2026 02:31 PM (aI58f)

37 I'm finding "tree stump tombstone" online.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:32 PM (odBC9)

38 I honestly thought that was a radish or turnip until common sense prevailed.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 30, 2026 02:32 PM (kpS4V)

39 Mrs. F's maternal grandparents were both born in the U.S. but her fraternal grandparents emigrated from Russia, as did her father's father. The whole lot of them secular materialists.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 30, 2026 02:34 PM (RIvkX)

40 36 That's in the very last line!

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:28 PM (odBC9)
-

https://tinyurl.com/btf54y2p

How lovely.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:34 PM (odBC9)

41 My grandmother died the day my mom and her twin sister were born. They were taken in and raised by their father's brother and his wife. I know where they were born and when, but I cannot find my grandmother's grave in any cemetery. She may have been buried on their farm. I'll never know. SW Kansas was sparsely populated then, as it is today.

Posted by: huerfano at August 30, 2026 02:34 PM (2Xqig)

42 CBD, do you know anything about your great great uncle, Shlomo Zvi?

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at August 30, 2026 02:35 PM (aI58f)

43 I can trace my dad's family back to before the Revolutionary War. But of my mom's side I know next to nothing. She died when I was a teen so I never had much of a chance to talk to her as an adult. Kinda sad really.

Posted by: Diogenes at August 30, 2026 02:37 PM (2WIwB)

44 If only he lived today, we could have told you all you wanted to know.

Posted by: Flock Surveillance Corp. at August 30, 2026 02:37 PM (tlCdj)

45 Interesting topic to me. I'm on a downsizing journey.
The largest part of the effort is digital archiving.
If I don't scan it or photograph it, it's probably gone forever.
How do I know someone future generation might want to pore through these records?
I have absolutely nothing handwritten by my grandparents.
I would treasure even a grocery list or a cancelled check.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 30, 2026 02:37 PM (2Ez/1)

46 My problem with my family tree is it becomes a tangled web of French and British Royalty yet I own no castle.
Posted by: Reforger at August 30, 2026 02:27 PM (G1F7l)
====
Have you demanded reparations??

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 30, 2026 02:37 PM (RIvkX)

47 Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 02:20 PM

Now, that is adhering to tradition.

Posted by: huerfano at August 30, 2026 02:38 PM (2Xqig)

48 I very often feel remorse about not having asked simple, easily answered questions of my elders. But, being young and stupid, those questions just did not occur to me until it was too late.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 30, 2026 02:38 PM (XeU6L)

49 30 My problem with my family tree is it becomes a tangled web of French and British Royalty yet I own no castle.

----------

You may be in the line of succession for several thrones!

Posted by: Can . at August 30, 2026 02:38 PM (tlCdj)

50 Oops. Nic fail.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at August 30, 2026 02:39 PM (tlCdj)

51 you'll note all three of them died on April 3d, but years apart. Want more? Okay: All three of them died at 0230 in the morning. When my aunts told me about that, I finally understood why Dad kept asking the date and time for two weeks before he died …

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 02:20 PM (ayRl+)
-

Now we know when the mothership arrives.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at August 30, 2026 02:40 PM (aI58f)

52 It might be granite.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:40 PM (odBC9)

53 Should my epitaph include a land acknowledgement?

Posted by: I gotta ask at August 30, 2026 02:40 PM (2Ez/1)

54 48 I very often feel remorse about not having asked simple, easily answered questions of my elders. But, being young and stupid, those questions just did not occur to me until it was too late.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 30, 2026 02:38 PM (XeU6L)

I believe they forgive us. They were young once, too.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:41 PM (odBC9)

55 My problem with my family tree is it becomes a tangled web of French and British Royalty yet I own no castle.
Posted by: Reforger at August 30, 2026 02:27 PM (G1F7l)

It stands to reason that you might be the descendant of a second or third son who inherited little to nothing and decided to head to the New World to make his fortune.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 02:42 PM (6ydKt)

56 Both of my parents were cremated. Then tossed into Puget Sound off a boat near Vashon Island.

I don’t know where the grands are. Buried somewhere, I reckon.

I did trace the coal mining side of my Slavic heritage to Cle Elum, WA. They were here before WA became a state. Grandma always insisted she was Yugoslavian. They were Catholics in what is now Croatia. Never been there.

Posted by: nurse ratched at August 30, 2026 02:42 PM (6ohhg)

57 53 Should my epitaph include a land acknowledgement?

---------

"I rest here under land stolen from the Cheyenne and I intend to keep it."

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at August 30, 2026 02:43 PM (tlCdj)

58 I have boxes of old photographs. Hundreds of photos. I also have about 6 photo albums. Some from my folks, others are mine.

Nobody's interested in them.

Most of my side of the family's dead. Only a sister, her two girls and my son remain.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 30, 2026 02:43 PM (2Cry5)

59 56 Both of my parents were cremated. Then tossed into Puget Sound off a boat near Vashon Island.

----------

Some of my ancestors were tossed off the boat en route to Ellis Island but they weren't dead.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at August 30, 2026 02:44 PM (tlCdj)

60 Sheesh. Heavy topic for FWPs.
It makes my problem of toothpaste tubes that don't roll up seem a bit silly.

Posted by: Diogenes at August 30, 2026 02:45 PM (2WIwB)

61
I believe they forgive us. They were young once, too.
Posted by: m
--------

Concur...but it is my interest in family history/lore that goes unsatisfied. There is the point that my elder relatives might well have been pleased to relate family history.

It is unfortunate that very few of us maintain a journal of any sort.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 30, 2026 02:46 PM (XeU6L)

62 I also know that on my mom’s side of the family, her grandfather and father bought the beachfront property on Vashon from the Salish Indians for $50.

My father sold the cabin after mom died. It wasn’t his to sell. But me and my brother and cousins were all in our early 20s and couldn’t afford to buy him out. It was a shitty thing to do.

Posted by: nurse ratched at August 30, 2026 02:46 PM (6ohhg)

63 I was a willing listener when I was a kid and got to hear a lot of stories about turn of the century childhood in Europe.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 30, 2026 02:47 PM (RIvkX)

64 My grandfather was the last of 14. His oldest brother was a doughboy in WWI and Grandpa was in WW II. He really didn't know most of his brothers and sisters or parents for that matter.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at August 30, 2026 02:48 PM (6xukV)

65 Go ahead and write your obituary. Yeah, it sounds morbid, but you'll quickly get over that. You're taking the burden off someone else, other than the fact they'll have to update it. Even though it may be ignored, at least you'll have a voice in what is said about you. Be sure to mention your gray box friends at the HQ

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 30, 2026 02:50 PM (2Ez/1)

66 I have boxes of old photographs. Hundreds of photos. I also have about 6 photo albums. Some from my folks, others are mine.

Nobody's interested in them.

Most of my side of the family's dead. Only a sister, her two girls and my son remain.
Posted by: Martini Farmer
-------

I have an acquaintance who operates an auction house. Having, from time-to-time seen old family albums being auctioned, I told him that I was surprised that folks would part with them. His reply, 'No one knows who they are'.

Annotate your photos. I fear that unprinted digital images are doomed to the bit bucket.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 30, 2026 02:50 PM (XeU6L)

67 I worked with a guy who thought he was from two houses of royalty by being related to both King Charles and John F Kennedy. And he was serious.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at August 30, 2026 02:51 PM (nlLAo)

68 Wikipedia
tropaion

A tropaion (Greek: τρόπαιον, Latin: tropaeum), from which the English word "trophy" is derived, was a monument erected to commemorate a victory over one's foes by the ancient Greeks and later, by the Romans.

Initially, the typical monument was constructed out of a living tree with lateral branches, or it was constructed in the shape of one.

The armour of the defeated foe would be hung upon the monument.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 02:51 PM (odBC9)

69 My father's father did not emigrate until after the Great War. He told me when the Germans came to his town people were happy because they treated everyone better including the Jews

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 30, 2026 02:52 PM (RIvkX)

70 67 I worked with a guy who thought he was from two houses of royalty by being related to both King Charles and John F Kennedy. And he was serious.
----------

What, no Indian princesses in the line?

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at August 30, 2026 02:52 PM (tlCdj)

71 My family history is completely unremarkable. We were, and have been. One day, we won't be.

Posted by: Savage Henry at August 30, 2026 02:54 PM (ZxPkt)

72 Losing a child can devastate someone, so it's understandable for the family to avoid even mentioning the deceased. Your great uncle deserved to be remembered, and someone undertook the expense to place a beautiful stone over his final resting place. May that knowledge be a comfort if your quest for his story goes no further..

Posted by: Joe Kidd at August 30, 2026 02:56 PM (nbLIj)

73 Dad's youngest sister compiled a family history for the French side of the family and gave it to me when I was (?) 14 or 15. Years later, I incorporated her information into my compilation of our family history for BOTH sides of the family (French & Irish). I've since provided printed and electronic copies of that history to my brother, sister, and relevant cousinry. I hope my daughter will pick up the thread once I've gone to the Big Po'Boy Shop In The Sky, but I doubt that'll happen. A) I work on a Mac and she prefers PeeSee and, B) she's not a graphic designer or a typeface freak like Daddy is. There's always the ever-iffy 'word-of-mouth' transmission, tho' …

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 02:57 PM (ayRl+)

74 There may be old newspaper articles (newspapers dot com) regarding his death. If he was in the us and died in 1925 at 15, he was around for the 1920 census (and maybe the 1910 census). If you know where he was born, there may be birth records. Death certificates may exist.

I've found lots of info on my extended family on this side of the border via old newspaper articles, even finding out how they tried to kill each other back in 1873 (which eventually led to my 3-G Grandparents' divorce...what a bastard 3 G-Grandpa was)...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 02:58 PM (l3cgK)

75 Go ahead and write your obituary. Yeah, it sounds morbid, but you'll quickly get over that. You're taking the burden off someone else, other than the fact they'll have to update it. Even though it may be ignored, at least you'll have a voice in what is said about you. Be sure to mention your gray box friends at the HQ
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 30, 2026 02:50 PM (2Ez/1)

Even more, you will get everything you think is important in there, your family will be shocked and unhappy, and may miss things you would like people to know about you.
Dad did this, and it was a great help

He told me several times, "Don't write I am now with Jesus, boy" and I figure it was due to his sense of appropriateness more than any feeling he had about the possible truth of that statement.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 30, 2026 02:58 PM (rbvCR)

76 Samuel Clemmons wrote his own obituary, after he saw how completely it was bitched up by the news services when the rumor got around that he had died while he was visiting Europe.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 30, 2026 02:59 PM (rbvCR)

77 73
...
There's always the ever-iffy 'word-of-mouth' transmission, tho' …

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 02:57 PM (ayRl+)

Very true. My mother once told me that she had ancestors from Monaco...turned out their last name was Monico, and they were Mexican Indians...
My Dad told me he never found out what happened to his father's half sister who became a nun. When I got into genealogy, I found out she died in 1928 in Texas from Tuberculosis...which ended up killing her Dad less than a decade later (he was there with her when she was dying).

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:01 PM (l3cgK)

78 Wikipedia
Gravestone

Tree stump headstones in U.S. cemeteries are often associated with fraternal organization Woodmen of the World.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:02 PM (odBC9)

79 A) I work on a Mac and she prefers PeeSee and, B) she's not a graphic designer or a typeface freak like Daddy is. There's always the ever-iffy 'word-of-mouth' transmission, tho' …
Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 02:57 PM (ayRl+)

Word processing and graphics files should open in their respective versions on Mac & PC.

She’d just need to get the software.
If you use Adobe for anything she might balk at that.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 03:03 PM (6ydKt)

80 78 Wikipedia
Gravestone

Tree stump headstones in U.S. cemeteries are often associated with fraternal organization Woodmen of the World.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:02 PM (odBC9)

I saw what seemed like some sort of pentagram on a grave...turned out it was some non-diabolical organization. Forget now which one.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:03 PM (l3cgK)

81 This may (or not) be 'important' or 'relevant' … I've put together a rather large-ish book of my 'adventures' dating back to my earliest rememberable childhood moments. It includes every smart (?) and/or idiotic thing I've done (and who I've done 'em with) in my walk thru Physical Existence. They've been distributed to the ones for whom they were intended - but there's been no feedback after 7 years, so who knows? I made the effort - it's up to them now, yes? Yes.

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:04 PM (ayRl+)

82 Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:04 PM (ayRl+)

My wife wanted me to write about my life adventures on multiple occasions; I told here nobody would believe it.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:05 PM (l3cgK)

83 Dr No Yes

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 03:06 PM (Ia/+0)

84 Little, having been a late addition to the family tree, has few memories of his supporting branches. I compensate with stories of family lore and my own first hand accounts, warts and all. It's been cathartic in some respects, as old conflicts lose their edge when reviewed through decades-old lenses.

The ability to place your family history in the context of historic events is a gift that one should take every opportunity to pass on..

Posted by: Joe Kidd at August 30, 2026 03:07 PM (nbLIj)

85 83 Dr No Yes

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 03:06 PM (Ia/+0)

Good think that was a "yes" answer...otherwise you would have typed, "Dr No No"...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:08 PM (l3cgK)

86 I had to write the entirety of Mom’s obituary over a weekend. Had more time for my father’s and somebody else helped to write half of it.

It was an experience I wasn’t prepared for and wish I’d done better on my mother’s. My Dad’s came out better with the additional time.

I’d say it’s good advice to write out your obit as much as possible in advance.
Ya never know if you’ll lose some memories you’d like to share in the future.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 03:08 PM (6ydKt)

87 I've found old stories of long passed relatives (living ones too) in archives of local newspapers available thru the local library. It helped that newspapers used to print your address along with your name when you got your name or a story posted.

Posted by: Mike, delurking at August 30, 2026 03:09 PM (lyImQ)

88 Of the four grandparent lines, one went back to a 1650s Devon Englishman who's line skeedaddled up into the New Hampshire woods until my guy came down into civilization and married a Boston irishwoman. He died in '41, before my time, and there was little family contact after. Someone in that family wrote a genealogy of the family.
The other three branches are all Boston Irish, coming in in 1840s, 60s and1880s, the last of which I grew up in.

Posted by: From about That Time at August 30, 2026 03:09 PM (sl73Y)

89 @ 79 A) I work on a Mac and she prefers PeeSee and, B) she's not a graphic designer or a typeface freak like Daddy is. There's always the ever-iffy 'word-of-mouth' transmission, tho' … Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 02:57 PM (ayRl+)
Word processing and graphics files should open in their respective versions on Mac & PC. She’d just need to get the software. If you use Adobe for anything she might balk at that.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 03:03 PM (6ydKt)
___________________________________________________

At the time I created 'em, I used all CS6 Adobeware: Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator. Since then I've moved to the Affinity suite (free to use on Canva, btw). My OS has also been updated (?) to macOS 10.13.6 'High Sierra' (yeah, it's dated). My font program has 4K± fonts in it, and about 95% of 'em are open and active. It's really more than she's going to want to struggle with 'cos - even tho' it's EASIER than any comparable PeeSee wares - she's tied into the PeeSee environment - and no, I don't understand that either. BUT: That's why I made the .pdf versions of all of it … Prior Planning Prevents – you know the drill …

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:10 PM (ayRl+)

90 84 Little, having been a late addition to the family tree, has few memories of his supporting branches. I compensate with stories of family lore and my own first hand accounts, warts and all. It's been cathartic in some respects, as old conflicts lose their edge when reviewed through decades-old lenses.

The ability to place your family history in the context of historic events is a gift that one should take every opportunity to pass on..

Posted by: Joe Kidd at August 30, 2026 03:07 PM (nbLIj)

I tried to get my FIL's grandkids to ask him about his your (grew up in a war-torn land, eating rats and mice if they found them). It's too late now, as he passed away almost 2.5 years ago...
I do have quite a mental collection of my Dad's stories and his stories of his parents. I probably should write them down before they get lost when I pass...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:10 PM (l3cgK)

91 Legacy box for digital record keeping

Posted by: Free tibet at August 30, 2026 03:11 PM (tfJVv)

92 CBD, this is why the ENTIRE history and law are pased down to the son at the father’s knee.

‘And the son passed it to the grandson and so forth….’

Posted by: Eromero at August 30, 2026 03:11 PM (LHPAg)

93 86 I had to write the entirety of Mom’s obituary over a weekend. Had more time for my father’s and somebody else helped to write half of it.

It was an experience I wasn’t prepared for and wish I’d done better on my mother’s. My Dad’s came out better with the additional time.

I’d say it’s good advice to write out your obit as much as possible in advance.
Ya never know if you’ll lose some memories you’d like to share in the future.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 03:08 PM (6ydKt)

I was prohibited from being present during my mother's memorial service. If anyone ever asks me why, I'll be honest: "I would have liked to have been present for it, but Baby brother forbade me from showing up."

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:12 PM (l3cgK)

94 87 It helped that newspapers used to print your address along with your name when you got your name or a story posted.
Posted by: Mike, delurking at August 30, 2026 03:09 PM (lyImQ)

... which is why you had to have friends stay at the house during the receiving of friends and the funeral!

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:12 PM (odBC9)

95 not about my FIL's "your" but his "youth". Dunno how that happened, other than my fingers like to betray me.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:12 PM (l3cgK)

96 This may (or not) be 'important' or 'relevant' … I've put together a rather large-ish book of my 'adventures' dating back to my earliest rememberable childhood moments. It includes every smart (?) and/or idiotic thing I've done (and who I've done 'em with) in my walk thru Physical Existence. They've been distributed to the ones for whom they were intended - but there's been no feedback after 7 years, so who knows? I made the effort - it's up to them now, yes? Yes.
Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:04 PM (ayRl+)
----
Hopefully the statute of limitations has expired...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 30, 2026 03:12 PM (FZ29D)

97 94 87 It helped that newspapers used to print your address along with your name when you got your name or a story posted.
Posted by: Mike, delurking at August 30, 2026 03:09 PM (lyImQ)

... which is why you had to have friends stay at the house during the receiving of friends and the funeral!
Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:12 PM (odBC9)

Armed.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:13 PM (odBC9)

98 My First World Problem is that my Windows PC crashed overnight for no obvious reason. Before I went to bed I was working on a Word document, and after the crash that doc is corrupt and unrecoverable. Neither Word not Libre Office will open it.

I was able to screw around and recover a bunch of jumbled text from the doc and am in the process of recreating the doc from that and reapplying formatting and cleaning up what I could salvage.

I'm using an ancient (Office 97) version of Word that I've been meaning to replace with Libre Office, in anticipation of eventually moving to Linux for my next PC. This delightful experience has motivated me to hasten that transition.

Fuck Microsoft and their crappy software.

Posted by: a.moron at August 30, 2026 03:13 PM (X5Jzz)

99 Get outta here
Go to Google maps and look at the Great Lakes

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 03:13 PM (Ia/+0)

100 ‘I don’t mean to brag, but……’

Posted by: Eromero at August 30, 2026 03:13 PM (LHPAg)

101
Fuck Microsoft and their crappy software.

Posted by: a.moron at August 30, 2026 03:13 PM (X5Jzz)

Yeah, my monitor is exhibiting horizontal lines in the lower 2.5 inches of the screen...it started with just happening in the taskbar but has grown worse. I need to check the BIOS setting to make sure Windows didn't f-up those settings when it updated at about the time the issue first cropped up...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:15 PM (l3cgK)

102 Get outta here
Go to Google maps and look at the Great Lakes
Posted by: Skip

LOL. Lake America baby!

Posted by: Tuna at August 30, 2026 03:16 PM (lJ0H4)

103 I recently had breakfast with a Navy vet who survived the USS Evans sinking in 1969 when cut in half by the HMAS Melbourne. He enthusiastically tells how he fortuitously ended up with a bunk in the stern as the bow section sank almost immediately.
When he concluded I asked him where the story was written down.
He tapped the side of his head.
No, I insisted. Your great grandchildren will never hear it.
I promised him if he would write it, I would edit it.
As we parted he told me he would email a draft.
The last thing I said to him was a question:
Promise?

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 30, 2026 03:17 PM (2Ez/1)

104 @ 94 87 It helped that newspapers used to print your address along with your name when you got your name or a story posted.Posted by: Mike, delurking at August 30, 2026 03:09 PM (lyImQ)
... which is why you had to have friends stay at the house during the receiving of friends and the funeral! Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:12 PM (odBC9)
______________________________________________

My first 'death experience' came at the age of approx. 10 or so when a friend of the family died. We went to his wake (held in his house, an old 'shotgun'-style place. His coffin was laid on a pair of sawhorses in the front room and there was no light other than what was provided by the little red-glass 'votive' candles. Scared the crap outa me, and I never got over that until my out-of-body experience at the age of 32. Never been afraid of death since then, 'cos we only transition - we don't die.

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:17 PM (ayRl+)

105 My font program has 4K± fonts in it, and about 95% of 'em are open and active. It's really more than she's going to want to struggle with 'cos - even tho' it's EASIER than any comparable PeeSee wares - she's tied into the PeeSee environment - and no, I don't understand that either. BUT: That's why I made the .pdf versions of all of it … Prior Planning Prevents – you know the drill …
Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:10 PM (ayRl+)

PC & Macs use different types of fonts so unless they are all OpenFont (.otf) fonts she’d have to find the same font in TrueType or do a conversion with software. Older Mac PostScript Type 1 fonts aren’t compatible at all with PC.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 03:18 PM (6ydKt)

106 99 Get outta here
Go to Google maps and look at the Great Lakes

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 03:13 PM (Ia/+0)

OMG ! ! 1 1 ! Trump is a monster ! ! ! ! Everybody hates us now ! ! ! !

I love it !

Posted by: a.moron at August 30, 2026 03:18 PM (X5Jzz)

107 >>>Hopefully the statute of limitations has expired...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel

>Risky. I may have hoodlums and corrupt LEOs still looking for me.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at August 30, 2026 03:18 PM (nlLAo)

108
Lake America
Smallest of the 5 Great

reddit has banned it
r/mildlyinfuriating

mildlyinfuriating-ModTeam
MOD
3m ago
We do not allow politics, pushing agendas, or grandstanding.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:18 PM (odBC9)

109 And read LA is growing in Typhus cases, like a couple hundred

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 03:19 PM (Ia/+0)

110 They were Catholics in what is now Croatia. Never been there.
Posted by: nurse ratched at

Land of the tall people. I thought you were a gymnast?

Posted by: From about That Time at August 30, 2026 03:20 PM (sl73Y)

111 A year ago my son gave me a book, a journal like book to document my life. It has questions like; when and where I was born, my given name, who my parent were, where I lived, etc.

Then it goes into all sorts of lifestyle questions; favorite songs, foods, places to visit, movies, etc.

Reading some of the posts here I wonder what my son was thinking...

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 30, 2026 03:21 PM (2Cry5)

112 Speaking Of:

Writing an obituary is quite the challenge. I did get a few suggestions from chat AI, but... it isn't easy. I also spoke at Dad's funeral. Went ok, but still a challenge. Held it together until the bugler sounded taps...

Posted by: man at August 30, 2026 03:22 PM (XuXeR)

113 We do not allow politics, pushing agendas, or grandstanding.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:18 PM (odBC9)

Sure they do, but it only runs in one direction.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:23 PM (l3cgK)

114 @ 98 My First World Problem is that my Windows PC crashed overnight for no obvious reason. I - am in the process of recreating the doc from that and reapplying formatting and cleaning up what I could salvage.
I'm using an ancient (Office 97) version of Word that I've been meaning to replace with Libre Office. Fuck Microsoft and their crappy software. Posted by: a.moron at August 30, 2026 03:13 PM (X5Jzz)
______________________________

Query: A) You still have SOME usable data from the crash, then? B) Have you considered UPLOADING the entirety of what you have to an AI like ChatGPT or Grok, etc and asking them to examine it and then REBUILD / RECONSTRUCT it to the extent that's possible? Both of those AIs have helped me with things I thought were unpossible (to use a word) - and they surprised the crap out of me with the amount they got right. Worth a shot, yes?

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:24 PM (ayRl+)

115 We do not allow politics, pushing agendas, or grandstanding."

That would eliminate 99.5 percent of reddit...

Posted by: man at August 30, 2026 03:24 PM (XuXeR)

116 a.moron - FWIW, there are data recovery services, I have NO experience with them, but do keep them in mind.

Lately received a flyer from:

DriveSavers.com, there are certainly others. Again...FWIW.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 30, 2026 03:25 PM (XeU6L)

117 112 Speaking Of:

Writing an obituary is quite the challenge. I did get a few suggestions from chat AI, but... it isn't easy. I also spoke at Dad's funeral. Went ok, but still a challenge. Held it together until the bugler sounded taps...

Posted by: man at August 30, 2026 03:22 PM (XuXeR)

I was tangentially involved in Dad's obituary. My brother wanted to completely erase Mom from it, but I thought that was too rough, so she was in the obit by reference...Dad's first wife was referenced as his "first wife", which implies a second...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:27 PM (l3cgK)

118 We do not allow politics, pushing agendas, or grandstanding.
-----

Bwahahahahaha
[takes a breath]
Bwahahahahaha

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 30, 2026 03:27 PM (XeU6L)

119 115 We do not allow politics, pushing agendas, or grandstanding."

That would eliminate 99.5 percent of reddit...

Posted by: man at August 30, 2026 03:24 PM (XuXeR)

If the Reddit devs disagree, it's politics; if the agree, it's not.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:28 PM (l3cgK)

120 I inherited Dad's Puukko knife. Really nice one, about seven inches overall with a three inch blade. Very decorated embossed leather sheath with a chain and hanging clip.Probably a dress puukko for stabbings at wedding receptions.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 30, 2026 03:29 PM (gm9Sb)

121 119 115 We do not allow politics, pushing agendas, or grandstanding."

That would eliminate 99.5 percent of reddit...

Posted by: man at August 30, 2026 03:24 PM (XuXeR)

If the Reddit devs disagree, it's politics; if the agree, it's not.
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:28 PM (l3cgK)

And that mod statement sounds so prissy, to boot.

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:29 PM (odBC9)

122 I did accomplish one thing.

I leave instructions for what NOT to do.

Posted by: Savage Henry at August 30, 2026 03:29 PM (ZxPkt)

123 was prohibited from being present during my mother's memorial service. If anyone ever asks me why, I'll be honest: "I would have liked to have been present for it, but Baby brother forbade me from showing up."
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia)

Then you did well by your mother.

Posted by: From about That Time at August 30, 2026 03:30 PM (sl73Y)

124 114

Query: A) You still have SOME usable data from the crash, then? B) Have you considered UPLOADING the entirety of what you have to an AI like ChatGPT or Grok, etc and asking them to examine it and then REBUILD / RECONSTRUCT it to the extent that's possible? Both of those AIs have helped me with things I thought were unpossible (to use a word) - and they surprised the crap out of me with the amount they got right. Worth a shot, yes?

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:24 PM (ayRl+)

That's an interesting idea, and not something I considered. At this point, I've mostly recovered the document, but that would be an interesting experiment.

It occurred to me that whatever was corrupt in the document might be very minor, and the right tool might be able to find and fix it. AI might be the right answer.

Posted by: a.moron at August 30, 2026 03:30 PM (X5Jzz)

125 Went ok, but still a challenge. Held it together until the bugler sounded taps...

Posted by: man
----

This has been posted here before, but worth doing it again:

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love. -- Washington Irving

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 30, 2026 03:31 PM (XeU6L)

126 48 I very often feel remorse about not having asked simple, easily answered questions of my elders. But, being young and stupid, those questions just did not occur to me until it was too late.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 30, 2026 02:38 PM (XeU6L)

exactly the feeling I get.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 30, 2026 03:33 PM (VyBeY)

127 Fuck Microsoft and their crappy software.
Posted by: a.moron at August 30, 2026 03:13 PM (X5Jzz)

I started working with Windows on Win95.
Worked at a local high school sports newspaper that published every other week.

The PC that I had to put the entire newspaper together on in days was ancient, and crashed at least once a day.

I lost an entire 80-page edition one night about 3 a.m. a few hours from completing the layout in QuarkXpress because the machine crashed and the file, and backup file, were corrupted.
I’ve never been so exhausted, frustrated and angry in my life.

Since then I hit Ctrl+S every ten minutes like an involuntary reaction.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 03:34 PM (6ydKt)

128 All Dad's WW2 stuff ended up with the younger brother who took care of him in the end; none of us had an issue (including baby brother, who was NOT included in the conversations). Stuff Dad gave me before he died (like his infantry badge with oak cluster) I kept, because he gave it to me personally.
The stuff Dad had from his Mom and Dad, some was given to my eldest cousin (now almost 80), like Grandpa's WW1 helmet and Colt 1911 .45 (well, belonged to Gov't but Grandpa said he lost it, then snuck it aboard the ship before coming back to the States)...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:34 PM (l3cgK)

129 Held it together until the bugler sounded taps...
Posted by: man at August 30, 2026 03:22 PM (XuXeR)

Same here.
My brother got the flag, and I got the urn.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 03:37 PM (6ydKt)

130 @ 124 114 Query: A) You still have SOME usable data from the crash, then? B) Have you considered UPLOADING the entirety of what you have to an AI like ChatGPT or Grok, etc and asking them to examine it and then REBUILD / RECONSTRUCT it to the extent that's possible? Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:24 PM (ayRl+)

That's an interesting idea, and not something I considered. At this point, I've mostly recovered the document, but that would be an interesting experiment. It occurred to me that whatever was corrupt in the document might be very minor, and the right tool might be able to find and fix it. AI might be the right answer. Posted by: a.moron at August 30, 2026 03:30 PM (X5Jzz)
__________________________________

I queried ChatGPT about a problem my brother has when he tries opening 'Darktable' on his Mac: It opens about 95% of the way, then stops. It's missing a piece Onyx (the cleanup-ware) removed after he accidentally hit some key or other. Chat says it may be possible to get Darktable operational again - depending on the cause of the failure to open. I created a .txt file of the chat and sent it to my bro' - now it's his call.

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:37 PM (ayRl+)

131 127 I lost an entire 80-page edition one night about 3 a.m. a few hours from completing the layout in QuarkXpress because the machine crashed and the file, and backup file, were corrupted.
I’ve never been so exhausted, frustrated and angry in my life.

Since then I hit Ctrl+S every ten minutes like an involuntary reaction.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 03:34 PM (6ydKt)

I make interstitial pdfs, too!

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:39 PM (odBC9)

132 CBD, I do intensive ancestry research on, of all things, Ancestry.com.
I have an absolutely clear line back to Ireland, Scotland and England. I have the family name back to before 1066.
On Mrs. Red’s side her father’s side actually intersects with my Scottish line. 8th cousins, I believe. Her mother’s side I have back to Austria/Hungary, Poland, Russia, Slovakia.

Point being that there is a wealth of information on most people. A1925 death will have records; it’s almost like yesterday as far as genealogy goes.
We should chat.

Posted by: RI Red - at August 30, 2026 03:39 PM (rYvai)

133 *incremental pdfs

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:39 PM (odBC9)

134 Very decorated embossed leather sheath with a chain and hanging clip.Probably a dress puukko for stabbings at wedding receptions.
Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 30, 2026 03:29 PM (gm9Sb)
=====

Popular entertainment once upon a time in Michigan's UP.

Posted by: mrp at August 30, 2026 03:40 PM (rj6Yv)

135 Ask your IT Help Desk if Interstitial PDFs are right for you.

Posted by: Big Data at August 30, 2026 03:41 PM (2Ez/1)

136 Well, if they had Flock Cameras back in the 1920's we could find out quite a bit. Who he hung out with at the General Store. Which one of his friends killed that squirrel with the sling shot. Why he and his friends always stood around smoking cigarette butts and staring intently at the sash drawn windows outside Maisie Miller's House of Pleasures. But most important, where was he getting his hooch. It was probably that ne'er-do-well family out by the train tracks who always had the lanterns lit and the doors locked to keep out the revenue guys.

Posted by: Orson at August 30, 2026 03:41 PM (dIske)

137 23 and Me tells me my mother was 100% Old School Gaelic -- not just Irish. My father was from a fishing village -- he shows 80% Old School Gaelic and 20% Norwegian (Viking). They didn't volunteer information and they died too young for me to ask, but I pieced a few things together.

I had an uncle who fought in the Burma campaign against the Japanese alongside the Ghurkas. He came back fine.

Another uncle was in the Royal Navy. He came back with debiliating malaria.

Their sister -- a civilian -- died in the London blitz.

Such are the fortunes of war.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 30, 2026 03:42 PM (dtajH)

138 @ 131 127 I lost an entire 80-page edition one night about 3 a.m. a few hours from completing the layout in QuarkXpress because the machine crashed and the file, and backup file, were corrupted. I’ve never been so exhausted, frustrated and angry in my life. Since then I hit Ctrl+S every ten minutes like an involuntary reaction. Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 03:34 PM (6ydKt) I make interstitial pdfs, too! Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:39 PM (odBC9)
_________________________________

You were working with QX on a PeeSee!? I'm so sorry …

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:42 PM (ayRl+)

139 Posted by: RI Red - at August 30, 2026 03:39 PM (rYvai)

My wife had basically no DNA intersection with me...other than perhaps that single chromatid that showed up in my DNA test that said Southern Chinese ancestry...that must've come from Mom's side...Mexico had a complex history with the Manila Galleon...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:43 PM (l3cgK)

140 I have few memories of my mother's family. Her mother died of pneumonia when mom was just 14. She was then raised by her aunts, all amazing women, who taught her how took cook, among other life lessons.

They would throw a New Year's Eve party and I was amazed at the contrast between these people and those from dad's side. An anecdote from mom:

One of her uncles had a silver aluminum Christmas tree and a family member was getting married around the holidays. It was decided that the tree would be prominently displayed at the altar. At some point, it was decided that this tree would preside over every marriage in the future regardless of the calendar.

Fast forward to when mom announced her impending marriage to dad. To hear mom tell it, her uncles were adamant on the tree's presence at the altar. She had to enlist her aunts to help them understand that dad's family would not get the joke. Truth was, dad's family - he was the only son among several daughters - were a generally humorless bunch. Wish I got to spend more time with mom's side...

Posted by: Joe Kidd at August 30, 2026 03:44 PM (nbLIj)

141 116 a.moron - FWIW, there are data recovery services, I have NO experience with them, but do keep them in mind.

Lately received a flyer from:

DriveSavers.com, there are certainly others. Again...FWIW.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 30, 2026 03:25 PM (XeU6L)

Thanks, this isn't important enough or big enough to spend money on a data recovery service.

I'm in the process of trying Dr_No's suggestion of using ChatGPT, and it seems to be working quite well, including recovering tables and document formatting.

Posted by: a.moron at August 30, 2026 03:46 PM (X5Jzz)

142 74: Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 02:58

There's some good solid genealogical advice there jim. I've worked on our family history most of my life. I think my interest developed from the stories my grt. grandmother told me. The oldest was told to her by her grandfather about his childhood in western PA in the 1840s.

Although family tales may not be completely accurate there is usually an element of truth to them and they may contain valuable hints. I encourage everyone to pass those stories on so they are not lost. And add whatever you have been able to prove or disprove.

Posted by: Farmer, with his own historic take at August 30, 2026 03:46 PM (4Qj8V)

143 Jim IK, dna is a blessing and a curse. I solved a family mystery with it when there was absolutely no written record, and those involved were long gone.

Of course, I can now never leave any dna at a crime scene.

Posted by: RI Red - at August 30, 2026 03:47 PM (rYvai)

144 My sister talked me into the 23 and Me thing, and because I'm a wacky prankster, I used Buckwheat's photo from the Little Rascals as my profile picture. It generated a lot of confusion among my potential distant relatives!

Posted by: Weasel at August 30, 2026 03:47 PM (leKdc)

145 We do not allow politics, pushing agendas, or grandstanding

... they said, with zero self-reflection.

(although if that's the subreddit-specific policy and they've actually been upholding it, kudos.)

Posted by: RandomDave (if you can spare a bit, please click) at August 30, 2026 03:48 PM (aJQbY)

146 133 *incremental pdfs
Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:39 PM (odBC9)

There have been times I’ve got variations of files and backups of backups, dated back several versions. Then backed up on a flash drive and/or cloud.

Better safe than sorry.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 03:48 PM (6ydKt)

147 142 74 Although family tales may not be completely accurate there is usually an element of truth to them and they may contain valuable hints.
Posted by: Farmer, with his own historic take at August 30, 2026 03:46 PM (4Qj8V)

Family Lore!

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:49 PM (odBC9)

148
Yeah, I got some Viking lineage.

But I'm not paying reparations to no English queers.

Posted by: Auspex at August 30, 2026 03:50 PM (Y8DZL)

149 CBD, you’ve probably exhausted your research but having been researching my tree for a good 20 years, I’m gonna suggest a few things anyway that I did to track down the sisters of my great grandfather since there was no family notes. I went to the county library where he was from and searched my great great grandmothers obit on microfiche. I found her and the married names of his sisters. That unlocked a lot of info once i had those. I also went to the cathedral to look for baptism records (not sure what the Hebrew equivalent is). Even though your uncle was 15, vital records will send you a copy of a death cert if one exists. It’s been 100 years which I believe is the cutoff when they can release them. That research can be laborious but sometimes it’s just that one clue that leads you to another.

Posted by: TxAnn at August 30, 2026 03:50 PM (SjAWL)

150 143 Jim IK, dna is a blessing and a curse. I solved a family mystery with it when there was absolutely no written record, and those involved were long gone.

Of course, I can now never leave any dna at a crime scene.

Posted by: RI Red - at August 30, 2026 03:47 PM (rYvai)

My DNA is very...specific. I have a not-very-common MTDNA marker that mutated a recently as 150 years ago...and there was somebody else on the website that had that very marker. Y-DNA is a bit...muddled. It was showing hits from folks I show no paper trail being related to, so it's possible a female ancestor on the paternal line got jiggy with someone other than my supposed ancestors...or their name changed significantly after coming to America, like my paternal 2-G grandpa's surname changed.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:52 PM (l3cgK)

151 I've found prison records to be a valuable resource in tracing my ancestors.

Posted by: Weasel at August 30, 2026 03:54 PM (TMF5Z)

152 You were working with QX on a PeeSee!? I'm so sorry …
Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 03:42 PM (ayRl+)

It doesn’t really bother be now.
I’m ambidextrous with both platforms after using both for 30 years.

I stopped using Windows totally and stuck with Mac for over ten years. Got back into PC again about four years ago.

They each have their strengths and weaknesses, but I will say I get a lot fewer crashes on Win11 than the old days. Mac is always usually rock solid around crashes but MacOS has some issues, too.

Microsoft is telemetry crazy is my biggest problem with PC. Apple is not always trying to spy on you.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 03:54 PM (6ydKt)

153 144 My sister talked me into the 23 and Me thing, and because I'm a wacky prankster, I used Buckwheat's photo from the Little Rascals as my profile picture. It generated a lot of confusion among my potential distant relatives!

Posted by: Weasel at August 30, 2026 03:47 PM (leKdc)

I'm browner than anyone else (other than my brothers and sister) on my Dad's side of the family...
A great aunt once commented, "There's a little bit of N****r in every Mexican," and in my case, she was right.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:55 PM (l3cgK)

154 148
Yeah, I got some Viking lineage.

But I'm not paying reparations to no English queers.

Posted by: Auspex at August 30, 2026 03:50 PM (Y8DZL)

Maybe you should demand danegeld from them instead...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:55 PM (l3cgK)

155 Psychiatric institutions have been a goldmine too!

Posted by: Weasel at August 30, 2026 03:55 PM (TMF5Z)

156 12th if was in CBD's situation, a photograph would be a big help, tracking down other family pictures could be a help. Seen many pictures of my relatives as kids in lots of collections.

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 03:57 PM (Ia/+0)

157 151 I've found prison records to be a valuable resource in tracing my ancestors.

Posted by: Weasel at August 30, 2026 03:54 PM (TMF5Z)

Had a cousin 2x removed that spend the remainder of his life in an insane asylum...he was a actor, so maybe that was related.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 03:57 PM (l3cgK)

158 sailors, smugglers, cutthroats, and footpads
oh my

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:58 PM (odBC9)

159 June 7, wouldn't think drowning, July or August good possibility
Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 02:30 PM

My father once noted that, unlike today, they dreaded the summer because that's when the typhus came. He said every year when school started one or more of his classmates would be missing.

Posted by: toby928(c) at August 30, 2026 03:58 PM (4NO2D)

160 136 Well, if they had Flock Cameras back in the 1920's we could find out quite a bit. Who he hung out with at the General Store. Which one of his friends killed that squirrel with the sling shot. Why he and his friends always stood around smoking cigarette butts and staring intently at the sash drawn windows outside Maisie Miller's House of Pleasures. But most important, where was he getting his hooch. It was probably that ne'er-do-well family out by the train tracks who always had the lanterns lit and the doors locked to keep out the revenue guys.

Posted by: Orson at August 30, 2026 03:41 PM (dIske)

Might even know for certain who kidnapped the Lindbergh baby.

Posted by: a.moron at August 30, 2026 03:59 PM (X5Jzz)

161 food nood

Posted by: m at August 30, 2026 03:59 PM (odBC9)

162 1 minute warning. Please rush your final thread comments to completion.

Posted by: Weasel at August 30, 2026 03:59 PM (TMF5Z)

163 They also believed that water moccasins couldn't bit you in the water so they swam with them in the Broad River.

Posted by: toby928(c) at August 30, 2026 03:59 PM (4NO2D)

164 (sigh) I have to ask. Those of you that have used the services that analyze DNA...aren't you the least bit concerned about who has access to that information?

I realize how common it is, but a number of those services play fast and loose with their privacy policies.

Posted by: Orson at August 30, 2026 04:00 PM (dIske)

165 I dunno.
That Viking blood eventually helped the UK to become the largest empire on earth.

I don’t think reparations are truly needed.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at August 30, 2026 04:00 PM (6ydKt)

166 159 June 7, wouldn't think drowning, July or August good possibility
Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 02:30 PM

My father once noted that, unlike today, they dreaded the summer because that's when the typhus came. He said every year when school started one or more of his classmates would be missing.

Posted by: toby928(c) at August 30, 2026 03:58 PM (4NO2D)

Saw a EweToob video of how difficult life was for women on the pioneer trails...lets just say at some point "20 different smells" was mentioned regarding their bodies...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 04:00 PM (l3cgK)

167 Turns out if you ever get an ankle monitor an extensive data trail is created.

Posted by: Cousin Eddie at August 30, 2026 04:00 PM (2Ez/1)

168 FOOD NOOD TIME

Posted by: Skip at August 30, 2026 04:00 PM (Ia/+0)

169 I learnt from the family history my aunt compiled and gave me that our great-great-(great?)-grandfather was (a) a TAILOR (a 'Schneider', nicht einer 'Schnitter') in the Jaussiers region of France. Since it sits on the Alsace-Lorraine border, there was lots of cross-border influence present. The story also included the fact that he was Jewish, not Catholic like the rest of the family. I can only imagine how relationships went at family gatherings then. The French side of the family always denied that part of the history. On the Irish side, my great-grandfather ran away from home after his Mom died and his Dad remarried. He was living with Gypsies in a camp when one of the men from his village spotted him and said he'd be sure to tell his Dad where he was. That's all it took to get him down to the docks and on board a ship bound for the United States … the rest is, well, histoire …

Posted by: Dr_No at August 30, 2026 04:01 PM (ayRl+)

170 164 (sigh) I have to ask. Those of you that have used the services that analyze DNA...aren't you the least bit concerned about who has access to that information?

I realize how common it is, but a number of those services play fast and loose with their privacy policies.

Posted by: Orson at August 30, 2026 04:00 PM (dIske)

I used an expensive outfit that allowed accessing and downloading you DNA data anonymously...but it still had to be paid, so If I wanted it truly anonymous, I woulda had to pay in BitCoin, which they accepted...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 04:01 PM (l3cgK)

171 I had a pony.

Posted by: Rozsika Halmos (Manya) at August 30, 2026 04:02 PM (JM9I6)

172 I've found prison records to be a valuable resource in tracing my ancestors.

My paternal grandfather is in the 1940 census records twice: Listed once at his house, the second at 26th and Cal.

Posted by: Chuck C at August 30, 2026 04:03 PM (TvrWq)

173 Before the invention of A/C and modern medicine and hygiene, the South was a hellhole.

I saw a video about the town in North Alabama where I lived, made in the 30s touting the CCC project that drained the swamps across the river. It said that prior to that, one out of three citizens got malaria every year. In the US, in a world with automobiles and airplanes.

(as an aside, they also showed the then brand new high school that I attended, the one with no A/C, right across from Delano Park)

Posted by: toby928(c) at August 30, 2026 04:06 PM (4NO2D)

174 Which is to say, we got it good compared to our ancestors.

Posted by: toby928(c) at August 30, 2026 04:10 PM (4NO2D)

175 174 Which is to say, we got it good compared to our ancestors.

Posted by: toby928(c) at August 30, 2026 04:10 PM (4NO2D)

There's an old joke that Ancestry dot com is Incestry dot com for the states in the deep south...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at August 30, 2026 04:11 PM (l3cgK)

Processing 0.03, elapsed 0.037 seconds.
14 queries taking 0.0115 seconds, 183 records returned.
Page size 108 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.