The Commandments of Genealogy

[Forfarian]

17. Thou shalt marry 2 wives with the same first name or the same surname.

Or (preferably) both.

[glenclare]

Thou shall not register your children’s births and deaths even though the law says you should.

[River Tyne Lass]

Thou shalt have an ancestor whose alibi was believed so you won't find them in the mugshot photo album at the archives.😭

[coombs]

35. Thou shalt marry after 1753 but before July 1837 which is usual, but have the witnesses regular witnesses and not relatives.

36. Thou shalt be a woman who will have a quick dalliance with the flame haired village milkman and you find out through autosomal DNA that one of your fave ancestors, your 3xgreat grandfather is not the blood father of 2xgreat gramps, but the milkman is.

[Treetotal]

No. 37. Thou shall not disclose which part of Ireland that you were born in.

No. 38. Thou shall always claim parentage of your Daughter's illegitimate offspring.

Carol

[Erato]

38.  Your name never appears in any newspaper for any reason  You are neither a criminal nor the victim of a crime; you are never involved in any newsworthy accident; you win no prizes at school or at the county fair; you do not engage in any sporting activity worth mentioning; you never run for even the lowest elective office; you are not the owner of a calf born with two heads or any other curiosity suitable for filler material in the local paper; you never entertain your friends at teas or bridge parties nor are you invited to their parties; you have no letters waiting at the post office and your presence at hotels is never noted .....

[Maiden Stone]

39. Thou shalt alter the forename of thy child between birth and baptism or vice-versa.
40. Thou shalt register thy child's birth late, adjusting birth date to fit within the proscribed period.

[coombs]

41. Thou shalt give incomplete info in registers, and not give middle names so it makes it harder to be traced by my descendants 100-200 years down the line.

[Maiden Stone]

35. Thou shalt marry after 1753 but before July 1837 which is usual, but have the witnesses regular witnesses and not relatives.

35 b. Thou shalt marry before 1753 but not in an Anglican church, leaving no record and no clue to bride's surname.