The Commandments of Genealogy

[Stanwix England]

Thou shall have a mighty accent so that thine hapless enumerator doth write down thine name as 'Owton' instead of 'Howton' or 'Ayleigh' instead of 'Hayle'.

[PrawnCocktail]

Thou shall have a mighty accent so that thine hapless enumerator doth write down thine name as 'Owton' instead of 'Howton' or 'Ayleigh' instead of 'Hayle'.

Thou shalt then like the new spelling so much that thou keepest it, and sendeth thy descendants on a mighty wild-goose chase!

[IgorStrav]

[next number]  Thou shalt promulgate a family legend to be shared down the generations to always be quoted as absolute truth, such as
"he murdered his wife",
"they came from Latvia",
"he was very rich and owned several houses",
"they were related to royalty under the blanket",
and ensure that none of these has any element of reality to be found despite extensive research.

[JenB]

Thou shalt ensure that thy family name is the same as that of a village in Northumberland thus ensuring that all searches for thy surname in books and newspapers return a myriad of hits, causing initial excitement and then deep despondency to the searcher.

[mckha489]

[next number]  Thou shalt promulgate a family legend to be shared down the generations to always be quoted as absolute truth, such as
"he murdered his wife",
"they came from Latvia",
"he was very rich and owned several houses",
"they were related to royalty under the blanket",
and ensure that none of these has any element of reality to be found despite extensive research.

And when there is a Legend worth promulgating thou shalst never mention it again.

[coombs]

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.

Oh yes, and even Fleet marriages turn up futile.

35c. Thou shalt act as married even after 1754 when Anglican church marriages were required, but never actually marry, so the wife's maiden surname is unattainable.

[Maiden Stone]

14. Thou shalt name at least five Generations of males, and dozens of their cousins, with identical names.

14a. Thou shalt then marry thy daughters to aforesaid cousins, resulting in half-a-dozen bearers of the same names concurrently alive in the family. Thou shalt style each relative "brother" or "cousin" in documents although he be brother-in-law or nephew.

[JenB]

Thy grandmother shalt proclaim to all and sundry that “All the families throughout the world who bear my maiden surname are related, as has been proved”, without leaving any trace of where this proof is to be found.

[Maiden Stone]

Thou shalt claim descent from an obscure 10th century monarch. All records of this, including the name of the monarch, are lost.

Thou shalt ensure that thy family name is the same as that of a village in Northumberland thus ensuring that all searches for thy surname in books and newspapers return a myriad of hits, causing initial excitement and then deep despondency to the searcher.

Thy family surname shall be the name of a common word, leading to the belief that thy Archer ancestors were present at the Battle of Agincourt and furthermore that they were responsible for victory.