"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."
            Sir Arthur Conan Doyle


"There are only two lasting bequests we can have to give to our children; one of these is roots, the other is wings."      Hodding Carter


"A reasonable probability is the only certainty."      Edgar Watson Howe


"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."      Ecc. 9:10


"All life of the soil has its folklore, and even in history, sometimes, when the facts are lacking, folklore seeps up from the soil of the earth -- even as alkali rises to the surface from the depths in the low places -- to stimulate imagination, suggest a solution, or lend salty flavor to an unsavory diet of facts."
           J. Evetts Haley, noted western historian in "George W. Littlefield, Texan," Univ of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1943, p. 125.


What was memory is dust now,
and many a story told in the shade
or by the fire is gone with the old light.
On the courthouse shelves the facts lie mute
upon their pages ...
lost in the silence of old days and voices.
And yet the land and the mind bear marks
of a history that they do not record.
           Wendell Berry  "Where" (1977)


That which we remember is, more often than not, that which we would like to have been; or that which we hope to be. Thus our memory and our identity are ever at odds; our history ever a tale told by inattentive idealists.     
          Ralph Ellison (1964)


The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie---deliberate, contrived, and dishonest---but the myth—persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
          John Fitzgerald Kennedy.


Let us take things as we find them: let us not attempt to distort them into what they are not. We cannot make facts. All our wishing cannot change them. We must use them.         John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801 - 1890)
              Accompanied by:
Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.
         Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)


Modernity began with an assault on tradition;
"Let us start over," said Decatres and Locke.
Slowly and with great reluctance we in the
modern world have come to realize that there
can be no starting over, no escape from heritage.
         Nicholas Wolterstorff "Remember to Remember" (1989)


"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
         John Adams (1735 - 1826), "Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the
         Boston Massacre Trials," December 1770


"In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted."                          Bertrand Russell (a pacifist)


"Why pay money to have your family tree traced; go into politics and your opponents will do it for you."      Dr. Laurence J. Peter in "Peter's Quotations"


"There were human beings aboard the Mayflower, not merely ancestors."
      Stephen Vincent Benét
Also:
"My folks didn't come over on the Mayflower, but they were there to meet the boat."
      Will Rogers


"Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing." - Thomas Henry Huxley


"The surest way to spoil a good story is by sticking to the facts."
      (Old Vaquero saying),
and:
"Don't judge folks by their relatives. A good mule has a horse for a mother and a jackass for a father." (Honkeytonk Sue)
      (From the June 2007 issue of True West magazine)


"Thanks to the strangers, friends and family, who, while I climbed my rugged family tree, planted tender sprigs of ivy and so covered the rough places." Unknown ...
via Patricia Oliver Holloway (Lucinda Hoover descendant)


"Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet [and genealogist] without honor." Gospel of Matthew 13:57
------- plus---------
It seems there is about one family historian per generation. The rest of the clan just want to read the results. We do it to honor our ascendants and not ourselves, to preserve those results, and to share our findings with others who have a desire to know. Ron B.


"In seeking absolute truth we aim at the unattainable and must be content with broken portions." - Sir William Osler (1849-1919) Canadian Playwright
------- plus---------
(You may seek "proof," i.e. truth. Knowing the fallibility of sources, I settle for "the preponderance of the evidence" and stay open for new light. CRB)


We leave two important things to our children: Our name and our example.
The child may inherit a good example and leave behind a good — or bad example.
The child may inherit a bad example and leave behind a good — or bad example.
We don't choose our parents — but we choose our destiny. Deut. 30:19, Josh. 24:15


"Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear."
          Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)


"There is no cure for birth or death save to enjoy the interval."
          George Santayana (1863-1952) Spanish-born American Philosopher, Writer


"History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illumines reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity."
          Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC), Pro Publio Sestio


"History never looks like history when you are living through it."
          John W. Gardner (1912 - 2002), quoted by Bill Moyers
[We are all destined to become ancestors! CRB]


"What is time? The shadow on the dial, the striking of the clock,
the running of the sand, day and night, summer and winter,
months, years, centuries -
these are but arbitrary and outward signs,
the measure of Time, not Time itself.
Time is the Life of the soul."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


"The unrecorded past is none other than our old friend, the tree in the primeval forest which fell without being heard." Barbara Tuchman
          plus
"The past is never dead - it is not even past." - William Faulkner


"There are no illegitimate children — only illegitimate parents." Judge Leon R. Yankwich


"Nothing is so soothing to our self-esteem as to find our bad traits in our forebears. It seems to absolve us."        Van Wyck Brooks


"The past is another country. They do things differently there."      L. P. Hartley


"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice;
it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
William Jennings Bryan


Genealogy begins as an interest,
Becomes a hobby;
Continues as an avocation,
Takes over as an obsession,
And in its last stages,
Is an incurable disease.
Author Unknown (From Robert Singleton Starling website)


The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel. Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers? Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.
Joel 1:1-3 (New International Version)
      also
Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.
Deut 32:7 (New International Version)
      also
"When we lose a parent or grandparent, we lose a library."


"I don't have to look up my family tree, because I know that I'm the sap." Fred Allen
      plus
"On second thought, every man serves a useful purpose;
a miser, for example, makes a wonderful ancestor."
Dr. Laurence J. Peter in Peter's Quotations)


"Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than
when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right."
Laurens Van der Post


In 1880, the most popular baby names were John and Mary. Top names in 2007 were Jacob and Emily.
    From The World Almanac 2009, via www.refdesk.com.


"History is the record of an encounter between character and circumstance."
    Donald Creighton