Beatitudes of a Family Genealogist

Blessed are the great-grandfathers, who saved
     embarkation and citizenship papers, for they tell
     WHEN they came.

Blessed are the great-grandmothers, who hoarded
     newspaper clippings and old letters, for they tell
     the STORY of their time.

Blessed are the grandfathers, who filled every legal
     document, for these provide the PROOF.

Blessed are the grandmothers, who preserved family
     Bibles and diaries, for these are our HERITAGE.

Blessed are fathers, who elect officials that answer letters 
     of inquiry, for--to some--the ONLY LINK to the past.

Blessed are mothers, who relate family TRADITIONS
     and LEGENDS to the family, for one of her
     children will surely remember.

Blessed are relatives, who fill in family sheets with extra
     data, for to them we owe our FAMILY HISTORY.

Blessed is any family, whose members strive for the
     PRESERVATION of RECORDS, for this is a
     labor of love.

Blessed are the children who will never say,
     "Grandma, you told that old story twice today."

-- Wilma Mauk