The Lost Ancestor


    I went searching for an ancestor. I cannot find him still. 
                    He moved around from place to place and did not leave a will.               

He married where a courthouse burned. He mended all his fences. 
He avoided any man who came to take the U.S. census. 

He always kept his luggage packed, this man who had no fame. 
And every twenty years or so, this rascal changed his name. 

His parents came from Europe. They could be upon some list 
of passengers to the U.S.A., but somehow they got missed. 

And no one else in the world is searching for this man 
So I play "geneasolitaire" to find him if I can. 

I'm told he's buried in a plot, with tombstone he was blessed 
but the weather took engraving and some vandals took the rest.
 
He died before the county clerks decided to keep records, 
No family Bible has emerged in spite of all my efforts. 

To top it off, this ancestor, who caused my many groans 
Just to give me one more pain, betrothed a girl names JONES. 
Author Unknown


Return to:
Take A Break
Perry County Illinois Index
Randolph County Index