Funny Genealogy Quotes: End-of-the-Year Fun for Genealogists

Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this blog post, Mary helps end your year on a humorous note with these funny genealogy quotes.

When asked to suggest 2015 New Year’s resolutions for genealogists, I thought about reminding everyone to back up computers, check out new apps, index records, interview family members, read more historical newspapers, and share as many new finds as possible.

But then, most of you already know to do this, don’t you!

So, I thought – what does everyone really want to read to end their 2014?

Since this was the year of shared genealogy humor & quotes, I realized we all want to have more fun with our research – because after all, if genealogy wasn’t so much fun, we wouldn’t be so wrapped up in the chase!

genealogy saying: "You know you’re a genealogist if you refuse to live in a house with brick walls!"

So here we go. Here are some more fun “You know you’re a genealogist” quotes to end this wonderful year!

You know you’re a genealogist if…

  • you refuse to live in a house with brick walls!
  • 99.99% of your friends are family historians!
  • instead of downsizing, you’re planning on upsizing to store the genealogy stuff!
  • the first item in your will has to do with how your genealogy will be preserved!
  • the song “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” makes you dream about the White family roots!
  • you dream about ancestors!
  • you find really old newspaper news, really good news!
  • you have a special photo album just for historical markers & tombstones!
  • you keep a source book, or A to Zax, near your computer!

genealogy saying: "You know you’re a genealogist if, when you find a new birth record, you get so excited you think about throwing a baby shower!"

  • when you find a new birth record, you get so excited you think about throwing a baby shower!
  • you attend more holiday parties with gen-aholics than family!
  • you can name all of your forebears to the fifth generation!
  • you carry a magnifying glass, not for reading menus, but for genealogy!
  • you celebrate dead people’s birthdays!
  • you consider your “rejected” lineage society applications battle wounds!
  • you made it through the 52-week challenge, and are already working on next year’s!
  • you own clothing embroidered with surnames!
  • you put on a lucky hat to give yourself an edge at busting down brick walls!

genealogy saying: "You know you’re a genealogist if, when you overhear someone at a party talking about something being done “for bears,” you assume they’re talking about “forebears”!"

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  • when you overhear someone at a party talking about something being done “for bears,” you assume they’re talking about “forebears”!
  • you can’t fall asleep until you’ve found one more genealogy fact!
  • you know not to confuse epitaph with epithet, or interment with internment!
  • you know the expression “redoing your roots” has nothing to do with hair dye!
  • you know what autosomal, mitochondrial and haplogroup mean!
  • you read fairy tales to grandchildren, but change the names to ancestors! “Once upon a time, there were three bears, Jane Eliza McGillicutty Bear, her husband William Henry Mergatroyd Bear and their cute little baby, William Henry Mergatroyd Bear, the Second.”
  • you routinely take sneak peeks of genealogy while the family is watching sports!
  • you spend more on death certificates than on clothing!
  • you zoom in on old photos just to examine framed portraits spotted in the background!

genealogy saying: "You know you’re a genealogist if you never trash old records, knowing they can always be recycled and used for some other family history research!"

  • you never trash old records, knowing they can always be recycled and used for some other family history research!
  • your recycling bin never has much paper in it!
  • you’d rather have a genealogy library than a swimming pool!
  • you’re clueless about how to speak a foreign language, but have no problem translating a foreign language will!
  • you’re not offended to be called a tombstone tourist!
  • you’ve already purchased your headstone, so your family doesn’t get it wrong!
  • you’ve come down with a case of taphophilia, and aren’t worried about being contagious!
  • you’ve considered forming your own lineage society!
  • you’ve considered putting a family tree chart on your tombstone!

genealogy saying: "You know you’re a genealogist if you’ve considered storing your precious genealogy in the family safe!"

  • you’ve considered storing your precious genealogy in the family safe!
  • you’ve created a photo montage of yourself with an ancestor!
  • you’ve deleted a movie on your DVR to make space for a genealogy show!
  • your daily goals include solving someone else’s brick wall!
  • your house’s family room is a family “genealogy” room!
  • your research breaks only happen on days that don’t end in y!
  • your travel app alerts you to fare drops to cities with genealogy libraries!
  • your travel tote includes a portable scanner!
  • your will directs that a family tree chart be imprinted on your grave!

genealogy saying: "You know you’re a genealogist if you’ve driven 100 miles to track down a vital record!"

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  • you’ve driven 100 miles to track down a vital record!
  • you’ve gifted a teddy bear to a child named after one of their forebears!
  • you’ve gotten a speeding ticket because you were thinking about genealogy!
  • you’ve made your family plant a “family” tree!
  • you’ve memorized an epitaph!
  • you’ve sneaked a peak at GenealogyBank while pretending to watch sports!
  • you’ve stayed up late researching someone else’s family!
  • you’ve identified at least a dozen spelling variations for your surname!
  • your calendar records “this day in history” ancestral birthdays!

And I’d like to leave you with one more genealogy quote, sent in from my friend Linda Hodginson:

genealogy sayings: "You know you’re a genealogist if you know people who would want a book on tombstone rubbings!"

No wonder we are friends. I even own a book on tombstone sayings!

Happy New Year to all our readers!

If you have any fun “you know you’re a genealogist if…” sayings, please send them along for a future blog article!

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One thought on “Funny Genealogy Quotes: End-of-the-Year Fun for Genealogists

  1. You know you’re a genealogist when, every time a cemetery shows up in a movie or TV show, you’re too busy checking out the tombstones to watch anyone, not even the zombies! I did that with “Skyfall”, when James Bond had to walk through his family’s cemetery to the church!

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