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Shaking Your Family Tree

March 11, 1999
At last there's a hereditary society for the rest of us. Those of us with the less-than-perfect ancestors, that is. Have you discovered someone in your family tree who has been ostracized from the family or society for acts that were not acceptable in polite society? Yank him (or her) out of the skeleton closet. He (or she) can make you eligible for the International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists (IBSSG). The IBSSG has just celebrated its first birthday and is prospering beyond its wildest dreams in cyberspace. Jeff Scism, the founder and flockmaster, says IBSSG actually started as a joke when a small group of genealogists voiced their frustration with the way family trees were usually scrubbed clean. Pick up almost any genealogy book and you generally find only good things said about the family members. "All 4,000 listed ancestors in a genealogy of my own family are named as 'fine upstanding members of their church and community.' This seems rather unlikely,'' Scism said. Most genealogists uncover at least one ancestor or relative who was less than perfect. You are eligible for membership in IBSSG if you have ancestors or relatives who have been in disgrace for acts of a significantly antisocial nature. Automatic qualifiers are murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, treason, theft of any item, documented membership in a famous gang, political assassin, on the FBI's Most Wanted List, political expatriate, extreme public embarrassment, involvement in witchcraft trials, bigamy (outside the Mormon faith, which condoned the practice at one time) persons expelled from normal society and documented convicted felons. There are no membership dues and if you have a story to tell (living individuals are not mentioned by name and aliases are used to protect privacy) about your family's black sheep it may be submitted for possible inclusion on IBSSG's web page, http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~blksheep/index.html. However, first subscribe to IBSSG's mailing list -- an e-mail list which includes those who have a dastardly, infamous individual of public knowledge and ill-repute in their family (within one degree of consanguinity of their direct lines). Associate membership (also free) is granted for those who simply wish to subscribe to the mailing list. The purpose of the list is to discuss black sheep ancestors in order to learn more about them and their families and to share such information with other IBSSG members. At the Black Sheep home page you'll find instructions on subscribing to the mailing list. Here, too, are some intriguing links that may lead you to the discovery of some colorful ancestors. They include: - Three fleets of 18th century convicts sent to Australia - Kings and queens of Europe - Alcatraz, 1933-1948 - Soiled doves of the Old West - Oklahoma lawmen and outlaws - James and Younger Gang - Wild women and salty dogs - Thomas Tew the pirate - Killing of witches - Salem Witchcraft Trials The IBSSG is a tongue-in-cheek site that is fun to browse. With the skeletons in my family closet, there is no question about my eligibility in IBSSG. The problem is, should I join by submitting the story about my perjurer, bigamist, witch or (convicted) moonshiner ancestors? Click Here  for Myra's Archive (c) 1999, Los Angeles Times Syndicate Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page Return to Columns Main Page
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