Bless Those In-Laws! by Margaret G. Irwin

The following poem was printed in the September/October 2008 issue of Everton's Genealogical Helper.

Bless Those In-Laws!
By Margaret G. Irwin

Maiden names are fleeting,
They're almost never there,
For when the ladies marry,
Names vanish in thin air.

There is no way to search for her,
'Less her given name is strange.
Without a maiden name to use,
The quest will vainly range.

With luck, when she is newly-wed
With a babe upon her knee,
Her husband's in-law brother
Will join the family.

And magically you have the name
She was known by at her birth.
To the family historian,
It's a pearl of priceless worth.

Or, as she reaches middle age,
With prosperity to share,
Her ailing, aged parent
Will come to her for care.

And there you have been given
The very clues you lack
To trace her lineage in the past,
Through decades going back.

So, no more in-law humor!
No kinfolk boo-ed and hissed.
They are the greatest help of all
For the genealogist!