Ain't it the Truth!

I got my start in the Winters family history from Priscilla Winters Wear, known throughout our family as the "scroll lady". Priscilla has spent many years researching the Winters tree and documented her information on a huge scroll that she would bring to the annual Winters Family Reunion. Priscilla uses sawed-off broomsticks inserted in each end of the scroll that she deftly shifts back and forth, locating a point in the tree that someone inquired about in a matter of seconds. It is surely a sight to see! Priscilla also published a pamphlet on the Winters family, and although the dates on the cover are incorrect, there is a treasure of valuable information inside.

Below is a sample of the kind of tidbits that Priscilla sends me. These never fail to bring a smile to my face.

I started out calmly, tracing my tree,

To find if I could find the makings of me.

And all that I had was Great-Grandfather's name,

Not knowing his wife or from where he came.

I chased him across a long line of states,

And came up with pages and pages of dates.

When all put together, it made me forlorn,

Proved poor Great-Grandpa had never been born.

One day I was sure the truth I had found,

Determined to turn this whole thing upside down.

I looked up the record of one Uncle John,

But then I found the old man to be younger than his son.

Then when my hopes were fast growing dim,

I came across records that must have been him.

The facts I collected made me quite sad,

Dear old Great-Grandfather was never a Dad!

I think someone is pulling my leg.

I am not at all sure I wasn't hatched from an egg.

After hundreds of dollars I've spent on my tree,

I can't help but wonder if I'm really me...