Now this is MY kind of a genealogy society. Membership is restricted to those who can trace a direct family line to a murderer, thief, gang member, or another among a host of reprobates.
The society's web site states:
The purpose of the Society is to discuss these individuals in order to learn more about them and share information about your "Black Sheep" with other members of the IBSSG! Many times having a Black Sheep in the family leads to a family "wall of silence" and research into the family becomes very difficult. Our Goal is to help find alternate routes to information sources, and to "normalize" the view of the blacksheep as a person, who has a place in the FACTUAL history of the family, without regard to behaviors.
A recent article in Canada's Globe and Mail reflects:
Popular websites such as Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org have also recently placed professional genealogical databases in the hands of the average Web surfer. And these hordes of new amateur genealogists are using them to seek out notorious relatives.
"It can be boring just looking at plain family tree with names and dates," says [Tyler Schulze, a communications specialist for the Canadian Department of Defence,] who was so enthused by his discovery that he launched Blacksheepancestors.com, a website with directions on how to track down a family felon. "The black sheep are a lot more interesting."
You can read the entire article if you click here.
Yes, there is hope for us who are not "bluebloods." There is a society for us!
Here's a hint: most everyone has one or more of these "qualifying ancestors" in the family tree. In fact, those with royalty and so-called "upper class" ancestors probably have more of these "qualifying ancestors" than the rest of us.
"I'm not embarrassed by it," Mr. Schulze says. "I mean, it's pretty crazy, but at least it makes for a good story to tell."
You can read more at http://blacksheep.rootsweb.com.
