In honor of Family History Month, I’d like to share a parody of the 23rd Psalm as recorded by the Minnkota Genealogical Society of Grand Forks, North Dakota:

23rd Psalm for Genealogists

Genealogy is my past time I shall not stray.

It maketh me to lie down and examine half-buried tombstones.

It leadeth me into still courthouses and restoreth my ancestral knowledge.

It leadeth me into the paths of census records and ships’ passenger lists for my names’ sake.

Yea, though I wade through the shadows of research libraries and microfilm readers,

I shall fear no discouragement,

For a strong urge is with me.

The curiosity and motivation; they comfort me.

It demandeth preparation of storage space for the acquisition of countless documents,

It annointeth my head with burning midnight oil,

My family group sheet runneth over.

Surely birth, marriage and death dates shall follow me all the days of my life,

And I shall dwell in the house of a family history seeker forever.