A Genealogical Horror Collectible Story
Genealogy An innocent Pastime
A glimpse of personal history in context of the larger history of the world. And, as it turns out, more dangerous than it sounds. I had a very mentally unstable and very physically ill uncle up until Nov of 2008. He died in a VA hospital. I had not seen him in 23 years–his choice, not mine. He was a recluse. I did, however, spend the last month of his life with him, and I still Horror Collectible that time a gift.
Turns out that as his mental health progressively deteriorated, he became obsessed with genealogy. Going through his massive collection of papers and genealogy books I found several legal pads, each page literally filled with names and dates. I mean, every single page, every single line. His was not a common last name, but he eventually included ALL alternate spellings of his last name in his research.
He began contacting random people he thought were relatives. All different spelling, different states, what have you. And then it happened: someone shrewd enough realized here was a guy ripe to be manipulated. This person passed himself off as a “cousin” and worked my poor Unk for all he was worth. Literally. My uncle willed every single thing he owned, including a lot of real estate and a very expensive collectible automobile, to this “family” who passed themselves off as “cousins.”
It came as a huge shock to all of us in his real family. No, I don’t feel he owed us anything. But he was hoodwinked and cheated. He was too ill to make that decision. But, a lawyer made up a three page will for him, and that was that.
Please if you have people in your life going down the genealogy rabbit-hole, try to intervene! Once you get back about four generations you are related to around 1,000,000 people! You can get pretty screwy trying to actually make those connections, which my uncle did try to do. He guarded his life from those closest to him. We did not know all of this was happening to him. Then he let a total stranger take away all he’d protected and worked for in the end.
Will these people to be arrested and tried and convicted for the criminals that they are? They won’t be. To do that you have to have lots and lots and lots of money for lawyers and depositions and subpoenas. You know, they don’t just let ANYONE get a subpoena for something. What did these criminals require to rob my uncle? Nothing. A slick line and the recognition of a sucker.
I Know that a Wrong has been Done
I can prove it. And my hands are tied because of money. Now that these “genealogical thieves” have figured out the scam, they’ll do it again if they hadn’t or haven’t already. HEALTHY people of any age are easily confused and led on. What about the ones who aren’t healthy? They’re easy, easy prey.
An obsessive interest in genealogy is DANGEROUS. If someone you know is ordering tons of very specific historical registers, books and papers (especially from regions where that person does not live and never has); correspondence from lots of strangers; making elaborate lists of births, deaths, etc.; and drawing one family tree after another after another, HELP THAT PERSON. It’s dangerous in more ways than I’ve been able to think of yet.
My heart is broken that I couldn’t have done something sooner. I didn’t know all this was going on. My uncle allowed no one into his house for over 20 years. By the time we got in, the evidence was shocking. More shocking is that no one wants to help us show the truth in the light of day–except, of course, for a substantial fee.
Our justice system is more unusable and unreachable than I ever imagined. I thought they were there to help. If I committed a crime, I could get a public defender. If I want to bring charges, I’d better bring a sizable checkbook. What happened to my uncle is just a little bitty thing that happens every day. It doesn’t matter until you see what it does to YOU. I hope you never do.