DearMYRTLE: Definition of OBSCURE

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Definition of OBSCURE

DearREADERS,
Yesterday's "word of the day" at MyYahoo.com was provided by Petersons.com:

OBSCURE

DEFINITION: (adjective) little known; hard to understand

EXAMPLE: Mendel was an obscure monk until decades after his death, when his scientific work was finally discovered. Most people find the writings of James Joyce obscure; hence the popularity of books that explain his books.

SYNONYMS: hazy, mysterious, unclear

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We need to let the folks at Petersons.com know about the additional definitions, which are familiar to all family historians.

OBSCURE as in "obscure ancestor"

little known ancestor
hard to find ancestor
one who stowed away on a trans-Atlantic ship, hence no customs passenger lists
one who left town, with no forwarding address
one who chose not to leave a will naming heirs
one who didn't own property to be inherited by family members
one who didn't serve in the military, hence no thick pension file
one who successfully eluded the census enumerator and the tax collector
one who didn't vote
one who didn't leave a diary
one who left a stack of letters with totally illegible handwriting
one whose only surviving photo isn't labeled
one whose 6th generation family bible was carried away in a flood
one whose living descendants aren't using RootsWeb message boards and mailing lists to share info

MOST COMMON DEFINITIONS include:

one darned frustrating ancestor that we've each got at least one of on our family tree.

Got any more definitions to add to the list?

Happy family tree climbing!
Myrt :)
DearMYRTLE,
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