The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 2004 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available here.
For a bit of a genealogy mind bender, consider the lyrics to the song I Am My Own Grandpa, written by Dwight B. Latham and Moe Jaffe.
| 1. |
Many many years ago when I was twenty three, I got married to a widow who was pretty as could be. |
6. |
For if he was my uncle, Then that also made him brother To the widow's grown-up daughter Who, of course, was my step-mother. |
| 2. |
This widow had a grown-up daughter
Who had hair of red. My father fell in love with her, And soon the two were wed. |
7. |
Father's wife then had a son, Who kept them on the run. And he became my grandson, For he was my daughter's son. |
| 3. |
This made my dad my son-in-law And changed my very life. My daughter was my mother, For she was my father's wife. |
8. |
My wife is now my mother's mother And it makes me blue. Because, although she is my wife, She's my grandmother, too. |
| 4. |
To complicate the matters worse, Although it brought me joy, I soon became the father Of a bouncing baby boy. |
9. |
If my wife is my grandmother, Then I am her grandchild. And every time I think of it, It simply drives me wild. |
| 5. |
My little baby then became A brother-in-law to dad. And so became my uncle, Though it made me very sad. |
10. |
For now I have become The strangest case you ever saw. As the husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa! |
This song has been recorded by many artists, including Shel Silverstein, Lonzo & Oscar, Homer & Jethro, Ray Stevens, and Dave Grisman. It reportedly was inspired by an anecdote that Mark Twain related in a book, proving how a person could become his own grandfather.