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Friday, February 26, 2010

Victor Hugo (Feb 26, 1802 - May 22, 1885)

The French author, Victor Hugo, was born 208 years ago on February 26, 1802. He is not an ancestor, nor to my knowledge anywhere on my family tree. However, I have been a fan of his works since 1988 when I saw Les Miserables on Broadway. Gavroche.org is the first domain name I ever registered, back in 2000, where I created the research site, Victor Hugo Central.

Quotes from Victor Hugo pertaining to genealogy:

"Personally I do not attach any importance to genealogical questions. The man is what he is; his value is what he has done. Beyond this, all that is added to or taken from him is nothing. Hence my absolute contempt for genealogies." -- Letter to Albert Caise, 20 March 1867.

If I could choose my forebears, I would rather have a hard-working cobbler for an ancestor than a lazy king. -- ibid.

Cemeteries take what is given them. -- chapter title, Les Miserables.

"Within your ruined churches grows the grass,
And they are full of adders. Many great
by ancestry, but workers none."
-- Ruy Blas, Act III, Sc II

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