Every family has its share of characters and some are more colorful than others. It used to be that these were something of an embarrassment to be hushed up, but notorious ancestors are becoming more acceptable - or even desirable. Many Australians are proud of their convict past, and more and more of us are sharing tales of our dastardly kin with the world, rather than covering them up. The following sites are for those of you who find these ne'er do well ancestors amusing, and because so many of them seem to involve a degree of criminality, we've included a cluster of links to sites dedicated specifically to prisons and prisoners:

• International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists -- A site and mailing list for those who have an "infamous individual of public knowledge and ill-repute in their family."
  http://blacksheep.rootsweb.com/



• Notable Woman Ancestors' notorious women:
  http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/notorious.html



• Ann Sharp's principles about skeletons in the closet:
  http://www.msstate.edu/listarchives/
     afrigeneas/199704/msg00692.html



• Transported Felons Hang on Family Trees by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.:
  http://www.ancestry.com/columns/
    myra/Shaking_Family_Tree12-18-97.htm