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St Andrew - Scotland's Patron Saint

Richard III

As we approach the burial date of the last Plantagenet King of England, aside from the arm-wrestingling going on between Leicester (where his body has lain for centuries) vs. York, where he had the closest associations in life, we are now hearing plans for his elaborate reburial rites.

For more information, visit the following links:

Richard III Society

BBC: Burial fit for a medieval king



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#magnacarta800th

The Queen to be the Patron of the Magna Carta Trust for 800th Anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta.

The Magna Carta Trust is delighted to confirm that Her Majesty has kindly agreed to become its Patron, for the commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede on 15th June 2015.

http://magnacarta800th.com/news/the-queen-is-patron/

Scotland -- aye, nay and now what?

The movement for Scottish independence (aye) and against it (nay) and now the question of future coronations:

"Future monarchs should be crowned in Scotland as well as at Westminster Abbey if Scotland becomes independent, a Church of Scotland report suggests.

The proposal is one of a series of recommendations which was put forward in a paper to be discussed by the Kirk's General Assembly in May.

It says the ceremony would "symbolise their role as Queen or King of Scots".

The paper has also recommended that any written Scottish constitution should enshrine the Kirk as a national church.

The report was drafted by three of the church's bodies; the Church and Society Council, the Committee on Ecumenical Relations and the Legal Questions Committee...."

To see the rest of the article, visit:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-22280078

Genographic Project Update

"...Family tree

Continue reading the main story

Analysis of DNA from ancient remains in Central and Northern Europe appears to show that the genetic legacy of the hunter-gatherers was all but erased by later migrations, including pioneer Neolithic farmers but possibly by later waves of people too.

The latest paper reveals that events some time after the initial migration of farmers into Europe did indeed have a major impact on the modern gene pool.

In the study, an international team of researchers focused on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), the information in the cell's "batteries". This type of DNA is passed down, almost unchanged, from a mother to her children.

By studying the mutations, or changes, in mtDNA sequences, researchers are able to probe the maternal histories of different human populations. It has enabled them to build a "family tree" of maternal ancestry, and group different mtDNA lineages together based on shared mutations."

To read the story, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22252099

The double helix discovery, then and now

Thanks to the BBC for this interesting look at the field of Genetics in the News:

A letter written by scientist Francis Crick describing his discovery of the double helix shape of DNA has been sold for $5.3m (£3.45m).

...Crick, along with James Watson and Maurice Wilkins, was given the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for "discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material"...

...The medal will be sold later at Heritage Auctions in New York together with the cheque and diploma Crick received as part of the prize and one of his lab coats, which has "various stains on it".

His family will donate 20% of the profit to researchers at the Francis Crick Institute in London.

The scientist's granddaughter, Kindra Crick, said the medal had been locked away for most of the time since it was awarded.

She said: "This marks the 60th anniversary of the historic discovery of the structure of DNA and 50 years have passed since Francis Crick was awarded the Nobel Prize.

"Our hope is that, by having it available for display, it can be an inspiration to the next generation of scientists."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22090344

The Declaration of Arbroath, for Tartan Day

THE DECLARATION OF ARBROATH

(a letter to His Holiness Pope John XXII from the community of Scotland) Dated: 6th April 1320

To the most Holy Father and Lord in Christ, the Lord John, by divine providence Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman and Universal Church, his humble and devout sons Duncan, Earl of Fife, Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, Lord of Man and of Annandale, Patrick Dunbar, Earl of March, Malise, Earl of Strathearn, Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, William, Earl of Ross, Magnus, Earl of Caithness and Orkney, and William, Earl of Sutherland; Walter, Steward of Scotland, William Soules, Butler of Scotland, James, Lord of Douglas, Roger Mowbray, David, Lord of Brechin, David Graham, Ingram Umfraville, John Menteith, guardian of the earldom of Menteith, Alexander Fraser, Gilbert Hay, Constable of Scotland, Robert Keith, Marischal of Scotland, Henry St Clair, John Graham, David Lindsay, William Oliphant, Patrick Graham, John Fenton, William Abernethy, David Wemyss, William Mushet, Fergus of Ardrossan, Eustace Maxwell, William Ramsay, William Mowat, Alan Murray, Donald Campbell, John Cameron, Reginald Cheyne, Alexander Seton, Andrew Leslie, and Alexander Straiton, and the other barons and freeholders and the whole community of the realm of Scotland send all manner of filial reverence, with devout kisses of his blessed feet.

Most Holy Father and Lord, we know and from the chronicles and books of the ancients we find that among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown. They journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous. Thence they came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to their home in the west where they still live today. The Britons they first drove out, the Picts they utterly destroyed, and, even though very often assailed by the Norwegians, the Danes and the English, they took possession of that home with many victories and untold efforts; and, as the historians of old time bear witness, they have held it free of all bondage ever since. In their kingdom there have reigned one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, the line unbroken a single foreigner. The high qualities and deserts of these people, were they not otherwise manifest, gain glory enough from this: that the King of kings and Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ, after His Passion and Resurrection, called them, even though settled in the uttermost parts of the earth, almost the first to His most holy faith. Nor would He have them confirmed in that faith by merely anyone but by the first of His Apostles — by calling, though second or third in rank — the most gentle Saint Andrew, the Blessed Peter's brother, and desired him to keep them under his protection as their patron forever.

The Most Holy Fathers your predecessors gave careful heed to these things and bestowed many favours and numerous privileges on this same kingdom and people, as being the special charge of the Blessed Peter's brother. Thus our nation under their protection did indeed live in freedom and peace up to the time when that mighty prince the King of the English, Edward, the father of the one who reigns today, when our kingdom had no head and our people harboured no malice or treachery and were then unused to wars or invasions, came in the guise of a friend and ally to harass them as an enemy. The deeds of cruelty, massacre, violence, pillage, arson, imprisoning prelates, burning down monasteries, robbing and killing monks and nuns, and yet other outrages without number which he committed against our people, sparing neither age nor sex, religion nor rank, no one could describe nor fully imagine unless he had seen them with his own eyes.

But from these countless evils we have been set free, by the help of Him Who though He afflicts yet heals and restores, by our most tireless Prince, King and Lord, the Lord Robert. He, that his people and his heritage might be delivered out of the hands of our enemies, met toil and fatigue, hunger and peril, like another Macabaeus or Joshua and bore them cheerfully. Him, too, divine providence, his right of succession according to or laws and customs which we shall maintain to the death, and the due consent and assent of us all have made our Prince and King. To him, as to the man by whom salvation has been wrought unto our people, we are bound both by law and by his merits that our freedom may be still maintained, and by him, come what may, we mean to stand. Yet if he should give up what he has begun, and agree to make us or our kingdom subject to the King of England or the English, we should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy and a subverter of his own rights and ours, and make some other man who was well able to defend us our King; for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom — for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.

Therefore it is, Reverend Father and Lord, that we beseech your Holiness with our most earnest prayers and suppliant hearts, inasmuch as you will in your sincerity and goodness consider all this, that, since with Him Whose vice-gerent on earth you are there is neither weighing nor distinction of Jew and Greek, Scotsman or Englishman, you will look with the eyes of a father on the troubles and privation brought by the English upon us and upon the Church of God. May it please you to admonish and exhort the King of the English, who ought to be satisfied with what belongs to him since England used once to be enough for seven kings or more, to leave us Scots in peace, who live in this poor little Scotland, beyond which there is no dwelling-place at all, and covet nothing but our own. We are sincerely willing to do anything for him, having regard to our condition, that we can, to win peace for ourselves. This truly concerns you, Holy Father, since you see the savagery of the heathen raging against the Christians, as the sins of Christians have indeed deserved, and the frontiers of Christendom being pressed inward every day; and how much it will tarnish your Holiness's memory if (which God forbid) the Church suffers eclipse or scandal in any branch of it during your time, you must perceive. Then rouse the Christian princes who for false reasons pretend that they cannot go to help of the Holy Land because of wars they have on hand with their neighbours. The real reason that prevents them is that in making war on their smaller neighbours they find quicker profit and weaker resistance. But how cheerfully our Lord the King and we too would go there if the King of the English would leave us in peace, He from Whom nothing is hidden well knows; and we profess and declare it to you as the Vicar of Christ and to all Christendom. But if your Holiness puts too much faith in the tales the English tell and will not give sincere belief to all this, nor refrain from favouring them to our prejudice, then the slaughter of bodies, the perdition of souls, and all the other misfortunes that will follow, inflicted by them on us and by us on them, will, we believe, be surely laid by the Most High to your charge.

To conclude, we are and shall ever be, as far as duty calls us, ready to do your will in all things, as obedient sons to you as His Vicar; and to Him as the Supreme King and Judge we commit the maintenance of our cause, casting our cares upon Him and firmly trusting that He will inspire us with courage and bring our enemies to nought. May the Most High preserve you to his Holy Church in holiness and health and grant you length of days.

Given at the monastery of Arbroath in Scotland on the sixth day of the month of April in the year of grace thirteen hundred and twenty and the fifteenth year of the reign of our King aforesaid.

Richard III to be buried with honors

"...next year Richard will, at last, get a king's burial, interred with pomp and ceremony in Leicester Cathedral"

We are speaking of Richard Plantagenet, King of England, who died at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. I am fascinated by the DNA research conducted here, and point out that I, too, am a relation, as are many people living today if they but knew it.
While the Tudors did all they could to pretend that the Plantagenets were all killed, including a plaque at the Tower of London, the fact is that relations survived in other countries, with living descendants today.
As a child, I read Shakespeare's Richard III, and later discovered a book called the Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, and was intrigued. 
Perhaps this finding of King Richard's body will put to rest many questions about his life and death.

For more information:
The Richard III Society

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Revisiting the Neanderthal genetic news

While I realize that not all of us have been following this story, it has tremendous significance for a variety of reasons.

First, the fact is that there are living descendants of Neanderthals, demonstrating that the population is both not extinct and that there was apparently a breeding between humans and hominids.

Second, genome sequencing is taking us by leaps and bounds into uncharted scientific territory, where only speculation and philosophy had taken us before.

Third, considering where this might take us, in terms of the ever-increasing knowledge base in the filed of genetic research and mapping, we may soon have an answer to the question: is there a missing link, or were we created as we exist today?

"When scientists finally finished sequencing the Neanderthal genome in 2010, they revealed that 1 percent and 4 percent of some modern humans' DNA came from the stocky hominids. This suggested that humans had sex with Neanderthals, picking up some genes, and possibly even an immunity boost, from Neanderthals before the population disappeared about 30,000 years ago. But not all scientists are convinced that the genetic evidence alone proves ancient interbreeding and a study last year found that even if humans and Neanderthals did have sex, those encounters would have been rarely successful in producing offspring."

See the article on LiveScience at:
http://www.livescience.com/25361-monkeys-show-why-it-s-hard-to-prove-ancient-human-interbreeding.html

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Gifts for the Holidays

Well folks, it's that time again...in between Thanksgiving and Christmas...and so I'm providing a few links for those of us who can never get enough reading material:

Walter Stahr's new book on William H. Seward, available here:
http://www.sewardhomestead.org/events.html

Amazon's Gold Box deals:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/goldbox

My favorite link for out-of-copyright print materials:
http://archive.org/index.php

The link for libraries, when you know the book you want, but not where to find it:
http://www.worldcat.org/

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

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Diamond Jubilee

Royal Watchers: here is the link for the Diamond Jubilee for her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth:
http://www.thediamondjubilee.org/, who has carried out her duties with grace and dignity for many years. A true lady.

Tombstone preservation assistance

I recently received a request for information on the preservation of tombstones. 

And, while I have not used the organizations listed below, am providing this information as a public service. 

Over the years, much damage has been done by avid photographers, using shaving cream or other substances. 

Chemicals can cause a great deal of damage. 

With the advances in digital photography, we can enhance an image, and do not need to apply anything to the stone which could irreparably damage it.

On a cloudy day, bring a flashlight. 

I have long been a proponent of good old fashioned chalk, which is at least a natural substance.

In addition to documenting a gravestone using photography, many of us are faced with repairing stones after improper repairs have caused further damage -- concrete, caulk, sealers.

Sometimes the challenge to legibility indicates a need for wording to be re-incised.

None of these are tasks for amateurs.

So, for professional guidance, please consider the links below:

The Association for Gravestone Studies     http://www.gravestonestudies.org/

The American Institute for Conservation of Artistic & Historic Works     http://www.conservation-us.org/

Monument Conservation Collaborative     http://mcc-monument-conservation.com/

Custom Building & Restoration Trades Directory     http://www.restorationtradesdirectory.com/stone_restoration_conservation

Gravestone Preservation Info     http://www.gravestonepreservation.info/

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Great resource for American Military Records

This year presents two major anniversaries for Americans, 50 years apart: 200 years ago, we were engaged in the War of 1812, which some people regard as the American Revolution, Part 2. 150 years ago, we were fighting the American Civil War.
To put this in perspective, if your family came here to the land of opportunity before the Revolution started, then fought and survived it, their children and/or their grandchildren fought and survived the War of 1812, and their children and/or their granchildren fought in the War between the States, and their children and/or grandchildren fought in at least one of the two World Wars.


We are survivors, which is why Americans are a tough breed.
To see my favorite resource for these events, go to http://www.fold3.com/


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Orange County NY Probate Records go online

Thanks to an Agreement between the Orange County Surrogate's Office and the Genealogy Society of Utah, the early Probate Records are being digitized and made available to the public. This is an ongoing project. 

To view these records, go to http://www.orangecountygov.com/history and look for the Genealogy Section.

For more information about the Orange County Surrogate Court and its records, go to http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/9jd/orange/surrogates.shtml

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Commonwealth Approves Changes to Royal Succession

I applaud this decision of the British Commonwealth, recognizing both the abilities of women to lead, and the inappropriateness of its former anti-Catholic position which dated back to the fall of the House of Stewart hundreds of years ago. Thank you, Mr. Cameron.

"PERTH, Australia—In a historic move that ushers in a new era for Britain's monarchy, rules governing succession to the throne will be changed to allow first-born females to succeed ahead of their male siblings and allow future rulers to marry a Catholic.

British Prime Minister David Cameron secured the agreement with the 16 nations that share Queen Elizabeth as their head of state during a meeting here of Commonwealth nations, a loose association of 54 countries that owes its origins largely to the British Empire.

Mr. Cameron said the changes will overturn hundreds of years of tradition but were needed to ensure the monarchy better reflects modern society.

'Attitudes have changed fundamentally over the centuries," the prime minister told reporters. "The idea that the younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter, simply because he is a man, or that a future monarch can marry someone of any faith except a Catholic, this way of thinking is at odds with the modern countries we have all become.'

In effect, Mr. Cameron said if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were to have a first-born female, that child would be in line for the throne."

Full article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203554104577002922751910902.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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DNA studies of aboriginal hair point to 2 waves of migration

"In comparison with DNA from other humans, the DNA in the Aboriginal genome revealed the paths taken by the Aborigines' ancestors when they first migrated out of Africa as the first group to split away from the main group before Europeans and East Asians split from each other, according to the findings.

The rate of mutation in DNA indicates that the Aborigines moved out of Africa possibly 62,000 to 75,000 years ago toward Australia, and that the ancestors of Europeans and East Asians split from each other around 25,000 to 38,000 years ago.

'Aboriginal Australians descend from the first human explorers,' said Willerslev, whose work was published in the journal Science Express on Thursday."

To view this article, go to http://newyork.ibtimes.com/articles/218889/20110923/aborigini-hair-australia-migration-africa-dna.htm

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Thomas Jefferson, the man

Anyone who attended the University of Virginia was taught to revere President Jefferson. 
So, when questions arose about the parentage of Sallie Hemings' children, a heated debate ensued. 
A DNA test, pointing to a Jeffersonian genetic connection, proved to the satisfaction of some but not all, that the President was the father. 
As I pointed out in an earlier posting to this blog, "Did he or didn't he... Thomas Jefferson and DNA", 10 May 2010, DNA testing points to the family, not to the man.
This debate will apparently continue for some time. 
What does it mean to be descended from a President? Does it inspire someone to become President himself? Does it create the motivation to be a leader? What difference does it make in someone's life to know that he or she is descended from a particular someone? Genealogy, the study of our ancestors, is more than a passion. It has become a national obsession. And, in the end, we are all one family...


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Japanese-American Intern Camp opens as Museum

"During World World II, as the United States battled Japan and the other Axis powers, 14,000 Japanese-Americans were incarcerated at a remote camp. Ex-internees, their descendants and local residents worked together to develop a place that would tell the stories of the forced relocation and teach its visitors lessons for the future. "

Click here to read the article on Voice of America


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Are we extra-terrestrials?

This morning, as I perused the news, I came across another article about Human DNA, and was surprised that I was not surprised, as it were, by this assertion.

The article on the Christian Science Monitor can be found via this link:
Are we all extraterrestrials?

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