What Grandpa Didn't Tell You About the War

From Guardian Unlimited (of London, U.K.):

Top brass feared worst as GIs and good-time girls enjoyed blackout

Owen Bowcott
Tuesday November 1, 2005
The Guardian

Swarms of prostitutes and "good-time girls" pestered American soldiers in Mayfair to the extent that they posed a menace to Anglo-US relations, according to wartime police files released today.

Two conferences were organised at the Home Office to forestall the spread of moral outrage in the US and combat venereal diseases on the streets of London's West End. The Metropolitan police papers, withheld for more than 50 years but now in the National Archives in Kew, show a police force under pressure from senior US officers to clamp down on the trade.

[snip]

A letter to the Home Office said a US-born lady complained the "neighbourhood swarms with women and girls, some in their early teens, who pester American soldiers, clinging to their arms, refusing to be shaken off, telling stories of poverty".

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Conquerors Get All the Girls

From The New York (N.Y.) Times:

Scientists Link a Prolific Gene Tree to the Manchu Conquerors of China

By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: November 1, 2005

Geneticists have identified a major lineage of Y chromosomes in populations of northern China that they believe may mark the bearers as descendants of one of the Manchu conquerors who founded the Qing dynasty and ruled China from 1644 to 1911.

Because the founder of the lineage lived some 500 years ago, according to calculations based on the rate of genetic change, he may have been Giocangga, who died in 1582, the grandfather of the Manchu leader Nurhaci. At least 1.6 million men now carry this Manchu Y chromosome, says Chris Tyler-Smith, the leader of a team of English and Chinese geneticists.

[snip]

The Mongol Y chromosome presumably spread so widely because of the large number of concubines amassed by Genghis [Khan] and his relatives. The Manchu rulers, though not in Genghis's league, also were able to spread their lineage so far, Dr. Tyler-Smith and his colleagues suggest, because of being able to keep many concubines.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Skeleton Shortage a National Crisis

From the Milwaukee (Wis.) Journal Sentinel:

Bones of contention
Woman works to have her skeleton donated to school

By SUSANNE RUST
srust@journalsentinel.com
Last Updated: Oct. 30, 2005

For 10 years, Pegi Taylor has been waging a bone-wearying battle. To her surprise and relief, she may have just won the first round.

[snip]

Taylor, 51, a Milwaukee-based freelance writer, performance artist and art model, campaigns on behalf of human skeletons. She thinks there aren't enough around, and she's trying to get them back into classrooms across the nation.

She's also been searching for a way to keep her own skeleton intact and on display after she dies. She has found this mission surprisingly difficult but may have finally prevailed.

[snip]

"It's not as though I'm advocating for the use of skeletons," said Taylor. "I am responding to a national crisis," in which schools don't want to buy skeletons because of their expense and uncertain origin.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

If you've ever wondered how medical-school skeletons are produced, be sure to read the whole article. With the lights on.

Get Closer to Your Ancestors, But Not Too Close

From The (Twin Falls, Idaho) Times-News of Oct. 31, 2005:

Haunted homesite?
Reporter delves firsthand into mystery

By Joshua Palmer
Times-News writer

KIMBERLY -- Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and sometimes that truth sends chills up your spine.

[snip]

I was skeptical of the stories I heard about the Stricker Homesite. Either I hadn't seen enough horror movies, or I just wasn't in tune with, well, whatever it is that ghosts do. So I decided to find out for myself if the stories were true by staying the night alone in the Stricker mansion, and this is where my story begins.

[snip]

It was about this time when I heard a loud scraping noise like somebody dragging something on the floor above me. It broke the silence and sent me into a thought crazed frenzy to come up with logical reasons for the sound. I wasn't searching for holy water and a crucifix -- although I did have a bottle of Dasani and a Maglight -- but I was searching for anything to explain something I didn't know, so I wondered if this was how ghost stories were created.

I heard that people feel closer to their ancestors when they do genealogy or visit ancestral sites, and I wondered if maybe we sometimes confused that feeling with, say, the sensation you get when total silence is broken by a loud scraping sound.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Top Ten Signs You're Descended from Vampires

10. Your immigrant ancestor was shipped over in a six-foot box.

9. Your kids call the boogeyman "Buffy."

8. Your great-great-great-great-great-grandfather sleeps in the root cellar.

7. Angry villagers are camped out on your front lawn.

6. The only cause of death in your family is "heart attack."

5. Your sunblock is SPF 500.

4. Anne Rice keeps calling for an interview.

3. Your last name is "L'Impaleur."

2. Larry Van Helsing from work is asking way too many questions.

1. You can't watch the prom scene in Carrie without getting thirsty.

Pardon Denied

From The (San Diego State Univ.) Daily Aztec:

History lies six feet under

San Diego cemeteries offer more than cheap thrills; they give us a glimpse into the county's diverse background and culture

By Heather Quinn, Assistant City Editor
Published: Monday, October 31, 2005

For a good Halloween scare, there isn't any place as universally creepy as an old graveyard.

[snip]

But apart from their more morbid aspects, cemeteries have another story to tell. They are the repositories of the rich history of San Diego, the only places where the dead can still speak to the living - not as ghosts, but as legacies carved in tombstones.

[snip]

As Antonio Garra was led to the open grave he would momentarily occupy, he was ordered to beg pardon for the crime he was sentenced to execution for.

"Gentlemen, I ask your pardon for all my offenses, and expect yours in return."

Upon saying these last words, Garra was shot and killed by the waiting firing squad, according to www.sandiegohistory.org, the San Diego Historical Society's Web site.

[Read the whole story]

Letters Back From the Front

None of my direct ancestors have seen combat since Cornwallis sent up his white flag in 1781. My late grandfather served in the National Guard, but had the good sense to finish his stint a few months before Pearl Harbor. The letters he exchanged with his new bride testify both to his service and to a disturbing case of adolescent mushiness. Given the news that Megan Smolenyak² passed along today, I'm glad my mother grabbed them before the Smithsonian could put them on display.

Megan reports that an exhibit is set to open at the National Postal Museum on Veteran's Day. According to a release from the museum, "War Letters: Lost and Found" will feature "original letters from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam that were lost or abandoned and then rediscovered by strangers." The exhibit was created in collaboration with Andrew Carroll, founder of the The Legacy Project.

“What makes these letters so incredible, along with the history they record, are the stories behind them,” said Carroll. “These letters were found at yard sales, in trash bins, under floorboards in homes being renovated by new owners, and even on the fields of battle. And they all would have been lost forever if some conscientious soul hadn’t ‘rescued’ them.”

Visit The Legacy Project for links to other sites featuring war letters.

Township Pursues the Undead

From the Grand Rapids (Minn.) Herald-Review:

Township searches for plot purchasers

Willow Loney
Herald-Review
Last Updated: Friday, October 28th, 2005

If you don’t claim yours today, you may find your final resting place already occupied.

Grand Rapids Township is currently looking for people who purchased a grave site in the Itasca Calvary Cemetery 50 years ago and have not yet made use of the plot since then.

[snip]

The Grand Rapids Township Board several years ago decided that it needed to clean up its records in regards to the cemetery. The board engaged three genealogists (Jan Linser, Elaine Wilson and Linda Snell) along with former Township Clerk Virginia Peavey to research burials and ownership of plots in the cemetery. After several months of investigative work, the genealogists have not been able to come into contact with 153 names of those who purchased a plot in the Itasca Calvary Cemetery and have not used their site in the last 50 years.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Only Genealogists May Enter Here

From The Honolulu (Hawaii) Star-Bulletin of Oct. 30, 2005:

Mausoleum fears theft of treasures

The caretaker says a Hawaiian group has reneged on a loan

By Sally Apgar
sapgar@starbulletin.com

Two sacred staffs topped with golden orbs that for more than 113 years watched over the crypt of the royal line of Kamehameha are missing and believed stolen, according to the caretaker of the Royal Mausoleum known as Mauna 'Ala.

In interviews last week, William Kaihe'ekai Mai'oho, the "kahu," or caretaker, of the Royal Mausoleum in Nuuanu Valley, said he stood on sacred ground of the high chiefs, or, "ali'i," and looked straight into the eyes of another Hawaiian who asked to borrow the pair of "pulo'ulo'u." Mai'oho said he "made a good-faith loan."

[snip]

The pulo'ulo'u are believed to hold strong mana. In front of a chief's house, they were sometimes crossed, which forbade entrance to others unless the person chanted their genealogy and business and was permitted entrance. If the pulo'ulo'u were upright, a person could pass through.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Are First-Born Scorpio Cowgirls Immortal?

Leonid A. Gavrilov and Natalia S. Gavrilova of the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center have been studying the longevity of American centenarians. To identify the 100-year-olds, they've been using the Internet.

[W]e extracted detailed family data for 991 alleged centenarians born in 1875-1899 in the United States from publicly available computerized genealogies of 75 million individuals identified in our previous study. . . . In order to validate the age of the centenarians, we linked these records to the Social Security Administration Death Master File records (for death date validation) and then to the records of the U.S. censuses for years 1900, 1910 and 1920 (for birth date validation). [Link (pdf)]

The researchers found that three unexpected factors may contribute to an extra-long life:

• Women and men who were the first born in large families were two to three times more likely to make it to 100 than later-born children.
• Those raised in the rural West had a better chance of reaching that age.
• People who were born in October and November had longer life expectancy than those born in April through June. [Link]

If you satisfy none of these criteria, you may want to start making final arrangements now.

When Dracula Met Frankenstein

From The (Glasgow, Scotland) Sunday Herald of Oct. 30, 2005:

The true story of Frankenstein and Dracula’s bloody fight to the death

By Jenifer Johnston

Their fictional alter-egos have terrified and entertained for more than 100 years, but new evidence unearthed by a leading historian suggests that the real-life Dracula and Frankenstein crossed paths centuries ago and fought a bloody battle to the death.

In a collapsed, moss-covered crypt in St Mary’s Evangelical church in the Romanian town of Sibiu lie the earthly remains of Frank Baron von Frankenstein where he was buried following his execution by Vlad Dracula the Impaler in the early 15th century.

The discovery, by celebrated historian and Sunday Herald correspondent Gabriel Ronay, establishes an extraordinary historical connection between the real-life inspirations for two of the literary world’s most loved creations.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Didn't Shania Twain Write 'Huck Finn'?

From The (Provo, Utah) Daily Herald of Oct. 28, 2005:

Tolstoy namesake speaks at UVSC

Anna Chang-Yen DAILY HERALD

Textbooks, novels, historical works, the first diary recorded in Russia -- they all are the work of Nikolai Tolstoy's ancestors. But perhaps the distinction that draws the most attention is the fact that his grandfather's cousin was Leo Tolstoy, author of "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina."

Nikolai Tolstoy, who also is the step-son of novelist Patrick O'Brian, told attendees at a reception in his honor at Utah Valley State College on Thursday that his family enjoys a legacy of literature and creativity. Sometimes, he said, the connection leads to confusion. At the premiere of the Russian film "War and Peace," Tolstoy was seated at a table with dignitaries including a young Russian actress. The actress ignored him for most of the night, he said, but after he was introduced, she asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were the screenwriter?"

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Genealogy v. Church of England

From The (London, U.K.) Times of Oct. 29, 2005:

Brothers stand to make millions from 1841 ruling on Church land

By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent

THE Church of England is facing a bill which could run into millions of pounds after it lost a legal battle over selling redundant church schools and keeping the proceeds.

The historic judgment in the House of Lords came after two brothers who specialise in genealogical research challenged the Canterbury Diocese over its sale of a primary school near Maidstone. Simon and Nathan Fraser acted on a legal technicality dating from an obscure 19th-century law.

Under the 1841 School Sites Act, landowners were encouraged to grant land to the Church for education, with the proviso that, if the usage changed, possession would revert to their descendants.

[snip]

The Fraser brothers tracked down the 18 living descendants and bought up the interests in the case from a number of them.

[snip]

Now their investment has been rewarded, as the diocese has been told it acted illegally and must recover and redistribute the cash to the descendants of Jane Mercer and Lewis Wigan.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Hallo-weenealogy

Halloween is a time to think of family—especially those family members classified (rightly or wrongly) as wicked, bloodthirsty, or inhuman.

Witch descendants are a dime a dozen here in New England. Two of my own ancestors—Mary Easty and Sarah Wilds—were tried and executed in Salem. See The Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive for transcribed and digitized documents from the trials. Witch Trial Ancestors & Families features genealogical data on the Salem witches, and on victims of other witchhunts.

Playwright David Drake claims descent from Dracula himself. See also Vlad the Impaler: A Brief History (which claims that the Dracula male lines were snuffed out long ago). The Bassaraba family is proud to call Vlad a cousin.

Those bearing the surname "Frankenstein" (according to Gene Wilder, "it's pronounced 'Fronkensteen'") carry a lot of extra baggage, thanks to Mary Shelley. Boothillcemetery.com has a Frankenstein family tree that includes several individuals who met untimely ends at the hands of the Creature. Family members commiserate at the Frankstein GenForum.

Finally, I must mention the unfortunate juxtaposition of surnames at the Fredericks/Krueger Family Web Site. Anyone who has seen A Nightmare on Elm Street will understand.

England's Second-Oldest Profession

From UTV (of Belfast, Northern Ireland), posted Oct. 28, 2005:

Dirty dens in Albert Square

EastEnders' Albert Square was once the home of brothel keepers, according to TV historian Tony Robinson.

His researches showed there was a real Albert Square up until around the Second World War.

And in a census taken in Victorian times nearly every head of household there put down his employment as a brothel keeper.

"Nothing much changes ..." quipped Robinson when he hosted the launch of the complete 1851 census for England and Wales online.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Postcard Delivered 93 Years Late

From (Prince William Co., Va.) PotomacNews.com:

Woman finds relatives of 93-year-old postcard

By Daniel Gilbert
dgilbert@manassasjm.com
Friday, October 28, 2005

Margie McHose has an unusual affection for Alfred Leigh, a man she has never met, a man who died long before she was born.

An image of Leigh, a former slave turned shoemaker, wound up on the face of a postcard in McHose's garage last May, inspiring a search to locate his living family. The search ended on Thursday at a conference in Washington, D.C.

McHose, a retired Woodbridge resident, was preparing for a yard sale when she discovered a postcard featuring an old black man in cobbler attire at the Jamestown Exposition. The caption identified the man as Alfred Leigh, a former slave belonging to Judge Thomas Leigh of Halifax County. The postcard was not dated.

[snip]

"I kept looking at the picture and looking at the face," she says in a heavy Bronx accent, "and I know it might sound crazy and weird, but his eyes seemed to say: 'Find where I belong.' "

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Ghosts: A Neglected Genealogical Resource

In their haste to catalog the dead, genealogists often forget that some ancestors still walk among us, and can be invaluable sources of information.

A good place to start your specter-quest is The Shadowlands—a website which claims to have gathered "Over 10,100 true ghost stories." Such a claim cannot be made on the Internet without solid proof. With your family history in mind, choose a state or country from the haunting index, and browse the listings for familiar place names. If your ancestor's home or burial spot is listed, you may be in luck.

Take, for instance, Philip Jordan of Seattle. He found a reference on The Shadowlands to a ghost haunting St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Cumberland, Maryland. The website reported that the spirit of a "Civil War soldier who was executed for killing an officer is seen in the church rectory." Jordan immediately recognized the soldier as his great-great-grandfather, Ozias B. Jordan, who in 1864 shot a lieutenant in the back for pinching his tin of meat.

Jordan flew to Maryland to visit the church. After a brief interview with the ghost, he was able to identify his ancestor's first wife as Luella Martin—not Luella Morton, as family tradition had it. He was also able to put to rest another piece of family lore, which said that Ozias volunteered for the service.

"He let me know that wasn't true," Philip told The Genealogue. "He said he'd have shot the recruiting officers if they hadn't shackled him to a fence post. I got the feeling he'd have shot me if he weren't, you know, dead."

The chance of hearing disturbing family secrets should not dissuade you from tracking down and interviewing your own ghostly forebears. Here are some tips:

• Visit them on their home turf, where they will be most comfortable.
• Bring along a tape recorder, but don't be surprised if only your voice is recorded.
• Ask questions that require more than Yes or No answers, as ghosts are known to be tight-lipped.
• Be patient. Pushing for answers may get you slimed with ectoplasm.
• Thank them for their time, and then run away screaming.

Long-Dead Girl Shows her Face

From the Anderson (S.C.) Independent-Mail:

Are images on gravestone clues sent from the grave?

By JENNIFER JONES
Anderson Independent-Mail
October 25, 2005

A particular headstone in the Old Clarkesville, Ga., Cemetery is causing quite a stir among the locals. The oldest in the graveyard, the headstone of Calvin J. Hanks stood quietly for more than 160 years before people started to notice a change.

The mysterious image of a little girl’s face suddenly appeared on the stone.

For many, the appearance of the face has made even the most skeptic reconsider.

"I’m telling you that it is so realistic that it’s amazing," said Andrea Harper, administrative assistant for the Habersham Chamber of Commerce. "I don’t believe in that kind of stuff either but when you see the image of a face on the headstone, it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up."

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Ted Williams, La Astilla Espléndida

From The Boston (Mass.) Globe:

WORLD SERIES NOTEBOOK

By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff | October 27, 2005

[snip]

Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, and Juan Marichal were the players with Red Sox ties selected to the Latino Legends team announced yesterday.

[snip]

New England baseball historian Bill Nowlin, among others, raised questions why Ted Williams, who was of Mexican ancestry on his mother's side, was not included on the ballot. Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson was another critic, citing his Mexican ancestry and wondering why he wasn't on the ballot, either.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

185-Year-Old Couple Moves to Higher Ground

From the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gazette:

Long road for long-dead to dry ground

Thursday, October 27, 2005
By Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

JOHNSTOWN -- One-hundred-sixteen years after he survived the Great Johnstown Flood, 109 years after he died, and five hours after a judge granted a petition to move him to higher ground, Henry Leckey was out of the clay of Sandyvale Cemetery and en route to the suburbs.

He traveled light: a shattered skull, some surprisingly perfect teeth, a left thigh bone, bits of a jacket and the sole of a size-8 shoe were Henry. His first wife, Mary, who died 14 years before him, made the journey as well. Diggers found bones and a dress.

[snip]

"I don't want my great-great grandparents under a pond," said Donald Leckey, a Michigan engineer who spent years seeking his ancestors and, upon finding their grave, was mortified at plans to turn their cemetery into a memorial botanical garden, complete with decorative pond, fruit trees and a recreation area -- all of it, presumably, atop the nearly 3,000 early Johnstowners interred there.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

The Descent of (Matthew Chap)man

From The Philadelphia (Pa.) Inquirer of Oct. 26, 2005:

Naturally, he's a chip off the old DNA

By Amy Worden

Inquirer Staff Writer

HARRISBURG - Charles Darwin might not be in the federal courtroom to hear witnesses challenge his theory of evolution.

But his DNA is.

As one of Darwin's most vocal modern-day critics testified in a landmark lawsuit last week, the eminent scientist's great-great-grandson sat six feet away in the jury-box-turned-press box.

[snip]

[Matthew] Chapman said he doesn't feel defensive about his ancestry.

"The only time I've felt proud of being descended from Darwin is in opposition to creationists," he said.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

UK to Aussies: We've Changed the Locks

From The (Melbourne, Australia)Age:

UK may abolish ancestry visas

By Annabel Crabb
Age Correspondent
London
October 27, 2005

GRANNY'S British birth certificate may no longer be the ticket to an overseas working holiday for young Australians.

Changes to the British immigration system, under consideration by the Blair Government, may include the abolition of the "ancestry visa" scheme.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Genealogue Exclusive: Google to Launch Genealogy Service

A Genealogue Exclusive [What's That?]

Hot on the heels of Google Print, Google Local, and Google Base comes a new service—this one aimed at online genealogists. With the November launch of Google Link, the Mountain View company hopes to join genetic genealogy with Google's famous search technology.

The project is the brainchild of Google engineer and novice genealogist Matt Scott.

"I got to thinking how much genetic material is out there in the world," said Scott in a telephone interview, "and how great it would be to have that information stored and indexed in one place."

The project will begin with genetic material in the public domain—gathered from used tissues, discarded Starbucks cups, and public telephone receivers—and then will grow to include material voluntarily submitted. Google researchers have worked with geneticists to ensure the integrity of samples, and with private investigators to establish their provenance.

Privacy advocates are already voicing criticism of the Google Link concept. Miriam Leary of the ACLU's Genetic Privacy team envisions a nightmare scenario.

"I would ask every American to consider the possible consequences. Your entire genetic profile will be posted online. Your traits, your hair color, your predisposition to disease will be broadcast to the world. This is 1984 all over again—the book, not the year."

Matt Scott scoffs at the idea that Google Link will be misused.

"This will be a godsend to genealogists looking for cousins, or curious about their genetic origins. I predict that people will be lining up to submit their cheek swabs. And even if they don't, we have ways of making them cooperate."

No Octopussies Found

From the Dundee (Scotland) Evening Telegraph of Oct. 25, 2005:

Scotland had three James Bonds

Top-secret super spies, political heavyweights and soccer legends have all been found in the colourful pages of Scotland’s history, writes Graeme Strachan.

Previously unseen data from the 1861 census, which has been made available for the first time by genealogy website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, has found that James Bond, Margaret Curran and George Burley were all alive and well in Victorian Scotland.

The census records showed there were three James Bonds living in 1861 Scotland along with 56 John (Jack) McConnells, 13 Margaret Currans, five George Burleys and 48 Jimmy (James) Calderwoods.

Daniel Craig, who was recently unveiled as the new James Bond, also made 22 appearances in the census and there was one Alex McLeish.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

For those who don't follow the Scottish news as closely as I do, Jack McConnell is First Minister of Scotland, Margaret Curran is Minister for Parliament, George Burley is the recently departed manager of the Heart of Midlothian Football Club, and Jimmy Calderwood is the manager of the Aberdeen "Dons" Football Club. It goes without saying that Alex McLeish is manager of the Rangers Football Club.

My Dad, the Graverobber

From the Greeley (Colo.) Tribune:

Traveling tombstone gets a final resting place

Mike Peters
October 24, 2005

SIX THOUSAND MILES. That's how far "Rosa" traveled during the past 25 years, from New York to California, to rural Weld County and back home again to New York.

"Rosa" is a tombstone. And Rosa is home now.

Will and Linda Piper are the ones who finally brought Rosa home, last month, to the wooded, abandoned cemetery in New York.

[snip]

Will's father, Willis Piper, found the 50-pound "Rosa" tombstone among the remnants of the cemetery and wanted to take it home to California to use in some stone work on his patio.

[snip]

"We hope nobody thinks of my father as a bad person," Will said. "He was a good man who probably didn't really think it was wrong to take the tombstone."

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

He Brought Just the Clothes on His Back, and . . . Something Else

From Taiwan Headlines:

Middle Eastern heritage doesn't ring a bell with the Dings of today

-- October 24, 2005 --

Yunlin County's Taixi Township has a major distinction: it's home to more people with the Chinese surname "Ding" than any other place in Taiwan. Of the slightly more than 30,000 people in the area, over 10,000 sign their names "Ding."

[snip]

"Ding Su, the ancestor of the Taixi Dings, fled from Fujian's Jinjiang County around the time of the Qianlung Emperor with absolutely nothing. He brought with him only a pair of "eggs" (testicles), which engendered the myriad Dings of Taixi." Retired Taixi Elementary school principal Ding Dongde smiles while recounting the Ding clan's origins.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Where There's a Will, There's a Way Too Many Telephones

From the Minneapolis (Minn.) Star Tribune:

The phone's for you, and you, and you

Bill McAuliffe, Star Tribune

Last update: October 24, 2005

The departed sometimes call in strange ways. Robert Prosser, for example, seems to be doing it by telephone.

Twelve years after Prosser's death, a niece, a nephew and a longtime employee are trying to figure out what to do with his legacy -- a collection of telephones so vast it fills five buildings in his hometown of Turtle Lake, Wis., as well as barns on relatives' farms and corners of their homes.

Thousands of phones. Hundreds of thousands. Maybe a million.

"You count 'em and tell me," said George Pearson, a longtime employee of the Prosser family.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

From Cross-Dressing Rocker to FHC Librarian

From Film Threat:

NEW YORK DOLL

by Phil Hall
(2005-10-25)

2005, Rated PG-13, 78 Minutes, A First Independent Pictures Release

Watching the mild-mannered, seemingly befuddled Arthur Kane sitting quietly in the back of a Los Angeles municipal bus, it is impossible to imagine that this 55-year-old librarian was once among the most influential figures in rock history.

[snip]

When The New York Dolls split in 1975, Kane’s career began its tailspin.

[snip]

Redemption came from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a.k.a. the Mormons. Answering an advertisement, he was visited by missionaries and found his path to salvation. It was a somewhat low-budget path, including a part-time job as a librarian in the church’s Family History Center library, but it was enough to give him the chance to begin anew.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Who's Been Wearing Your Genes?

From the Bangor (Me.) Daily News:

Have a fourth cousin? You share about 58 genes

Monday, October 24, 2005

[by Roxanne Moore Saucier]

Fifty-eight genes.

That's the scientific estimate of how many genes I share through one of my connections with Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, who served during Abraham Lincoln's first term.

I didn't count up these genes by myself, you understand. Geneticist Tom Roderick, a former president of the Maine Genealogical Society, did the calculation, which works for anyone who can find the same relationship to another person.

Let's let Tom explain it:

"Your relationship with the vice president, second cousin four times removed, is one of ninth degree - that is, one-half to the ninth. It happens to be the same relationship as fourth cousins. You share 0.00195 of your genes with him, but if you consider that we as humans have about 30,000 genes, then you share about 58 genes with the former vice president. I wonder which 58 they are?"

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Degrees of relation between cousins can be figured out by using a table such as this, or (for the mathematically inclined) a simple formula.

Let's have two variables named C ("cousinhood") and R ("generations removed"). The degree of relation equals R + (2*C + 1). L.L. Bean is my fourth cousin (C=4) twice removed (R=2). So, the degree of relation between us is 11. Raise 0.5 to the 11th power, and multiply the result by 30,000 (the approximate number of our genes). The answer is about 14. L.L. Bean and I share 14 genes (which explains my penchant for wearing waterproof boots).¹

Here's a cousinhood calculator I whipped up: