Blood Tests Reveal Sikhness

Routine tests run on blood donated by Bob Goddard suggest that the Englishman has some exotic ancestry.

The 64-year-old's rare combination of blood groups has revealed he could be related to the last Sikh royal family, who once owned the Koh-i-noor diamond.

Further research into Mr Goddard's family tree has shown that his great grandfather may have been Prince Freddy, second son of Maharajah Duleep Singh, known as the "last king of the Sikhs".

Mr Goddard said he discovered that his grandfather, Charlie Goddard, who was born in 1888, was the illegitimate son of an unmarried serving maid at Breckles Hall in Norfolk.

"She would never reveal the father's identity, but it was rumoured he was an Indian prince who stayed there," he added. [Link]

A Surprise in Jim's Genes

James Watson—who helped discover the structure of DNA, and suggested recently that black people are genetically inferior to whites—has had his own genome sequenced.

An analysis of his genome shows that 16% of his genes are likely to have come from a black ancestor of African descent. By contrast, most people of European descent would have no more than 1%.

The study was made possible when he allowed his genome - the map of all his genes - to be published on the internet in the interests of science.

“This level is what you would expect in someone who had a great-grandparent who was African,” said Kari Stefansson of deCODE Genetics, whose company carried out the analysis. “It was very surprising to get this result for Jim.” [Link]

Based on Watson's own arguments, this means that he is 16 times more likely to say stupid things about race and intelligence than the average person of European descent.

Barack Related to Infamous Dick

Lynne Cheney says that her husband is related to Barack Obama.

In an interview on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. Cheney said that in the course of researching her husband's genealogy for her new book, "Blue Skies, No Fences," she discovered that the two public figures share an ancestor eight generations ago.

"Think about this," Mrs. Cheney said. "This is such an amazing American story that one ancestor, a man that came to Maryland, could be responsible down the family line for lives that have taken such different and varied paths as Dick's and Barack Obama's." [Link]

By my count, it's more like ten generations back (assuming that Mareen Duvall is the shared ancestor). Two extra generations may not seem like much, but when it comes to Dick Cheney, it's always best to keep one's distance.

Blondes Have More Feng Shui

DNA tests are underway to see if residents of a remote corner of China are descended from Roman soldiers. This might explain all the green eyes, big noses, and blonde hair thereabouts.

Gu Jianming, who lives near Liqian, said it had come as a surprise to be told he might be descended from a European imperial army. But then the birth of his daughter was also a surprise. Gu Meina, now six, was born with a shock of blonde hair. "We shaved it off a month after she was born but it just grew back the same colour," he said. "At school they call her 'yellow hair'. Before we were told about the Romans, we had no idea about this. We are poor and have no family temple, so we don't know about our ancestors." [Link]

Out of Africa (By Way of Yorkshire)

The seven British men who share an unusual surname and a West African Y chromosome were not named Marton, as the Sun reported, but Revis. John Revis should know.

John responded to a newspaper advert by Leicester University asking for people who have traced their ancestry to give DNA samples for a study on world populations.

He said: "The scientists took some of my DNA away for analysis and then one day they called me up and were very excited. They said I had a Y-chromosome that was extremely rare. I was flabbergasted. I had no idea that I was so culturally unique. But I am not going to start eating couscous and riding a camel." [Link]

Did They Come From the British Moors?

Seven white British men who share the same unusual surname have been found to share a Y chromosome usually found in West Africa.

The African Y chromosome — the packet of genetic material passed down through the male line — probably originated from a man from Senegal or Guinea-Bissau who lived in Yorkshire in the early 18th century and was inherited by his male descendants.

It is even possible that the line goes back farther still, to Roman soldiers from North Africa posted to Hadrian’s Wall 1,800 years ago. This “division of Moors”, which included the earliest known Africans in Britain, included recruits from what is now Morocco. [Link]

Update: This is from Wednesday's Sun Online:

University of Leicester boffins refused to reveal the name — but the Sun found it to be ‘Marton’.

A genealogist told us: “We know it derives from a village in Yorkshire and there were 122 people with that name. This fits only the name Marton.” [Link]

100% English, But 24% Middle Eastern

The DNA test results for the daughter of former UK PM Margaret Thatcher were something of a surprise. They showed that Carol Thatcher's ancestry is 76% North European and 24% Middle Eastern.

The family’s blood ties to the Middle East will be revealed next month in a Channel 4 programme, 100% English, which explores the DNA of eight people who considered themselves completely Anglo-Saxon.

Carol Thatcher, in Australia filming a new I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, the reality TV show that she won last year, said: “Do I know if any of my great-grandfathers had any associations or came from the Middle East? I haven’t got a clue. I will do what research I can. I am now very curious.

“My brother did once compete in a motor rally across the Sahara desert and rather famously got lost, so I think he will be astonished to know he should have done better.” [Link]

Thatcher was crowned "Queen of the Jungle" on the aforementioned reality series after eating "jungle bugs and kangaroo testicles to help sustain her fellow celebrities." Her mother did the same thing during a 1979 campaign appearance to prove herself qualified for the Prime Minister's job.

Man Finds Click-Talking Hadzabe in his Family Tree

From The Washington (D.C.) Post:

Swimming in the Gene Pool

Sunday, October 2, 2005; Page P04

WORTH A TRIP: "I woke up one morning last spring to find my life was a lie," Donovan Webster says in the October National Geographic Traveler. Despite his Anglo-Saxon name and a proper New England family tree, DNA testing revealed his roots went much further afield -- to "click-talking Hadzabe in Tanzania . . . Lebanese Arabs, tribal Uzbeks in Central Asia, and Basques in Spain."

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

A photo gallery of Webster's travels to meet his distant cousins is available at the National Geographic Traveler website.