Archive for September, 2008
London Maze
If you are researching London’s past, or just interested in the history of the metropolis, then you should come along to the London Maze on Saturday 11 October at the Guildhall Art Gallery in the heart of the City of London. It’s on between 10am and 4pm. There will be a large range of stalls from museums, archives, local history libraries, historical groups and societies. Uniquely, however, there are no stands from national bodies such as The National Archives let alone companies such as Ancestry or Findmypast. In addition there are a series of walks, talks and activities about the capital’s history. I’ve been to previous events (which are held roughly every two years) and they are a real celebration of the vitality of the historical research into London’s past and I’m looking forward to this year’s Maze Further details are at
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/londonmaze.
Names and places – recent websites
A victim of its own success – and an example of the extraordinary popularity of genealogical websites is the Public Profiler which plots eight million last names using data from electoral rolls and phone directories. The site covers 300 million people in 26 countries, showing the origins of names and where families have moved to. It also reveals which of the five million first names are most closely associated with different surnames and lists the top regions and cities for each surname. When it was first launched a few weeks ago the server was swamped by visitors, although it now seems to be working OK http://www.publicprofiler.org/worldnames.
Most websites devoted to one-name studies are rather dull affairs and are of little interest even to the holders of that name. One exception is Kenneth Jacob’s site devoted to the Jacob surname http://www.myjacobfamily.com which is the culmination of 30 years of research. It includes many transcripts and abstracts of manuscripts. And ready to be uploaded cine-film of family members which was shot between the 1920s and 1960s: according to Kenneth: "all of it never having seen the light of day. Much of it from India, some of a military nature." In addition there are 1600 photographs waiting to be added: Kenneth tells me all this will depend on more webspace being made available. The navigation is slightly confusing – there are no obvious links from the home pages to other pages on the site, you need to click on the name or subject on the homepage. There are also some interesting links: I’m not sure about Crow City, but despite the name http://adenairways.com is a fascinating look at the former British colony at the mouth of the Red Sea. "Yesterday’s Journey" contains transcripts of 18th century records mainly for Derbyshire. The site says it "is a compilation of available sources concerning Settlement Examinations, Settlement Certificates, Removal Orders, Bastardy and Apprenticeship Indentures, documents that reveal our ancestors brush with officialdom." Even if you are not local, the material found here are good examples of records fond in any parish chest at record offices around England and Wales: http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~spire/Yesterday/index.htm. Another great local history site is maintained by the Tonbridge Local History Society at http://www.tonbridgehistory.org.uk. It’s clearly laid out with lots of images and short histories of some of the old buildings present and demolished.
Maureen Taylor Tells The Today’s Show Viewers How to Research Family History
Genealogy Pro Reveals Tips to Help Do-It-Yourself Researchers Get Started. (PRWeb Sep 14, 2008)
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/09/prweb1325034.htm
African Ancestry Traces Radio Titan Donnie Simpson’s African Roots
In an historic reveal ceremony, African Ancestry and the National Council for Negro Women President Emerita Dr. Dorothy I. Height, revealed Donnie Simpson's African roots originated in Cameroon during National Black Family Reunion Celebration. NBC's Keith Garvin even more surprised to learn his roots are non-African, tracing back to the Eastern Baltic region. (PRWeb Sep 13, 2008)
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/09/prweb1324964.htm
How lager yeasts came in from the cold, twice
The two main types of lager beer might owe their existence to two genetic ancestors capable of surviving Bavarian winters
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Genetic region linked to a 5 times higher lung cancer risk
(Washington University School of Medicine) A narrow region on chromosome 15 contains genetic variations strongly associated with familial lung cancer, says a study conducted by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom. The researchers found a more than five times higher risk of lung cancer for people who have both a family history of the disease and these genetic variations.
Esther beats Jane
The Guardian reports that BBC1’s genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? was the clear winner in the battle for the 9pm slot last Wednesday with ITV1’s new drama Lost in Austen attracted 3.8 million viewers and a 17 per cent share. Over on BBC1 at the same time, Esther Rantzen’s journey through her family tree picked up 6.2 million viewers and a 27 per cent share. I haven’t yet watched Esther, but I thought Lost in Austen was great fun with nary a historical faux-pas, which so often blight historical dramas for pedants like me. Meanwhile, I’ve received a press release about genealogist Celia Heritage who regularly appears on Pat Marsh’s Saturday radio show on BBC Radio Kent helping listeners with their family history questions. She’s on tomorrow (6 September) between 11.15am and midday. I’d be interested to know whether any other radio stations have similar slots for a possible story in Ancestors.
Person’s Geographic Origins Located From DNA
One day soon, you may be able to pinpoint the geographic origins of your ancestors based on analysis of your DNA. New research uses DNA to predict the geographic origins of individuals from a sample of Europeans, often within a few hundred kilometers of where they were born.
WW1 cabinet papers
Now available on The National Archives’ Documents Online service are Cabinet memoranda for the First World War (originally in pieces CAB 24/1-68 at TNA). These are papers prepared for discussion at Cabinet meetings between the end of 1916 (when the War Cabinet with a proper system of recording decisions was established) and more or less the end of 1918. The 6200 papers cover a wide range of subjects largely to do with the conduct of the war, so there’s not really much for family historians, but even so there is much fascinating material here. It is the first of a number of such releases of historic cabinet papers over the next few months on the site. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/cabinetpapers.asp
Annual report
If you are interested in the activities of The National Archives then our annual report is always worth reading. This year’s one, covering 2007-08, has just been published and you can download a copy at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/annualreport07-08.pdf.