Benny on December 23rd, 2005

With Christmas upon us yet again, we could do well not to forget the family with us now. If you are anyhting like me, new projects and hobbies can get in the way of ‘quality time’. Whilst the holidays give us some time to do those little things we’ve been planning to do in our research/projects, we must appreciate those who will be with us at this time of the year.

Continue reading about Don’t forget the family

Benny on December 22nd, 2005

And today I feel like Zuzu from the Lion King after my post day yesterday. Anthropology it seems is a popular blogging subject but…. a lot of that stuff is just too heavy! I thought I would spend a couple of hours looking up some links for this blog expecting to find a few that would appeal to genealogists but so far I’ve come up short.

Continue reading about Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen….

Benny on December 21st, 2005

I have been debating with myself whether a blog that tries to cover genealogy, family history, general history and anthropology (the study of the origins of humans) could really be interesting to the amateur genealogist. I have decided to continue covering all aspects because all these things are easily connected.

Continue reading about Genealogy and Anthropology – Can they be connected?

A British plant biologist believes he has discovered why our brains stopped developing thousands of years ago and why we all have the potential to become geniuses. Read More Here

Continue reading about PRESS RELEASE : Tony Wright Asks If Brain Development Has Been Halted By By Eating Habits

Benny on December 17th, 2005

There is something that disturbs me when scientists say things like ‘we don’t use large areas of our brains’ or that there ‘are large chunks of junk DNA’. What they should be really saying is ‘that we don’t know what these do’.

Continue reading about Junk DNA? I don’t think so

Benny on December 16th, 2005

Scientists believe that studying the humble zebrafish may have helped solve the mystery of human skin colour.

Continue reading about BBC NEWS | Key gene ‘controls skin colour’

Benny on December 15th, 2005

In the BBC news today, scientists have discovered that this wonderful island of ours (no, no, not the Seychelles) was peopled some 200,000 earlier than previously thought. It brought a smile to my face when I thought that if it were possible to trace your family to the earlier days, you would now be facing another long haul!

Continue reading about Oh no, not another 200,000 years!

Benny on December 14th, 2005

Apparently, the first recorded death by the Birmingham (that is the original Birmingham in the UK, OK?) Registry office was a prostitute whose death was notified by the master of the workhouse.

Continue reading about Prostitute, Aged 17 Dies – Brum’s First

Benny on December 13th, 2005

Over at The Loom, there is an interesting article ‘Tree or Trellis’ that takes another look at the ‘out of Africa’ theory for man’s history. Using DNA evidence the newer theory is that instead of one great migration, there were about three and at least once, there was movement back towards Africa.

Continue reading about The ‘Out Of Africa’ Theory Refined

Benny on December 12th, 2005

I haven’t done much work on the DyNAstyDb in the past few months apart from the work to generate the Ellis Families of West Riding’s pages. In the back of my mind though I am trying to solve the issues that are coming up as I get to the black hole years.

Continue reading about Genealogy’s black hole

Calling on all Americans to “know their family history,” U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., today unveiled an updated version of a computerized tool designed to help families gather their health information

Continue reading about U.S. Surgeon General Urges Americans To Know Their Family Health History – PRESS RELEASE

Benny on December 10th, 2005

If you do not want to shake any family skeletons out of the cupboard, don’t do genealogy and certainly do not do genetic genealogy.

Continue reading about Shaking the Skeletons out the Cupboard

Benny on December 9th, 2005

This news story on the BBC site is one that I am afraid of. Depite the fact that yDNA cannot be used to identify individuals, it is storieds like this that will make it difficult to convince people to have their DNA tested for the WRYEllis yDNA study.

Continue reading about NEWS – Boy tracks his sperm donor father

Benny on December 8th, 2005

Just read this post which brings me to one of the biggest gripes I have about Crown copyright here in England.

Continue reading about Irish 1901 and 1911 Census Records to go Online

Benny on December 4th, 2005

Haven’t posted for a couple of days, been busy with other things really. Where I have had the chance I have been working on the West Riding Yorkshire Family pages.

Continue reading about WRYEllis Families still going on

Benny on December 1st, 2005

The Abraham Lincoln quote on the front page of the dynastyDB page ( ‘I don’t know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.’ ) is exactly how I thought of genealogy. I saw researching family history as trying to live in the past when the future beckons. Now, though I can tell the difference.

Continue reading about Living in the Past?