Where can it be? Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting married tomorrow in London England. And I'll be gob-smacked - my invite has not arrived!
But my family tree clearly indicates that I, Brian Massey, am the 28th cousin, 4 times removed, of Wills. So what's up with not inviting me and my spouse to the wedding of the century!! I'd give him the benefit of the doubt and say maybe it was a space issue but I just found out that the Palace revoked the invitation previously sent to the Syrian ambassador. So... that means there's a couple of empty spots at supper!
Here's the direct royal line down to Elizabeth from William I. It's a bit confusing but here's how it works - King Henry II's mother Matilda, was the sister of my direct ancestor David, 1st King of Scotland. That's right - I've got royal blood. My family always told me I was special...
At least, I've got royal blood if the online family trees can be trusted... but if they're online, they can't be wrong can they?
The line from my 26th great-grandparent David King of Scotland, comes down several generations to Bryan Stapleton who died in 1394. My Stapleton family carried on in the male line and ended up leaving England in the early 1800s for Canada.
So there we have it. If the online royalty trees are correct, I'm Will's cousin. And I really don't get why he didn't have all this figured out. I mean the guy can afford to hire a genealogist for cripe's sake! Or if he hasn't got the money what with marrying Kate, all he has to do is ask Grandma to pony up some Euros.
My wife says I should take him off the Christmas Card list.
Disclaimer: My tongue was tucked so far into my cheek it went numb. I won't be able to lick the stamp for Will's Christmas or Birthday card at this rate!
Specializing in Death Records for Ancestors. Cemeteries, Death Certificates, Coffin Plates, Funeral Cards, Obituaries, Gravestones and more.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Bedlam Bodies Found
Opened in 1247, London’s St Bethlehem Hospital was the world’s first institution dedicated to mental illness. An abbreviation of its name produced the modern word “bedlam”.
Archaeologists have now discovered as many as 1,000 bodies at the hospital’s former burial site near London’s Liverpool Street station, as part of the capital’s Crossrail development. While some of the remains will ultimately go on display in the Museum of London, Government regulations demand the bodies are ultimately reburied locally – though indecision still surrounds the exact location.
Read More
Archaeologists have now discovered as many as 1,000 bodies at the hospital’s former burial site near London’s Liverpool Street station, as part of the capital’s Crossrail development. While some of the remains will ultimately go on display in the Museum of London, Government regulations demand the bodies are ultimately reburied locally – though indecision still surrounds the exact location.
Read More
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
'Pay $10,000 to keep old family graves'
As someone who appreciates the importance of preserving cemeteries I could not believe this next story. It seems this area in England wants to dig up the older graves so they can sell them again. Relatives could be asked to pay between £1,000 and £5,000 (that's approximately $2,000 to $10,000) to keep a plot that's more than 75 years old. Remains that were removed could be placed in an unmarked common grave.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Massacre at the hillfort
Archaeologists at the site in Derbyshire found four babies, a two-year-old, a teenage boy and three adults.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1378190/Iron-Age-mass-grave-reveals-slaughter-women-children-challenges-theory-pre-Roman-peaceful-life.html#ixzz1JuZ7mb1H
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1378190/Iron-Age-mass-grave-reveals-slaughter-women-children-challenges-theory-pre-Roman-peaceful-life.html#ixzz1JuZ7mb1H
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Bones of Leper Warrior Found in Medieval Cemetery
The bones of a soldier with leprosy who may have died in battle have been found in a medieval Italian cemetery, along with skeletons of men who survived blows to the head with battle-axes and maces.
Read More
Read More
Monday, April 11, 2011
Cemetery Love
OK so its not the kind of thing I normally blog about but this story is making the rounds and I just thought it was cute. And it is taking place in a cemetery so its sort of on topic.
A deer has been standing watch for several days over a female goose nesting in a Buffalo city cemetery. For at least four days, the buck has stood guard near the nest of a Canada goose as she sits on her eggs inside a large urn at Forest Lawn cemetery, home to the remains of rock icon Rick James and President Millard Fillmore.
Read More
A deer has been standing watch for several days over a female goose nesting in a Buffalo city cemetery. For at least four days, the buck has stood guard near the nest of a Canada goose as she sits on her eggs inside a large urn at Forest Lawn cemetery, home to the remains of rock icon Rick James and President Millard Fillmore.
Read More
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Free Access to Civil War Records on Ancestry!
Ancestry is giving away free access to their Civil War Records.Civil War Records
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Death Registration Years in Canada
Registration of Deaths in Canada is the responsibility of each province or territory. Even after Civil Registration of Vital Statistics began, many people did not comply with the law as they were suspicious as to why the Government wanted this information.
Genealogists will find that the information provided on a death registration varied over time. For example in Ontario, parents' names of the deceased individual were not required before the early 1900s.
Following is a list of provinces and territories of Canada and the official year of the start of mandatory Death Registrations:
Alberta 1870
British Columbia 1872
Manitoba 1882
New Brunswick 1888
Newfoundland & Labrador 1892
Northwest Territories 1925
Nova Scotia 1864
Nunavut before 1999 see NorthWest Territories
Ontario 1869
Prince Edward Island 1906
Quebec registered in church from the early 17th century
Saskatchewan 1905
Yukon 1898
For other death records see http://ancestorsatrest.com
Genealogists will find that the information provided on a death registration varied over time. For example in Ontario, parents' names of the deceased individual were not required before the early 1900s.
Following is a list of provinces and territories of Canada and the official year of the start of mandatory Death Registrations:
Alberta 1870
British Columbia 1872
Manitoba 1882
New Brunswick 1888
Newfoundland & Labrador 1892
Northwest Territories 1925
Nova Scotia 1864
Nunavut before 1999 see NorthWest Territories
Ontario 1869
Prince Edward Island 1906
Quebec registered in church from the early 17th century
Saskatchewan 1905
Yukon 1898
For other death records see http://ancestorsatrest.com
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Roman graves uncovered in Canterbury
Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient burial ground in Kent where around a hundred people were laid to rest.
Read More
Read More
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Ancient graves threatened by climate change
Archaeological treasures that have been frozen for millennia are being destroyed because of climate change, according to Edinburgh researchers.
Remains in some of the coldest places on earth are being exposed as warmer temperatures cause ice and hardened ground to thaw.
Edinburgh University experts said the materials at risk included ancient tombs, artefacts and human remains.
Read More
Remains in some of the coldest places on earth are being exposed as warmer temperatures cause ice and hardened ground to thaw.
Edinburgh University experts said the materials at risk included ancient tombs, artefacts and human remains.
Read More
Friday, March 11, 2011
Man Tries to Save Cemetery From Being Washed Away
A man in Dorchester County is trying to save a historic cemetery that is on the verge of being swept into the Chesapeake Bay.
Donald Willey has been working for eight years to save the Anchor of Hope Cemetery on Hooper's Island. He has cleared away the trees and brush that have covered the cemetery for years.
"It needs to be taken care of and I knew if I didn't do it nobody else would," Willey said.
Willey says so far he has uncovered some 150 graves. The oldest graves dates back to 1805.
Read More
Donald Willey has been working for eight years to save the Anchor of Hope Cemetery on Hooper's Island. He has cleared away the trees and brush that have covered the cemetery for years.
"It needs to be taken care of and I knew if I didn't do it nobody else would," Willey said.
Willey says so far he has uncovered some 150 graves. The oldest graves dates back to 1805.
Read More
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Archeologists are set to begin exhuming human remains from an unmarked Eastern State Hospital cemetery in Lexington KY
Archeologists are set to begin exhuming human remains from the 1840 - 60s in an unmarked Eastern State Hospital cemetery in Lexington KY
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/02/23/1645570/crews-to-begin-exhuming-remains.html##ixzz1Eph2C27K
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/02/23/1645570/crews-to-begin-exhuming-remains.html##ixzz1Eph2C27K
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Coffin Plate of Ester G Webster 1827 ~ 1865
I have just added the coffin plate of Ester G Webster 1827 ~ 1865. It looks like Ester was from Rockingham, New Hampshire.Ester G Webster 1827 ~ 1865
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Grave of 'Nosferatu' discovered
The grave of the German actor Max Schreck has been found near Berlin. Schreck set the standard for movie vampires with his now legendary 1922 portrayal of Nosferatu.
Read More
Read More
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Ancestry Offers USA 1910 Census Index for Free
Search the enhanced indexes for free through February 21, 2011
The 1910 U.S. Census on Ancestry.com
is offering the 1910 census indexes for free through Feb. 21st.
Enhancements include:
* Clearer, crisper images
* Improved indexes with two new fields: mother's and father's birthplace
* Millions of alternate names to help you with hard-to-find relatives
Sounds like a good plan! Search 93 million improved records from all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, plus U.S. Military and Naval Forces — free through February 21.
The 1910 U.S. Census on Ancestry.com
is offering the 1910 census indexes for free through Feb. 21st. Enhancements include:
* Clearer, crisper images
* Improved indexes with two new fields: mother's and father's birthplace
* Millions of alternate names to help you with hard-to-find relatives
Sounds like a good plan! Search 93 million improved records from all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, plus U.S. Military and Naval Forces — free through February 21.
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
In Salt Lake City For Rootstech
Well I am in Salt Lake City for Rootstech 2011. But before it starts I hope to spend a day doing a little genealogy research at the Family History Library.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Broken Stone
The mystery of how a centuries-old tombstone from North Haven wound up in the basement of the former Clinton Police Department remains. But through modern-day communication and some old-fashioned research, the burial plot where the stone belongs has been identified.
Members of Clinton's highway department were working at 48 E. Main St. — the building that housed the police department from 1971 to 2005 — when they found the 214-year-old relic on Jan. 4. The headstone, which is in three pieces, is gray slate inscribed with "In Memory of Mrs. Ruth Sackitt wife of Mr. Solomon Sackitt who died March 27, 1796 in the 41st year of her age." And at the bottom: "Death is a debt to nature due that I have paid and so must you."
Sgt. Joe Flynn keeps track of property and evidence that comes through the police department, now at 170 E. Main St. He said he checked with Clinton's town clerk to determine whether Ruth Sackitt's name was listed in the town's records.
http://articles.courant.com/2011-01-12/community/hc-clinton-tombstone-0113-20110112_1_headstone-burial-plot-death
Members of Clinton's highway department were working at 48 E. Main St. — the building that housed the police department from 1971 to 2005 — when they found the 214-year-old relic on Jan. 4. The headstone, which is in three pieces, is gray slate inscribed with "In Memory of Mrs. Ruth Sackitt wife of Mr. Solomon Sackitt who died March 27, 1796 in the 41st year of her age." And at the bottom: "Death is a debt to nature due that I have paid and so must you."
Sgt. Joe Flynn keeps track of property and evidence that comes through the police department, now at 170 E. Main St. He said he checked with Clinton's town clerk to determine whether Ruth Sackitt's name was listed in the town's records.
http://articles.courant.com/2011-01-12/community/hc-clinton-tombstone-0113-20110112_1_headstone-burial-plot-death
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Leather Man
Leather Man' to be exhumed from Ossining
The obscurity behind a 19th-century, leather-clad wanderer who traversed Westchester County and Connecticut for more than 30 years may soon be unearthed.
A recent state Supreme Court ruling will allow a team of scientists to exhume the body of the "Leather Man," a legendary figure who was buried at Ossining's Sparta Cemetery in 1889 and whose true identity continues to stir intense speculation.
"He is one of this country's major historical mysteries," said Ossining Historical Society President Norman MacDonald. "Not only can we give this man a more dignified resting place, but we hope to find out a lot more about him."
The Ossining Historical Society, as owners of Sparta Cemetery, sought the court order so forensic testing could be conducted on the Leather Man's remains and also to rebury him elsewhere on the 2-acre site, MacDonald said.
Presently, the Leather Man is buried in a "pauper's grave," mere steps from busy Route 9 and, as such, a safety hazard. The second-hand headstone — another man's name is etched on the back — sits alone, removed from other plots, at the cemetery's entrance and is easily missed.
http://www.lohud.com/article/20110120/NEWS02/101200398/Famed-Leather-Man-to-be-exhumed-from-Ossining-grave
The obscurity behind a 19th-century, leather-clad wanderer who traversed Westchester County and Connecticut for more than 30 years may soon be unearthed.
A recent state Supreme Court ruling will allow a team of scientists to exhume the body of the "Leather Man," a legendary figure who was buried at Ossining's Sparta Cemetery in 1889 and whose true identity continues to stir intense speculation.
"He is one of this country's major historical mysteries," said Ossining Historical Society President Norman MacDonald. "Not only can we give this man a more dignified resting place, but we hope to find out a lot more about him."
The Ossining Historical Society, as owners of Sparta Cemetery, sought the court order so forensic testing could be conducted on the Leather Man's remains and also to rebury him elsewhere on the 2-acre site, MacDonald said.
Presently, the Leather Man is buried in a "pauper's grave," mere steps from busy Route 9 and, as such, a safety hazard. The second-hand headstone — another man's name is etched on the back — sits alone, removed from other plots, at the cemetery's entrance and is easily missed.
http://www.lohud.com/article/20110120/NEWS02/101200398/Famed-Leather-Man-to-be-exhumed-from-Ossining-grave
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)