Phyllis, I sent you a private email regarding Thallasemia, but your ISP would not let it into your box. Ann

> I guess I'm looking for the Asian in the Irish woodpile. As am I, Phyllis. My mother, grandmother, and I all have B+ blood another trait that shouldn't show up, but rarely, in an Irish line. Melody -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: Phyllis <[email protected]> > I spelled it wrong! It is Alpha Thallasemia Trait ... got my ss's and > ll's reversed on that one!!!!! > > it showed up on some blood tests that were run, looking for something > else. > > What it is, my red blood cells are always smaller than normal, and so > consequently I run slightly anemic. But I am not anemic ... just low on > iron because the cells are smaller than they should be, so each cell > carries less hemoglobin than a larger cell would, therefore less > hemoglobin/iron shows up on the blood tests. > > My system makes more than the normal number of red blood cells, however, > to try to compensate. So I have the smaller cells, more of them, and am > slightly anemic. There are two other tests that are always out of range > on the low end, something like MCV (MVC?) and MCVH (MVCH?) ... not sure > on that. would have to go look it up on the test results and I'm being > lazy right now. :-P > > But see, I am blonde, green eyed ... had the white blonde hair into my > thirties ... born a towhead. dunno where the Mediterranean/Asian > ancestor is. However if the DNA tests results posted here for MtDNA are > correct then that would explain it. > > What I have is not a disease, it's just a blood trait just as sickle > cell is. Although there are three other kinds of Alpha-Thallasemia, in > varying degrees of severity. THe problem would be if my children had > the trait and were to marry someone who is also carrying the trait, and > since it is recessive .. then their children would have all kinds of > problems. > > If you do a google on it you can read about it. But spell it the way I > have it now! hahaha > > What I am wondering about now, is would such a trait as a > Mediterranean/Oriental/Asian trait show up in the Irish, because of the > ancestry from so long ago? I do know that maternal DNA (MtDNA) > changes/mutates only once in about a million or so years, let's say, as > it is passed down the maternal line. So wouldn't it have to be > something I inherited from my maternal line? (That would only be Irish, > French, and a little bit of German from Saxony. On my paternal side it > is Ostfrisian-German (with a little bit of Dutch in there), Swiss, and > English.) > > Or could my father have passed this mediterranean trait to me. I guess > I'm looking for the Asian in the Irish woodpile. > > Phyllis > > > >Dear Phyllis, > > > >If it is not too personal, what exactly is the Alpha Thessalonia Trait. I > >am also very interested in this subject. > > > >Regards, > >Colleen > > > > > ====Irish American Mailing List===== > Add/check your surname to the Irish-American mailing list Surname Registry at: > http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/IrishAmerican/ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thanks so much to Michael and Irene for that information. Any explanation deepens my understanding is so welcome! Melody

I have discovered that I was probably right the first time about it being a rare blood type. Not type O but type Rh-negative. http://faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/bronze/celts.htm Michael O'Hearn --------------------------------- Never Miss an Email Stay connected with Yahoo! Mail on your mobile. Get started!

Explanation. I did not think type O was rare. I was replying to a question and stated that as appears on another website, type O is disproportionately prevalent in both Ireland and among the Berbers of North Africa. This may or may not be what the original comparision is in the TV documentary and book "The Course of Irish History". All I remember is that there was come similarity of blood types between the two populations mentioned in the book. Michael O'Hearn --------------------------------- 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time with theYahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.

MCV is the average size of the red blood cells. MCHC is the average of blood cells and hemoglobin. This is a simplified explanation. For the person who thought type O was rare, it is the most common type of them all. Irene ----- Original Message ----- From: Phyllis<mailto:[email protected]> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 11:20 PM Subject: Re: [IRISH-AMER] DNA & Mediterranean Traits I spelled it wrong! It is Alpha Thallasemia Trait ... got my ss's and ll's reversed on that one!!!!! it showed up on some blood tests that were run, looking for something else. What it is, my red blood cells are always smaller than normal, and so consequently I run slightly anemic. But I am not anemic ... just low on iron because the cells are smaller than they should be, so each cell carries less hemoglobin than a larger cell would, therefore less hemoglobin/iron shows up on the blood tests. My system makes more than the normal number of red blood cells, however, to try to compensate. So I have the smaller cells, more of them, and am slightly anemic. There are two other tests that are always out of range on the low end, something like MCV (MVC?) and MCVH (MVCH?) ... not sure on that. would have to go look it up on the test results and I'm being lazy right now. :-P But see, I am blonde, green eyed ... had the white blonde hair into my thirties ... born a towhead. dunno where the Mediterranean/Asian ancestor is. However if the DNA tests results posted here for MtDNA are correct then that would explain it. What I have is not a disease, it's just a blood trait just as sickle cell is. Although there are three other kinds of Alpha-Thallasemia, in varying degrees of severity. THe problem would be if my children had the trait and were to marry someone who is also carrying the trait, and since it is recessive .. then their children would have all kinds of problems. If you do a google on it you can read about it. But spell it the way I have it now! hahaha What I am wondering about now, is would such a trait as a Mediterranean/Oriental/Asian trait show up in the Irish, because of the ancestry from so long ago? I do know that maternal DNA (MtDNA) changes/mutates only once in about a million or so years, let's say, as it is passed down the maternal line. So wouldn't it have to be something I inherited from my maternal line? (That would only be Irish, French, and a little bit of German from Saxony. On my paternal side it is Ostfrisian-German (with a little bit of Dutch in there), Swiss, and English.) Or could my father have passed this mediterranean trait to me. I guess I'm looking for the Asian in the Irish woodpile. Phyllis >Dear Phyllis, > >If it is not too personal, what exactly is the Alpha Thessalonia Trait. I >am also very interested in this subject. > >Regards, >Colleen > ====Irish American Mailing List===== Add/check your surname to the Irish-American mailing list Surname Registry at: http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/IrishAmerican/<http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/IrishAmerican/> ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Dear Phyllis, If it is not too personal, what exactly is the Alpha Thessalonia Trait. I am also very interested in this subject. Regards, Colleen -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Phyllis Sent: Tuesday, 30 January 2007 6:22 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [IRISH-AMER] DNA evidence proves ... a lot! Good morning, Michael :) Thanks for your post. I have a question for you, and for anyone knowledgeable enough to answer. I have quite a bit of Irish heritage, from Galway and Longford, with family stories of Scots-Irish ... Ulster? Recently, I have learned that I carry the Alpha Thessalonia Trait, which is a mediterranean-Asian trait. I've been puzzling over where the heck in my lineage is there a Mediterranean/Asian ancestor? Maybe this answers the question. Since I am female, the test results re MtDNA are appropo. My other lines are German (Ostfrisia, Saxony), Welsh, French (Paris), and perhaps English. Can't find a Med/Asian ancestor anywhere. What can you tell me about the A-Thessalonia Trait ... mediterranean/Asian traits in general ... in reference to the Irish. I am most interested in this subject. Peace and grace Phyllis > The first study conducted by Sykes of Oxford University in Great Britain about 1980 found seven separate locations for varying types of mitochondrial DNA which is only transmitted through the maternal line forming the basis of his book "The Seven Daughters of Eve". DNA also proves that all living homo sapiens descend form one original mother whom scientists call Eve from the Book of Genesis. The Irish inhabitants appear to be predominantly from two groups, the first being in the Iberian Peninsula probably the ancestors of modern day Basques, and the second being centered in Northern Italy and Southern France but havind settled there from Syria in the Middle East quite a bit later than the arrival of the first mesolithic hunting and food gathering culture who had previously crossed over from Western Norway into Scotland and Ireland. > ====Irish American Mailing List===== Add/check your surname to the Irish-American mailing list Surname Registry at: http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/IrishAmerican/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Just a bit of speculation. I don't think that this particular trait would be with the mtDNA because if I remember correctly, that simply has a function of carrying genetic codes from the periphery to the nucleus of the cell. Therefore, like blood types, the gene for the particular trait must be part of the molecular structure within the nucleus of the cell. This does not necessarily mean that it is passed down through the paternal line. There may be an equal probability that it was passed down through either the maternal or paternal lines from some ancestor, regardless of how ancient. In the studies mentioned, the closest European population group would be the one in the Balkans region. The gene may have been transmitted with the early neolithic settlers from the Middle East who came across Anatolia (modern day Turkey). This would be Mediterranean but not necessarily Oriental or Asian. What we are talking about is gene frequency in a population. The gene may have a declining frequency starting from a particular location somewhere in the East, as for example, the incidence of type B blood which is high in the Middle Eastern populations and declines moving westward across Europe, originally non-existent among the Basques and presumably also among the early Irish population. Because of the Mediterranean element, my guess is that it was originally transmitted from somewhere in Asia perhaps along a trading route and then through southern France, southern Germany, or Switzerland. Michael O'Hearn ____________________________________________________________________________________ No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mail

THE BLUE AND THE GRAY By the flow of the inland river, Whence the fleets of iron have fled, Where the blades of the grave grass quiver, Asleep are the ranks of the dead; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting for judgment day; Under the one, the Blue; Under the other, the Gray. These in the robings of glory, Those in the gloom of defeat, All with the battle blood gory, In the dusk of eternity meet; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the laurel, the Blue; Under the willow, the Gray. >From the silence of sorrowful hours The desolate mourners go, Lovingly laden with flowers Alike for the friend and the foe, Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the roses, the Blue; Under the lilies, the Gray. So with an equal splendor The morning sun rays fall, With a touch, impartially tender, On the blossoms blooming for all; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; 'Broidered with gold, the Blue; Mellowed with gold, the Gray. So, when the summer calleth, On forest and field of grain With an equal murmur falleth The cooling drip of the rain; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting for judgment day; Wet with the rain, the Blue; Wet with the rain, the Gray. Sadly, but not with upbraiding, The generous deed was done; In the storm of the years that are fading, No braver battle was won; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting for judgment day; Under the blossoms, the Blue; Under the garlands, the Gray. No more shall the war cry sever, Or the winding rivers be red; They banish our anger forever When they laurel the graves of our dead! Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Love and tears for the Blue, Tears and love for the Gray. -- Francis Miles Finch On December 13, 1862, Union forces assaulted Confederate entrenchments along a ridge known as Marye's Heights, in Fredericksburg, VA. Fourteen waves of attackers were sent across open fields against the fortified Confederate position. All were shattered by repeated volleys of Confederate fire. The Irish Brigade was in the third wave, and achieved international fame with the tenaciousness of their attack. Eliciting cheers from their Confederate adversaries, many of whom were Irish themselves, their attack collapsed when the Brigade's officers were felled. Of the fourteen attacks, the Irish came closer to attaining the ridge. The Brigade was permanently crippled by the 45 percent losses it sustained in the attack. In the aftermath of the futile assault on Marye's Heights, General Robert E. LEE commented on the extraordinary courage exhibited by the men of the Irish Brigade: "Never were men so brave. They ennobled their race by the splendid gallantry on that desperate occasion. Though totally routed, they reaped a harvest of glory. Their brilliant, though hopeless assaults on our lines, excited the hearty applause of our officers and men."

On the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, the Irish-American, a weekly newspaper in New York City, published the following poem, from the pen of Eleanor Rogers Cox. VETERANS OF FREDERICKSBURG To the surviving members of Meagher's Irish Brigade, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg December 13, 1862 - December 13, 1912 WHO ARE THESE WHO HITHER MARCHING DOWN THE VALE OF MISTY YEARS, FROM THE HEIGHTS WHERE NOW THE CANNON'S LIPS ARE DUMB, FROM THE FIELD WHERE MEAGHER LED THEM, FROM THE FIELD WHERE VALOR SPED THEM, ALL IN BROKEN BUT UNDAUNTED COLUMN COME. OLD MEN, BRAVE MEN, MEN OF IRISH BIRTH! MEN WHO ON THE FOREHEAD OF THEIR DEAR NEW LAND AFAR, SET THE NAME OF IRELAND, OF THEIR KNIGHTLY SIRELAND THERE TO SHINE FOREVER LIKE A STAR! FREDERICKSBURG! THE NAME IS GRAVEN ON THE MEMORIES OF MEN, IN IMMORTAL SCRIPT OF THUNDER AND OF FLAME, AND YOUR COMRADES THERE WHO PERISHED, LO! OF GOD AND FREEDOM CHERISHED, GLEEMS THEIR DEED UPON THE FAIREST HEIGHT OF FAME! FONTENOY AND FREDERICKSBURG! INSCRIBE THEM SIDE BY SIDE; SARSFIELD, DILLON, MEAGHER, ALL MEN OF THE BRIGADE- WHO FOR EVERY FRIENDSHIP GIVEN TO THEIR LAND BENEATH HIGH HEAVEN IN THE COINAGE OF THEIR HEART'S FAIR VALOR PAID. THROUGH YOUR VEINS WHAT HERO-FIRE LEAPED UPON THAT DAY! WHAT IMMORTAL HERITAGE OF FEAR-DEFYING MIRTH AS WITH CHEER OUTRINGING, YOUR BOUYANT RANKS WENT SPRINGING FORWARD TO THE BREASTWORKS O'ER CORPSE BESTREWN EARTH! "FORWARD TO THE BREASTWORKS!" FROM OUT THE SMOKE AND FLAME BELCHED FORTH FROM MARYE'S HEIGHTS, WE PLUCK THE DEATHLESS WORD! AND THE MOTTO OF YOUR GIVING SHALL BE (THE) MOTTO OF OUR LIVING WHERESOEVER SOUND OF IRISH SPEECH IS HEARD! BRAVE MEN, TRUE MEN, MEN OF THE BRIGADE! MEN WHO FOLLOWED MEAGHER OF THE SWORD! LOOK, HOW GLOWS THE GOD LIT EMBER OF THAT DAY IN FAR DECEMBER, HOW ITS MEMORY IN OUR INMOST SOUL IS STORED! from Robert McLernon

I spelled it wrong! It is Alpha Thallasemia Trait ... got my ss's and ll's reversed on that one!!!!! it showed up on some blood tests that were run, looking for something else. What it is, my red blood cells are always smaller than normal, and so consequently I run slightly anemic. But I am not anemic ... just low on iron because the cells are smaller than they should be, so each cell carries less hemoglobin than a larger cell would, therefore less hemoglobin/iron shows up on the blood tests. My system makes more than the normal number of red blood cells, however, to try to compensate. So I have the smaller cells, more of them, and am slightly anemic. There are two other tests that are always out of range on the low end, something like MCV (MVC?) and MCVH (MVCH?) ... not sure on that. would have to go look it up on the test results and I'm being lazy right now. :-P But see, I am blonde, green eyed ... had the white blonde hair into my thirties ... born a towhead. dunno where the Mediterranean/Asian ancestor is. However if the DNA tests results posted here for MtDNA are correct then that would explain it. What I have is not a disease, it's just a blood trait just as sickle cell is. Although there are three other kinds of Alpha-Thallasemia, in varying degrees of severity. THe problem would be if my children had the trait and were to marry someone who is also carrying the trait, and since it is recessive .. then their children would have all kinds of problems. If you do a google on it you can read about it. But spell it the way I have it now! hahaha What I am wondering about now, is would such a trait as a Mediterranean/Oriental/Asian trait show up in the Irish, because of the ancestry from so long ago? I do know that maternal DNA (MtDNA) changes/mutates only once in about a million or so years, let's say, as it is passed down the maternal line. So wouldn't it have to be something I inherited from my maternal line? (That would only be Irish, French, and a little bit of German from Saxony. On my paternal side it is Ostfrisian-German (with a little bit of Dutch in there), Swiss, and English.) Or could my father have passed this mediterranean trait to me. I guess I'm looking for the Asian in the Irish woodpile. Phyllis >Dear Phyllis, > >If it is not too personal, what exactly is the Alpha Thessalonia Trait. I >am also very interested in this subject. > >Regards, >Colleen >

Well Jean, It seems I owe an apology to Irving Berlin because I commented that rhymning starch with March wasn't exactly great poetry. I assure you the lyrics weren't sung to us, but it has Jimmy as stiff as starch da da da and on the 17th of March. That has to be the source of the little ditty that sent us off to our St. Patrick's Day parade. I appreciate your finding this song by Iriving Berlin which I think I have never heard sung. But if I ever do hear it I will remember where I first read the lyrics. Take care and thanks, Mary Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 17:17:03 -0800 From: "Jean R." Subject: Re: [IRISH-AMER] Children's poem regarding a St.Patrick's Day Parade To: Message-ID: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original THEY WERE ALL OUT OF STEP BUT JIM Lyrics, Irving Berlin Jimmy's mother went to see her son Marching along on parade In his uniform and with his gun What a lovely picture he made She came home that ev'ning Filled up with delight And to all the neighbors She would yell with all her might [Refrain:] Did you see my little Jimmy marching With the soldiers up the avenue? There was Jimmy just as stiff as starch Like his Daddy on the seventeenth of March Did you notice all the lovely ladies Casting their eyes on him? Away he went To live in a tent Over in France with his regiment Were you there, and tell me, did you notice? They were all out of step but Jim [2nd verse:] That night little Jimmy's father stood Buying the drinks for the crowd You could tell that he was feeling good He was talking terribly loud Twenty times he treated My! but he was dry When his glass was empty He would treat again and cry [Alternate Lines In 2nd refrain:] It made me glad To gaze at the lad Lord help the Kaiser if he's like his Dad Mary -- Is this the one? If not, I have a couple more ideas. Jean xx ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary Quirk-Thompson" Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:09 AM Subject: [IRISH-AMER] Children's poem regarding a St.Patrick's Day Parade I realize that after reading great poetry at this site this is a terrible question, but. As my mother and I were leaving for the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in the 1980's my father rattled off a rhyme. It had to do with a St Patrick's Day parade with "Jimmy standing stiff as starch" da da da "on the 17th of March". It was longer than just those two lines.I think it was even longer than four lines.We were heading out the door and it took a bit to realize what was being said. My mother and I asked him to repeat it as we had never heard it before. Unhappily he could not. It had just popped into his mind and popped out just as fast. I would love to know the lines of that ditty. My father was born in 1901 in Milwaukee Wisconsin. His grandparents, were O'Connell, from around Emly Tipperary, Quirk from Cashel Tipperary, O'Neill from Cork and Monaghan no idea what county. The families were all in the US by 1850, so it is probably a US ditty rather than Irish. He was stationed in Lurgen, Co Armagh during WWII. But it sounded like something one would learn as a child rather than as a soldier in his forties who had a law degree. It is no great poetry: starch, March. But I am interested because of the sentiment attached to the moment I first heard it. So if anyone is familiar with the ditty please comment. Thanks, Mary Quirk-Thompson --------------------------------- Have a burning question? Go to Yahoo! Answers and get answers from real people who know.

Sorry Phyllis, I can't help you on that one. Been out of school too long before any of this DNA stuff was discovered, although I did learn about DNA theory in a high school freshman biology class. I sent the post from the library and received an message back from LAUSD which apparently controls the computer that it was against their policy and was not sent. Later when I checked it I noticed a lot of errors. Either I was in a hurry, OR..... Anyway, a revised version is posted in the Yahoo Group Irish-DNA. Michael O'Hearn ____________________________________________________________________________________ Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396546091

------ Forwarded Message Sunday, January 28, 2007 By John McGurk Here is the shipping news . . . about Ulster folk who sailed away to new lives. Thanks to a massive new online historical information service, it's plain sailing for anyone seeking to discover the amazing journeys taken in your family's past. The initiative - www.ancestorsonboard.co - has just been launched, offering details of the passengers who emigrated to the America, Canada, Australia and other far flung corners. Information about more than 30 million loved-ones who set sail from 35 ports around the British Isles from 1890 will be available thanks to family history site www.findmypast.com and the National Archives. Among the ports included in the database of passenger lists are Londonderry, Belfast and Galway among others. At present, ship passenger lists for 1890-1899 are available at the click of a button. But a spokeswoman for Ancestors On Board told Sunday Life that many more records up to 1960 will be accessible in the coming months. Included in the passenger details is the list from the legendary Belfast-built Titanic's ill-fated maiden voyage to New York in 1912 Other lists to be found among the records from more than 1,800 ships include the August 15, 1890 sailing of the Ethiopia from Derry. But it's not just emigrants who pop up on the one and a half million pages of passenger lists. For the treasure trove of travel information also includes details about celebrities, businessmen, diplomats and tourists. Among the famous names to be spotted are Sir Matt Busby, Charlie Chaplin, Harry Houdini and Noel Coward. Find My Past spokeswoman Elaine Collins said that the service would be " an invaluable tool for people tracing relatives they believe may have left the UK during this period". She added: "Previously, these records were only accessible from The National Archives in London. But now, everyone can easily research their ancestors' voyages over the internet, from the comfort of their own home, anywhere in the world." ------ End of Forwarded Message

Good morning, Michael :) Thanks for your post. I have a question for you, and for anyone knowledgeable enough to answer. I have quite a bit of Irish heritage, from Galway and Longford, with family stories of Scots-Irish ... Ulster? Recently, I have learned that I carry the Alpha Thessalonia Trait, which is a mediterranean-Asian trait. I've been puzzling over where the heck in my lineage is there a Mediterranean/Asian ancestor? Maybe this answers the question. Since I am female, the test results re MtDNA are appropo. My other lines are German (Ostfrisia, Saxony), Welsh, French (Paris), and perhaps English. Can't find a Med/Asian ancestor anywhere. What can you tell me about the A-Thessalonia Trait ... mediterranean/Asian traits in general ... in reference to the Irish. I am most interested in this subject. Peace and grace Phyllis > The first study conducted by Sykes of Oxford University in Great Britain about 1980 found seven separate locations for varying types of mitochondrial DNA which is only transmitted through the maternal line forming the basis of his book "The Seven Daughters of Eve". DNA also proves that all living homo sapiens descend form one original mother whom scientists call Eve from the Book of Genesis. The Irish inhabitants appear to be predominantly from two groups, the first being in the Iberian Peninsula probably the ancestors of modern day Basques, and the second being centered in Northern Italy and Southern France but havind settled there from Syria in the Middle East quite a bit later than the arrival of the first mesolithic hunting and food gathering culture who had previously crossed over from Western Norway into Scotland and Ireland. >

SNIPPET: Born in Dublin, Ireland, January 17, 1897, Elizabeth Ann (Lily) KEMPSON (Mrs. Matthew McALERNEY) supported the cause of a united Ireland until her death in her adopted home of Seattle, Washington on January 21, 1996, at 99 years of age. At age 14, she was imprisoned for organizing a strike at Jacob's Biscuit Factory, Dublin. She was involved in the trade union movement of the Citizen's Army. She eventually joined the rebel Irish Voluntary Army which evolved into the original IRA. She was the last surviving member of the Easter Irish Rebellion Uprising in 1916. During the week-long siege of Dublin, KEMPSON acted as a courier for Padraic PEARSE and the other men inside the General Post Office, dodging snipers in the process, but once the fighting ended she was arrested and thrown into jail again, only to escape and leave the country using her sister's passport. When she got to the U. S., KEMPSON made her way to Seattle where she married Matthew McALERNEY, who died in 1981. The couple had seven children, Kathleen, who died in 1987, Alice, Matthew, John, James, Betty and Peggy. A grandmother at 42, great-grandmother at 63, and great-great-grandmother of 5 at the time of her death, this feisty grandmother's greatest wish was peace through education of the children of her beloved Ireland. Lily left numerous relatives in Ireland, England and the United States. Two photos of Lily, taken in 1897 in Dublin as a member of the Irish Volunteer Army, and in 1933 with her great-great grandchildren, Kevin and Kyle, the last two of her 116 direct descendants appeared on the "People Page" of the March/April 1996 issue of "Irish America" magazine. She was buried in her adopted home of Seattle. Her obituary read: "Elizabeth Ann (Lily) Kempson McALERNEY age 99. Born in Dublin, Ireland, January 17, 1897 and died January 22, 1996 in Seattle. She was preceded in death by her husband Matthew (1981) and daughter Kathleen McNERTHNEY (1987). She is survived by six children, Alice G. McCULLOUGH, Matthew McALERNEY (Marian), John McALERNEY (Bridget), all of Seattle; James McALERNEY, of Arlington, WA; Betty COGER (Major Jimmy L.), of Lillian, AL, and Peggy LARSEN (Cmdr. John), of El Cajon, CA. She also leaves 42 grandchildren, 63 great-grandchildren, five gg-grandchildren, a total of 116 living descendants, and numerous relatives in Ireland and England. At age 14, she was imprisoned for organizing a strike at Jacob's Biscuit Factory, Dublin. She was involved in the trade union movement of the Citizen Army. Eventually she joined the rebel Irish Volunteer Army, which evolved into the original IRA. She was the last surviving member of the Easter Irish Rebellion Uprising of 1916. We are all so proud of you grandma Lily. You made us proud of ourselves; we love you dearly, and we'll miss you and your Irish wit, your courage and your feisty spirit. You taught us to love Ireland, but above all to love our own USA. 'Ireland Unfree Will Never Be at Peace.' We love you grandma! Remembrances may be made to Foss Home, 13023 Greenwood N., Seattle, 98133 or to Irish Northern Aid of Seattle to help in their fight to bring peace and justice to Northern Ireland."

I have updated the County Down births on my website , and the best of luck in your research. Raymond http://www.raymondscountydownwebsite.com

In a message dated 1/28/2007 4:42:11 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes: There is also a certain rare blood type that occurs more frequently in Ireland and is also common in North Africa which may indicate that some of the Neolithic arrivals came from North Africa and across Spain before reaching Ireland. do you know what type that is?

I believe it is blood type O. See article at: http://www.dadamo.com/napharm/store3/template2/encyclopedia.html I originally got the information from a book "The Course of Irish History" published in Ireland in the 1960's as I recall. Michael O'Hearn ____________________________________________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. http://new.mail.yahoo.com

This is terrific! Thank you so much. Beth Tordella On 1/28/07, Michael O'Hearn <[email protected]> wrote: > Several recent studies involving DNA indicate that the vast majority of Irish descend on both the male and female lines from the ancient inhabitants of Western Europe who moved into Scotland and Northern Ireland after the glaciers began to melt about 12,000 years ago. > > The first study conducted by Sykes of Oxford University in Great Britain about 1980 found seven separate locations for varying types of mitochondrial DNA which is only transmitted through the maternal line forming the basis of his book "The Seven Daughters of Eve". DNA also proves that all living homo sapiens descend form one original mother whom scientists call Eve from the Book of Genesis. The Irish inhabitants appear to be predominantly from two groups, the first being in the Iberian Peninsula probably the ancestors of modern day Basques, and the second being centered in Northern Italy and Southern France but havind settled there from Syria in the Middle East quite a bit later than the arrival of the first mesolithic hunting and food gathering culture who had previously crossed over from Western Norway into Scotland and Ireland. > > The second study conducted by Underwood of Standford University was done on Y chromosome DNA samples which are only passed down in the male line and identifies three separate locations for varying types of male DNA, one in the Iberian Peninsula, one in the the Balkan Peninsula, and one in the Ukraine region near the Black Sea. These three groups were separated from an inoriginal homogeneous population in Europe at the time of the Ice Age. The findings indicate that almost all modern day Irish descend from the ancient inhabitants of Spain who began to move northward as the glaciers began to melt, and spread into Norway, Scotland and Ireland in agreement with Sykes' findings. The area of Ireland with this type of DNA is in Galway where I believe it is roughly 98% prevalent. The areas with the most diversity are the Ulster and Leinster regions where there was substantial settlement from Britain. Still, the incidence of the earlier type is about 95% I believe. > > The group originating in the Ukraine area in both studies corresponds to the European ancestors of the kurgan culture which Marija Gimbutas formerly on the faculty of the University of California at Los Angeles identifies as being influenced by groups from southern Asia, the Ural Mountains region of Russia who became the Finno-Ugric culture, Semitic peoples who probably came from Iran, and others from the Caucasus region, all forming into the so-called Indo-European culture of which the early Celts belong. > > I more recent study using Y chromosome DNA has found that a disproportionately high percentage of Irish males in the Ui Neill areas particularly in Ulster trace back to a single 5th century ancestor whom it has been suggested was the Ard Ri Niall of the Nine Hostages. I would guess that if these findings are accurate, that Niall was descended paternally from the ancient mesolithic inhabitants of Ireland as are the vast majority of Irish males today. Although the genealogy of Niall points to a Gaelic Indo-European origin, it is likely that, as Gibbon suggests with regard to the English nobility, at some point in Niall's family tree there was illegitamacy of parentage which of course is incapable of proof. > > > Michael O'Hearn > > > > --------------------------------- > Cheap Talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. > > ====Irish American Mailing List===== > Add/check your surname to the Irish-American mailing list Surname Registry at: http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/IrishAmerican/ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- Elizabeth W. Tordella, MS, RN