Cut it out you guys, I have all hammer toes and I can't tell how long any of them are...I guess that is because I was a hard working Irish woman...who wore too many high heels in my day....SMILE Mary Kay Johnsen -----Original Message----- From: Lilly Murphy <lillylakewood@juno.com> To: OH-CLEVELAND-IRISH-L@rootsweb.com <OH-CLEVELAND-IRISH-L@rootsweb.com> Date: 19 December 2002 9:20 AM Subject: How long is your second toe? > > > >My big toe is shorter than the next one. Most in my family have a big >toe that is either the same size or smaller than the toe next to it. I >always knew that it was a hereditary thing but didn't dream it had >anything to do with Celtic genes. What about yours and how can this help >in our search for our beginnings? I am forwarding this from another >mailing list I belong to. >Lilly > >Excerpts from an article by Raymond E. Hunter, > >In this article he discussed the fact that in Celtic people the big toe >is the same length as the next toe. He stated:other nationalities the big >toe was much longer than the nest toe. > >They have used this to tract Celtic migration from the central Atlantic >down >through the Carolinas and into Georgia in the 1700. Seems that the Dutch >Boers have this gene from the Celtic Dutch from two thousand years ago. > >Beginning in the 800s BC and lasting through the end of the millennium, a >remarkable people spread from the region of southeastern Germany, part >of Austria, and part of Hungary throughout most of central and Western >Europe. > >Known simply as Celts when the expansion began, they differentiated into >sub-groups as they settled in present-day Spain, Portugal, France, the >British Isles, northern Italy, southern Germany, parts of Scandinavia, >and >even parts of western Russia.. The Celtic people were great warriors and >great artisans; most of the bronze found across the Mediterranean >countries >came from Celtic mines and smelters. They provided many of the fine >stonemasons who built impressive edifices in the Greek and Roman Empires. > >The Celtic people who settled in today's France became known as Gauls. >When >the Romans invaded Gaul in the first century BC, there ensued a titanic >struggle, with the Gauls led by Vercingetorix. The fierce independence of >the Celtic people worked to the disadvantage of Vercingetorix, as he had >to >rely on voluntary support from the independent tribes within Gaul - who >were >as likely to fight each other as they were to fight the common enemy. > >Many of the Gauls fled the region rather than submit to foreign rule; >they >traveled completely across Europe to settle in what is today central >Turkey. >The region became known as Galatia. > >It was in the British Isles that the Celts left their biggest mark. The >first wave of Celts, in the period of about 600 - 400 BC, spread across >the >islands and became known as Gaels. In about 150 BC, a second wave, known >as >Brythons, spread across southern England. It is from the word "Brython" >that >we get the names "Briton," for the people in southern and central >England, >and "Breton," for those who fled the Romans and Anglo-Saxons and settled >in >northern France. > >After nearly a hundred years, the Romans reached the neck of the island, >where Hadrian built the wall known by his name, across approximately the >boundary between present-day Scotland and England. That wall was built as >protection against the Scots (and/or Picts, as the eastern Scots were >sometimes known). But the Romans could not hold the country against the >Scots, the frequently rebellious Britons, and the Gaels in the western >regions, known as Welsh, especially with the new problems of Angles and >Saxons raiding the southeastern coastline. In 410 AD, the Romans left for >good, telling the Britons to "see to their own defenses." > >In subsequent years, the increasing pressure of Anglo-Saxons invasions >from >regions of present-day Germany pushed the Britons into present-day Wales, >southern Scotland, and the Bretonic region of northern France. > >One feature already mentioned that is strongly associated with Celtic >blood >lines is red hair; a great majority of people in the world who have red >hair >will be found to have a Celtic ancestor. But that feature is not uniquely >associated with the Celts, so the spread of Celtic people in such areas >as >present-day Germany and Scandinavia has not been accepted by all >authorities. > >During World War II, a discovery was made that only recently has received >meticulous research. A couple of doctors in medical centers in England >noticed that >there was a feature of Scots and Welsh soldiers wounded in battle that >was >not present with English, Germans, and other nationalities. The former >frequently had a big toe (or great toe) that was the same length as the >next >toe; all others had great toes markedly longer. > >They found that there were burial sites across Britain where the >skeletons >were completely of one ethnic group, such as Celtic burial sites on >islands >along the Scottish northwest coast, and pre-Celtic burial sites in >southern >England. Results from studies of those burial sites showed that to a 95 >probability Celtic remains had a big toe the same length as, or shorter >than, the next toe. > >The Celtic toe has been found in abundance in southern and central >Germany >and across western and central Scandinavia. It has been found in >present-day >descendants of the Dutch Boers who settled in South Africa over a hundred >years ago; the only source of that gene is from the Celtic Dutch of two >thousand years ago. It could be used to map the Scottish migration route >from the central Atlantic down through the Carolinas and into Georgia in >the >1700s. > >None of which can detract from the growing appreciation of a people who >had >an enormous influence on European history, and whose traits of fierce >independence, unparalleled military prowess and courage, and love of >education, science, and the arts continue to wield a powerful influence >on >present-day world civilization. > >Raymond Hunter > >2739 Freeman Road > >Royston, GA 30662 > > > >Oe to a toe: > >If yo feets is all misshapen don't despair fo it can be taken > >that youse from a different race even tho you can' t see it in yo face > >Don't give yoself some extra welts > >yo may be descended from those fightin Celts!! >_______________________________________________________ > >Diana Keener >Fort Worth, TX >Researching GASKO/WUNSCHEL > >Diana and Ginger (canine in charge) > >________________________________________________________________ >Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today >Only $9.95 per month! >Visit www.juno.com > >