My Connection to the Royal House of Stewart

Genealogy
What is the Royal House of Stewart? The Encyclopedia Britannica teaches us that the Royal House of Stewart was a family of Scotland, later in England, that dates back to 1371, ending with the death of Henry, Cardinal Duke of York, in 1807. Now I am not British—nor am I directly related to the House of Stewart. I was born in New Jersey of quite ordinary (if interesting) roots. So how can I claim there is a connection between myself and the House of Stewart? The Author’s Mother I am an avid enthusiast of genealogy, the pursuit of the family tree. I have been heavily involved in climbing that tree for nearly twenty years. One branch of the Ayres family, my tie-in (through my mother) with the Stewart name, involves…
Read More

The Bee, Fibonacci, and Genealogy

Mathematics
The Bee, Fibonacci and Genealogy -By Ellen Hetland Fenwick. Bees are strange creatures. There are three “sexes” of bees... Drone: Male born of a Queen. No male parent. Not sterile. Queen: Female born of a Queen & a Drone. Fed Royal Jelly. Not Sterile. Worker: Female born of a Queen & a Drone. Not fed Royal Jelly. Sterile. This makes for a most unusual genealogy. Let’s examine the first six generations. Gen 0: Our Male: Drone Gen 1: His parent: Queen Gen 2: Her Parents: Queen, Drone Gen 3: Their parents: Queen, Drone, Queen Gen 4: Their parents: Queen, Drone, Queen, Queen, Drone Gen 5: Their Parents: Queen, Drone, Queen, Queen, Drone, Queen, Drone, Queen The total number of individuals in our male bee’s line for each generation is shown below: But…
Read More

Euthanasia (Mercy Killing) in 1904 Pennsylvania

Genealogy, History
[caption id="attachment_17483" align="alignright" width="480"] Death certificate.[/caption] Late in the 20th century, political discussions arose over whether it would be the right thing to euthanize a suffering individual. The practice has been a common one for animals for time immemorial. But the idea of euthanasia has still not gained serious acceptance. Or has it? I’m the family historian, researching the family lines as far back as possible: my two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, and so forth. I also included siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews. I tossed in a few extra, as well, if they seemed to merit consideration for some particular reason. One of my lines was that of my mother’s mother’s father’s line, that man being John Elwood Jr. Stockham, of Camden, New Jersey. He died in his 30s…
Read More