Gene editing: A path to "designer babies"?

So, whose DNA do they stick back in the area they cut out? And how did they figure this out? What might this mean for DNA for family research? Would there be another set of DNA in there from another person who was not in the room when the egg was fertilized?

“The era of human gene editing has begun,” said Vivek Wadhwa in Washington​Post.com. In a major biological breakthrough, a team led by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have successfully modified the DNA of human embryos to replace defective genes that cause a hereditary heart condition. The scientists used CRISPR, a “gene-editing system” that essentially cuts the faulty DNA portion out and replaces it with a healthy version of the gene. This is a monumental breakthrough—one that could eventually lead to the eradication of “all hereditary diseases,” including cystic fibrosis, early-onset Alzheimer’s, and some cancers. But it has sparked an ethics firestorm. Will gene editing also be used to make people taller, stronger, smarter? Where will we “draw the line”? There are already “plenty of people who wouldn’t think twice about dictating their embryo’s IQ,” said Nicole Russell in the Washington Examiner. The CRISPR research moves us a step closer to “designer babies.”

Sorry, but “these fears are closer to science fiction than they are to science,” said Pam Belluck in The New York Times. CRISPR alters just one gene with a harmful mutation; characteristics like intelligence and height are shaped by thousands of genetic variations. To prevent scientists from going too far with genetic modification, society simply needs strict laws, regulation, and oversight. Every advance of this type has produced “hysterical” predictions of engineered superbabies and mutants, said André Picard in The Globe and Mail (Canada). “We saw it when in vitro fertilization was pioneered” and “when Dolly the sheep was cloned.” Yes, there are potential perils, but with 10,000 single-gene disorders plaguing mankind, think of the “hurt, heartache, and premature death” we can prevent.

Be that as it may, there is still “a great deal we don’t know” about gene editing, said the Los Angeles Times in an editorial. Once people start passing edited DNA to their offspring, “minor issues might become major ones.” When scientists first used genetic modification to create “more uniformly red” tomatoes, for example, they inadvertently “turned off the gene that gave tomatoes flavor.” Who knows what might happen when edited embryos grow and develop? Clearly, preventing disease and suffering is a worthwhile aim. But let’s “get human gene editing right rather than just getting it soon.”

Taken from the August 18, 2017 edition of The Week magazine.

Happy New Year!

I hope your year is full of wonderful surprises and new adventures! If you read this, will you leave a comment below?

Parabens tied to infertility

And here is another way to trim the family tree... the chemicals in our hygiene products are rendering some men infertile or making their children sick. Pretty scary stuff. You'd think Americans would be outraged. Why aren't we outraged?

Unregulated chemicals in everyday items such as toothpaste, soap, and deodorant could be causing fertility problems for men, a new study suggests. Parabens such as methylparaben and propylparaben are preservatives widely used in U.S. grooming products. To examine the effects of these chemicals on fertility, researchers in Poland studied the lab test results of 315 male fertility clinic patients, reports Reuters​.com. They found that those with higher concentrations of parabens in their saliva, blood, urine, and semen had lower testosterone levels and a larger proportion of sperm that was abnormally shaped or slow moving—factors that reduce the likelihood of fertilization. Parabens were also linked to DNA damage in men’s sperm. The researchers remain unsure why the chemicals may affect fertility, or at what levels they can be harmful—but urge caution all the same. Study leader Joanna Jurewicz says avoiding parabens altogether would be “very difficult, because they are widespread,” but suggests checking labels on personal care products to limit consumption where possible.

Taken from the September 8, 2017 The Week magazine.

Childfree women

Hmmm. what does this say about American women?

I just heard a story on the radio which I can't seem to find to link here about Japanese women who are forgoing sex altogether. They have decided they are happier on their own than teaming up with Japanese men.

I suppose that's an even stronger message to 'the powers that be'. I imagine that message is giving the negative birth-rate Japanese government conniption fits. And maybe that is why we are having reboots of movies like 'The Handmaids Tale'.

For the first time in recorded history, more than half (54 percent) of American women ages 25 to 29 are childless, according to the U.S. Census Fertility Report. A record 31 percent of women ages 30 to 34 also haven’t given birth.

Wait, why do you suppose they used the language 'childless' and then 'haven't given birth'? Those might be different things? Abortion... adoption... abstinence.... all of the above, I suppose.

And what does this do to the family tree? I guess I should know, being both a genealogist and childfree.

May 26, 2017 The Week Magazine

Philadelphia Cemetery

I heard this NPR story on Mother's Day this year. Seemed appropriate for this blog.

Because it is the only green space for many folks in down town Philadelphia, they are enjoying and beautifying the 19th century Woodland cemetery on the grounds of the former William Hamilton estate, a botanist.




What caught my attention was that some (many?) of the headstones have eroded and the names can no longer be read. It makes me hope that fellow FAGs (Find-a-gravers) have recorded these interments for posterity. I pray that the paper records are intact and that they have been transcribed.

I was also interested in the discussion about the unmarried, former Civil War nurse. After doing some research on some of the people buried in the cemetery, the interviewee was speculating as to why she became a nurse and what was the role of her father, who lies buried next to her (or vice versa, as she lived until 70.) That is exactly the kind of thing that I want to do - imagine and write the stories of the child free women in my tree.

Take a listen here. It's only 3 minutes of your time.

Packed In A Trunk - the Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson

The other night I watched a wonderful documentary on HBO on Demand - "Packed in a Truck." A grandniece (though she might actually be a cousin, I think) went searching for the life of her ancestor, Edith Lake Wilkinson.

Edith was an unmarried and childfree woman, whose money was eventually embezzled from her as she was locked up in an institution and neglected. Horrendous circumstances. A wonderful story, though, about the research and the 'bringing home' of a very talented artist.

I am intrigued by this story, too, because, though my ancestors are not talented artists - at least not that I have discovered - they also deserve to have their stories told and not to be forgotten.

Here's how they describer the documentary on the website:

PACKED IN A TRUNK uncovers the story of artist Edith Lake Wilkinson, committed to an asylum in 1924 and never heard from again.  We follow the journey of Edith’s great-niece as she pieces together the mystery of Edith’s life and returns her work to Provincetown.

Here is a lovely example of her work which I took from the website:

The Theodora "Dora" Starr Story

The Theodora Starr Story
Theodora was either the first or second child, but only daughter, of Theodore Burr and Caroline Margaret Morris Starr. She was born on July 11, 1866 in Kings County, New York – Brooklyn. Her father was a jeweler working in Manhattan and her mother kept house on Congress Street in Brooklyn.
In the 1875 New York census, the family is living in a brownstone at 149 Congress Street, Brooklyn, claimed to be valued at $17,000. The house was across the street from Cobble Hill Park. One can assume that Dora played with her siblings and maybe even cousins in that park. The family of 6 had at least two servants living and working with them. Dora was the eldest of 4 children; her siblings were Louis Morris, 6, Theodore, 4, and Howard White 2. They were living on the same block with her paternal grandmother, Harriet Howard White Starr, who was living with her younger brother’s family, Joseph Theodore White. Another sister, Amelia E. White, was living within that household, as well. It appears that perhaps Amelia (or Elizabeth) never married.
Dora’s brother Theodore died sometime before the 1880 census. (There may have been a first child, also called Theodore, but records are hard to decipher.)
In 1878, Dora’s father moved his business from 22 John Street to 206 5th Avenue. Perhaps this indicates that his business was growing and the family was enjoying additional wealth.
By 1880 the small family moved from Cobble Hill to 112 East 39th Street in Manhattan. They still have two servants from Ireland living with them.
Theodora seems to have spent summers in Ridgefield, Connecticut. It is there, during June, that her engagement to Harry L. Bloomfield is announced. Tragically, only a month later, on July 16th, Theodora dies of pneumonia. Her parents did what they could for their beloved daughter, bringing the family physician to Ridgefield from his home on Long Island. The reports of the day claim that “social gayeties here during the past few days have been at a standstill, owing to the sudden death of Miss Theodora Starr, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Theodore B. Starr, of New York, whose summer home is here,…”
Nothing is known about Theodora’s daily life, except for the tragedy of losing two of her brothers. She died on July 16, 1894 just after having reached her 28th birthday.
Theodora was the first of her family to be buried in Section 4 of the Ridgefield, Connecticut Cemetery.

Ida A. Heitmann

I was researching a German Maternal branch of my tree the other day and I came across this cousin who falls squarely in to my group of childless women about whom I want to write their stories as best as I am able. I never knew her, or of her, but her story has to be pretty remarkable: she was trapped in Germany during World War 1. Apparently she was visiting German relatives when the war broke out and she was unable to return home. I learned this from her passport application. When I can find the time I am sure it will be fun to piece together and imagine her life.

She certainly seems very stern, doesn't she?

Harry has been playing around with girls

Hahaha! I wish we had the letter from his mother describing what brother Harry was doing.

Sunday 1917 (8/19/1917)
Dear Mother,

Your Friday letter arrived today. We always have one mail delivery on Sunday.

It certainly was surprising to hear that Harry has been playing around with girls. I was glad to hear it, though. He ought to get out more often.

I had a regular surprise package from Karolyn today – a brown sweater and scarf to match that she knitted for me and a tobacco pouch. The sweater is a regular godsend. It’s pretty cold at 5:30 am these days. Her father is going to drive her down to Bridgeport this coming Saturday – the 25th. I’m going to try to get over to see her that Sunday. There is nothing definite yet but I’m inclined to think that Section 80 will be sent along with the section in which Allan Norton is. 80 is one of the oldest sections in camp now. Still you never can tell. At any rate I can’t drive yet – haven’t been given instructions so I’ll not see any actual service for quite a few months unless they transfer me to some sort of clerical work at some headquarters over there. If we are going I do wish they’d tell us.

The weather is ideal. Cool nights and warm clear days. Friday I was vaccinated for small pox so I am all through with having my arm jabbed and punctured unless the vaccination doesn’t take.

I got another pair of shoes this week – three pairs now.

Love to all,
Herbert

I believe this is a photo of Harry when he was young. He married, but never had any children. If not Harry, still a very handsome man.

Beverly Hayden Art at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, Co.

The Cherry Creek Arts Festival started today in Denver, CO; the festival continues through the 6th. It's a juried show and there are many excellent artists.

I met Beverly Hayden from Chattanooga, TN. She had some art pieces which jumped out at me because she uses vintage items, such as washboards and irons, etc. and creates shadow boxes with old photographs. The piece I admired today, called "Luck of the Draw" incorporates photographs of her mother as a child and some of her spinster - or shall we use childless? - aunts. It seems that I can not snag that image from her web site to show my readers. She seemed genuinely enthusiastic when I told her I was attempting to research and write the story of my childless female relatives.

Here, however, is how she describes her process for making these "Boxes":

Striving to explore dimension and layers, I assemble vintage found objects with objects of my own construction. At their heart, most of my pieces are deeply personal reflections on introspection, self-awareness and personal growth. I explore universal experiences such as “finding oneself,” the tricky art of family relations as well as love and loss. I express the underlying theme of time passages by using layers of beeswax, paint and even minute differences in depth in my placement of objects. I love to incorporate old objects that have their own “life experiences” to add to the sense of history and timeliness of each piece.

I call the boxes and drawers that house these objects and their ultimate stories/expressions “homes” because I view them not only as a final resting place for these unexpected groupings, but also because each piece ultimately is about finding one’s home – that place within where peace, calm, happiness, safety & sense of family exist in abundance. Through our shared life experiences, celebrations & struggles, I hope your spirit finds a home and sense of kinship within one of my “homes.”

I was intrigued with her pieces, too, because she gives me a place to begin when I start to assemble some family pieces with photographs. I was visiting with my brother and he has some of my father's toy lead WW1 soldiers. I had conceived of the idea while I was in New Orleans that I should make a shadow box with a portrait of my father and some of his soldiers to give to my brothers. Of the collection of soldiers my brother had in his possession, many were of nurses, wounded and stretcher bearers. The Ambulance Corps is not my father's experience, but I couldn't not take those soldiers because of where my head is with these letters from Herb. Hopefully my shadow boxes will turn out as beautiful as those of Ms. Hayden, though with perhaps a narrower appeal.

I was able to scan her card:

There weren't any quitters in the family during the Civil War

I have been tracking the Lee family, though I don't actually know when they arrived in the US; I have hit a brick wall there. I do know, however, that the Kirkpatricks fought in the Civil War - arriving around 1830, before the Irish potato famine. I only just discovered the Wrights - Oliver Tree's mother-in-law's family. I haven't yet done that research, but I did find some Wrights living with Martha and Charles Kirkpatrick in Troy, hence how I discovered the name.

The central monument in the Kirkpatrick plot has a Civil War style cap on it. I was proud when one of the historians at the Rensselear Historical Society indicated that when she does her Civil War walk of Oakwood Cemetery she always passes by that memorial. One of the Kirkpatricks - Andrew, Jr. - fought and died in the War. His body was first buried in Virginia, but a fellow 'Burgher (Lansingburgh, the former name for Upper Troy), brought his remains with those of a few other young 'chaps' home to be buried. Andrew served with the 169th Regiment, New York Infantry, Company K. Story of his return was in the Lansingburgh Gazette on October 20, 1864.

In that attic stash I found some old unlabeled photographs of Civil War soldiers.

The boy looks very young; the other might be Andrew. I wish they were labeled.

I wonder how much discussion of the Kirkpatrick and Wright participation in the Civil War there was when Herb was growing up. Obviously by his comment, the family was proud of having done 'their duty'. And obviously at any family burial the family would have seen the tall central monument and had reason to discuss the family members already buried there. (I just wish I had more of that discussion!)

No date provided

Dear Mother,

This letter is private – just for you. For Heaven’s sake don’t worry yet. No one knows so far what will be done. I don’t know what the firm will do but I am confident that they’ll be pretty willing to let me go + keep my job for me. And anyway I could get another just as good. Charlie’s department is being enlarged greatly + I am confident he would do something for me. The other part of it will be all right, too. If there is a call I’ll be on the list of course. But it will take nine months to train me, anyway. And there’s no reason why I shouldn’t go. I’m perfectly normal and we’ve been Americans for a good many years you know. There weren’t any quitters in the family during the Civil War + and there isn’t going to be now. It’s only fair that we young unmarried chaps should be called first. If the call comes I shall present myself at once + if they want to take me I’ll be ready. At the most it means losing a year and I’m awfully young yet. Anyway, don’t worry, it will be all right.

Lovingly,
Herbert

Lillian Maher's Story

Lillian was born the second child to John Joseph and Lillian Charlotte Ehlers Maher in December 1889 Brooklyn. Lillian’s mother stayed home with the children and her father John worked as a letter carrier for the Post Office. Lillian’s brother was four years older, and though she probably knew him the best of his sisters, Lillian seems to have grown up focusing more on the females in her life. Lillian probably spent most of her time helping her mother take care of the younger daughters, Florence, born in 1897 and Roberta, 1901. There was a stillborn child when Lillian was about eight years old, an age when little girls are particularly interested in babies. One can assume this had an impact on Lillian’s world view.

Lillian, mother Lillian, Florence and Roberta in the front, circa 1918

Though both of her parents were born in New York, Lillian must have grown up with both rich German and Irish influences in her life, as both parents were first generation Americans. As a little girl in 1900, Lillian was living with her older brother and younger sister and both parents in an apartment on 7th Avenue. Lillian certainly played with the Irish and German children on the block, but she may also have played with kids who spoke Swedish and Finnish at home. Lillian’s neighbors at this time were dressmakers, carpenters, painters, bartenders and tradespeople.

At some point between 1906 and 1909 Lillian’s grandmother, Charlotte Matilda Andrews Ehlers, comes to live with the young family . The family is still growing, and Grandmother became a widow in 1896, so this arrangement probably was very helpful for both parties. Grandmother dies of valvular heart disease at Lillian’s parents’ home on 7th Avenue in July 1909 when Lillian is roughly 19. One might assume that Lillian helped her mother take care of both her grandmother and her younger siblings. By the April census in 1910, Edwin has moved out of the family home and is married to an English girl, Mary, and Lillian’s first nephew is born.

Lillian’s mother dies some time before January 1920 ; Lillian has taken over the role of mother, and certainly proclaims to be ‘keeping house’, as her father is still working with the post office and Roberta has been finishing up school. They have never moved from their apartment on 7th Avenue. Florence has found work outside of the home and is putting her education to work as a secretary in a publishing house. Lillian may have been envious of Florence, working outside the home, or perhaps she preferred to stay home and care for family members, as she became her father’s companion after the passing of her mother, Lillian, Sr.

Lillian’s brother, Edwin, dies as a very young man in 1922, leaving his young wife with 6 children.

By 1925, John, Lillian and Roberta have vacated the apartment on 7th Avenue and moved to the other side of Prospect Park to an apartment at 35 Clarkson Avenue in Brooklyn. Florence has married, had a daughter and moved to New Jersey and Roberta is out in the world meeting new people while Lillian stays home keeping her father’s house. Perhaps they made this move to be closer to Edwin’s widow and children, as they are now within a 20 minute walk to their home.

By 1929, Roberta marries and leaves home . She moves in with her husband around the corner from her sister-in-law Mary and nieces and nephews. Now that John and daughter Lillian live closer by, presumably the family sees one another on a regular basis and Lillian helps with her nieces and nephews during the day.

Everything changes by 1930; John has retired and bought a house on Franklin Avenue in Newfield, New Jersey . There is no evidence to lead to any conclusion as to why Newfield, NJ was chosen for a retirement town. Lillian’s sister lives in Madison which is closer to the City so her husband Herb can commute to work. But, Lillian continues to live with her father there, keeping his house. John maintains a large vegetable garden and is neighbored by chicken farmers.

In 1932, Lillian’s father dies. John owned his house, but we do not find Lillian living there in 1940.

We find a Lillian Maher living with the Killduff family at 3555 Netherlands Avenue in the Bronx. This Lillian is listed as a servant, with the occupation of housekeeping for a private family. The young couple has a new baby and they both work as morticians. This Lillian had lived in Madison, New Jersey in 1935. A scenario can be imagined that Lillian lived with her sister Florence in 1935 after their father passed, but either by the children being older and at school most of the day, she sought work outside her sister’s home, and found a position with this family of working parents.

We lose Lillian’s story until 1953 when she returns from a trip to the Caribbean over New Year’s with her younger, divorced sister Roberta. At this point the two sisters are living together at 207 West 11th Street. Roberta dies first, in October 1969. We have lost Lillian at this point and have no idea of her last years and when she died.

******************************************************************************

I have since learned that Lillian died in 1974 and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY. with her mother, sister Roberta and brother Edwin. I still don't know much about her, though.

Olive Katherine Lee's Story

Olive’s story is that of a woman whose world seems to have focused on family, but also on the changing roles of women. Olive never married, though she sought education and a career outside of the house.
Olive was born the third child and first daughter of parents Nellie Jane and Oliver Tree Lee in December 1904. She lived around the corner from her maternal grandparents, and then, later with her family in the home of her grandparents.

When Olive was still quite young, her grandparents died within a day of one another in January 1912.
Olive attended Russell Sage College in Troy, NY when it was a relatively new school for women. She graduated in 1926 with a degree in stenography. Olive was shy, and no photographs can be found of her while she attended the school.
By the 1925 New York State Census, Olive is listed as an office clerk; it would appear that she was attending classes while also working. The family lore indicates that her older brother, C. Herbert would send money home so that Olive could attend college. In fact, Olive was the first person in the Lee family to graduate from college, though her older brother attended Syracuse University.
By 1930, Olive made her way in to the shirt collar industry, where she will spend her entire professional career working for a major employer in Troy, NY, Cluett Peabody. Cluett, Peabody & Co. was the collar and cuff company that lasted the longest. It produced a number of brands, of which Arrow Shirts was the most famous. For the longest time, Arrow Shirts were synonymous with Troy. The Troy plant was thought to be the largest shirt factory in the world, and it sprawled along the river. In 1912, the New York Times would report that Cluett, Peabody & Co., "the largest manufacturers of collars, shirts, and cuffs in the world, is to become still larger." At that time it had factories at Troy, Rochester, Corinth, and Waterford, NY; Leominster, MA; South Norwalk, CT; and St. Johns, Quebec. The combined annual output of those plants was then 7,000,000 dozen collars and 500,000 dozen shirts.
According to the 1940 census, Olive is supporting herself and her parents on $1,500/year and her father’s post office pension. .
In 1947, Olive is living with her parents at the same address. Her siblings are all married, living in other parts of the State. Only her older brother, Herb, has had children, Virginia and Charles, Jr. By this time, Virginia is graduated from college and married and Charles is attending Princeton. Both children are a source of pride for the family.
At some point between 1947 and 1953, the three Lees move from Troy, New York to Yonkers, New York. The three of them live together at 1428 Midland Avenue, Bronxville, New York. The belief is that Olive has climbed the corporate ladder as an Executive Assistant at Cluett, Peabody & Co.
Olive’s father dies in 1953 and her mother, Nellie Jane, in 1968. In her handwritten last will and testament, Nellie kindly pays off Olive’s mortgage and appeals to the other three children to ‘be nice to Olive who will be alone.’

Olive and her widowed sister Margaret move in together to a retirement community in Somers, NY. Margaret passes in 1992 and Olive follows 7 years later at the hospital associated with her retirement community in Somers, on August 21, 1999. Olive is taken back to downtown Troy, NY to be buried in the Kirkpatrick family plot in Oakwood Cemetery. She joins her parents, sister, grandparents and other family members in Plot 242 in Section D-3.

Roberta Maher's story

In 1901 Brooklyn, Roberta was born the fourth of five children to John Joseph and Lillian Charlotte Ehlers Maher. Roberta’s mother stayed home with the children and her father John worked as a letter carrier for the Post Office. Though both of her parents were born in New York, Roberta must have grown up with both German and Irish influences in her life, as both parents were first generation Americans. Roberta’s older brother Edwin was married and out of the house when Roberta was quite young. There was a fifth female child born when Roberta was about four years old, but who died stillborn, perhaps nameless, and buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.

In 1910, Roberta was living with her parents and older sisters in a rented apartment at 197 7th Avenue in Brooklyn. She was surrounded on the block with children of other immigrant families in professions such as salesmen, bricklayers, firemen, shoemakers, etc.

Roberta’s mother dies in June 1919; Roberta is still living with her older sisters and her father in the apartment on 7th Avenue. Her father continues to work as a letter carrier. While Roberta is attending school, sister Florence is working as a stenographer at a Publishing Company and Lillian is keeping house for the family.

By 1925, Roberta’s sister Florence has married handsome C. Herbert Lee, and they have moved to their own apartment in Brooklyn. Roberta is again an aunt, this time to Florence’s daughter Virginia. Roberta, Lillian and father John move to a new apartment at 35 Clarkson Avenue, still in Brooklyn. By this time Roberta is also working as a stenographer, a respectable office job for women.

In September 1928, Roberta gets her first taste for foreign travel, potentially traveling with a few single girlfriends. She spends a week in Bermuda.

Somewhere along the line, Roberta meets a young(er) man, Albert Carlton Gould, who works as a radio engineer. He was born in Jamaica, Long Island, and living in 1929 at 1636 Emmons Avenue along the waterfront in Brooklyn. Roberta and Albert marry in September 1929. They live together at 2714 Avenue D in Brooklyn, Albert commuting to the airport to work on airplanes.

Roberta and Albert do not have any children and they ultimately divorce , though no information has yet been found about the date; the divorce is gleaned from a later passenger list which lists Roberta’s marital status as divorced.

We lose Roberta’s story until 1953 when she returns from a trip to the Caribbean over New Year’s with her older sister Lillian. At this point the sisters are living together at 207 West 11th Street.
Roberta dies in October 1969 at her apartment. Natalie, the wife of Roberta's nephew Charley, remembers sitting with Lillian at their apartment when Roberta died.

The Maher women, taken about 1918. Roberta is sitting up front on the floor, with her mother behind her.

Europe's Most Fertile Man

What in the world? Again, from The Week Magazine, an article of modest, amusing interest to those of us doing family research. Now, there are other elements to this story other than the questions/problems this would raise for a person building a family tree. On a side note, I remember hearing that something like 15% of people discover during DNA testing that there was a "non-paternal" event in their tree. In other words, someone they thought was a father turns out not to be. That's a larger number than I would have suspected. In this case, it is out in the open, so long as the parents are forthright with their children about their paternity.

Ed Houben is sought after by women all over Europe, said John Laurenson in BBC.com. The Dutch “charitable sperm donor” is prized for his legendary powers of insemination, having fathered a staggering 98 children in the last decade. More unusually, he donates his sperm in the “traditional way”: by forgoing the syringe and having sex with the women—many of whom are married. “Much better chance of conception,” Houben explains. The 44-year-old started donating to sperm banks in 2002, but when the Netherlands banned anonymous sperm donation, he offered his stud services for free online. As requests poured in, Houben began keeping an up-to-date list of his children on his computer. One British couple now awaiting a delivery came to him after several unsuccessful trips to fertility clinics. “They stayed for eight days and—how should I put it correctly?—she and I slept together four times, and after almost 10 years of trying they had their first pregnancy.” The husbands, he says, rarely present a problem. They’re so eager to have a baby that they’re “beyond these feelings of, ‘Ooh, there’s a stranger sleeping with my wife.’” And that’s what it’s all about, Houben insists: the “beautiful hope of creating a new life that will be loved and looked after.”

One would think that these children must be told their parentage, as what would happen should they find each other.... we have seen from previous posts that there are plenty of long lost siblings out there who find one another later in life....

The stories of my family

Doing all this genealogical research makes me want to put the stories of my family members out in to the universe. I haven't researched any one who changed the world in a big way. (Though I am cousins with Benjamin Franklin! Cousins, mind you; we share an ancestor, along with most of the rest of America, I am sure.) I am going to see how it goes posting the stories I have been generating about family members.

I will confess, though, that I once heard a theory on hell which has caused me some concern.... One person's theory was that we enter hell when no one on the face of the earth ever mentions or thinks of us again. And the other theory was the opposite, that the hell is never being allowed to rest because we are always mentioned.... Think of George Washington or Benjamin Franklin. I would hate to maintain my family in hell because they could never rest. (I guess I should take note that I assumed the worst as opposed to the best of these two theories. Maybe I am keeping my family from hell.)

As I write this post I realize I should fiercely adopt the more positive theory, as I have decided to write the stories of the childless women in my family. Given how little is known about women through historical documents, and having no children to carry on the genetic material, this may be the only way to save them from hell. I may want to have someone do the same for me some day....

Childless by Choice

I made a conscious decision not to have children, but doing the genealogical research does make me sad that I have not made another generation bringing two family histories together. It has also made me contemplate writing the stories of other childless women in my tree. Of course, other than speculating about their lives based on the world events around them, the stories of these women can be rather sparse. It begs the question about my own contributions beyond the creation of future generations.