Historically and Genetically Speaking, I Guess I’m Naturally Frank

My dad's name is Frank.  I wonder from whom/where his name came?   One such theory comes from the  Merovingian dynasty where "Frankish" kings ruled a frequently fluctuating area in parts of present-day France and Germany from the 5th to the 8th century AD. They were sometimes called the "long-haired kings" by contemporaries, for their leaders' …

French Soldier’s Room Remains Unchanged 96 Years After His Death in World War I

The story below touched my heart so much that I felt compelled to share it with my readers.  I can only imagine with great trepidation enduring the loss of a son and honoring him beyond my time on this planet... THIS IS A REBLOG FROM THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER: Parents kept room as it was the day he …

ISO my Family’s Sociological “Big Bang!”

According to my most recent research into the Bolling-Chambers-Taylor families, I am descended from an ancient line of folks who were known to be bald, short, fat, stammerers, and some even barbarians! At my eldest grandson's wedding in Chicago last weekend,  my third eldest grandson approached me for genealogical help. For his college sociology class, his assignment …

I’ve Got the Music In Me…Part 4

Claude Bolling:  Renowned French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor. Claude Bolling, a pianist,  composer, arranger, and a conductor of jazz, entertainment and film music, is certainly one of the world's most famous French musicians of his generation--known as the "Father of Modern Jazz". His musical heritage stretches back to the reign of Napoleon …

‘To Claim on Not to Claim’ the Royal Plantagenet Family as Kin is the Question

With the recent news of the forensic archaeological discovery of King Richard III's remains under a parking lot in the English city of Leicester, I went immediately to my tree of ancestors to see if or how we might have been related.  Today's Washington Post Newspaper wrote that this story has "thrilled history buffs around the world. But the …