GRAVES FAMILY BULLETIN
Vol. 18, No. 2, March 28,
2016
A
Free, Occasional, Online Summary of Items of Interest to Descendants of all
Families of Graves, Greaves, Grieves, Grave, and other spelling variations
Worldwide
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Copyright
© 2016 by the Graves Family Association and Kenneth V. Graves. All rights reserved.
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CONTENTS
**
General Comments
**
Whole Genome Testing for Less Than $1,000 Now Available
**
Updates to the GFA Website
**
Latest Announcement From Ancestry About Family Tree Maker
**
A British Genealogy TV Show With a Different Twist
** To Submit Material to this Bulletin & Other
Things
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GENERAL
COMMENTS
This
issue is shorter than most, but I thought it would be better to publish what I
have rather than wait until I create more articles. These articles are some of the ones I found interesting.
I
have been saying for quite a while that I would be getting some volunteers to
help with our DNA testing project.
That has not yet happened.
If you have previously volunteered to help with this project, or if you
have technical ability and would like to help, or if you know someone who might
like to help, please let me know, and I will take the necessary action.
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WHOLE GENOME
TESTING FOR LESS THAN $1,000 NOW AVAILABLE
Veritas
Genetics just announced on March 3 that they are introducing the worldÕs first
whole genome test for less than $1,000.
See the original announcement on PR Newswire here. Co-founded by Harvard Medical School
professor and genetics pioneer Dr. George Church, and CEO Mirza Cifric.
ÒVeritas
myGenome is breaking historic ground by making whole genome sequencing and
interpretation broadly accessible. Most commercially available genetic tests
offer access to only small portions of the genome through gene panels (i.e.,
testing specific sets of genes), genotyping (i.e., testing less than 0.1% of
DNA positions scattered throughout the genome) or exome sequencing (i.e.,
sequencing only gene coding regions which cover less than 1.5% of the genome).
Research also shows that without sequencing the whole genome, these other
genetic testing approaches miss 90% or more of clinically relevant variants,
which lie in parts of the genome outside of the gene coding regions.1
"Now
that the whole genome is this accessible, it will replace all genetic tests ...
because it is all genetic tests, and much, much more," points out Dr.
Church.
"The
whole genome is the new standard. At this price point, there is no reason to
use anything but the whole genome, especially for any tests that are close to
or more than the price of our whole genome," adds Mirza Cifric, CEO and
co-founder. "The whole genome is the foundation of precision medicine and
a lifetime resource to maximize quality of life and longevity."Ó
This
announcement is obviously aimed at medical uses, and the effect on testing for
genealogical purposes is unknown at this time.
A
follow-up article, published March 28 on the BioIT World blog, titled ÒHow
Veritas Genetics Plans to Make Its Whole Genome Stick,Ó can be seen here. The company has begun taking orders,
which can only be placed through a doctor. They are obviously trying to avoid the problems with the FDA
that 23andMe has had. Veritas
Genetics anticipates that there will be a lifelong relationship with each
client. They currently have a
partnership with WorldCare International, a network for medical specialists, to
offer a free genetic counseling session to each customer and additional
sessions for a fee. Some
additional information can be seen on Veritas GeneticsÕ website here.
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UPDATES TO THE
GFA WEBSITE
Only
a couple of updates have been made to the GFA website since the last GF
Bulletin.
Revised
genealogies:
¥
Gen. 270,
¥
Gen. 778, John W. Graves and Elizabeth ------ of NC, Ross Co., OH &
Bell Co., TX
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LATEST
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ANCESTRY ABOUT FAMILY TREE MAKER
On
March 2, Ancestry posted a blog article titled ÒFamily Tree Maker Is Updated
and Shipping Now.Ó You can read
the article here. In it they announce that a company
called Software MacKiev has officially begun shipping updated versions of
Family Tree Maker for both Windows and Mac. ÒWith this, you will have continued access to Ancestry
Hints, Ancestry searches, and are able to continue to save your tree on
Ancestry and keep it consistent with your tree in Family Tree Maker.Ó For more information, click here to go to the FTM page on MacKiev.
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A BRITISH
GENEALOGY TV SHOW WITH A DIFFERENT TWIST
The
first episode of a fascinating genealogy show unearths the story of a gang of
girl pickpockets, and how a descendant turned out to be an eminent judge. The Daily Mail profiled a U.K. TV
program, The
Secret History of My Family, which airs at 8 p.m., Thursday, on BBC2.
ÒThe
amazing story of the Gadbury sisters was unearthed as part of a new BBC
genealogy programme. Coming from the Who
Do You Think You Are? stable, The
Secret History Of My Family eschews celebrities, but instead follows the
fortunes of ordinary families. The twist is that while Who Do You Think You Are? starts in the present day and works
backwards, the new show starts with pictures or recordings in the archives and
tries to work out what became of those individuals - and their descendants. 'With Who Do You Think You Are? you know
how the story ends. It ends with Gary Lineker or whoever,' says series producer
Joseph Bullman. 'This is the opposite. We had researchers starting off way back
and moving forwards, hoping we'd end somewhere interesting. Luckily we did.'
The
project yielded some extraordinary stories, none more so than that of the
Gadbury sisters. All researchers knew at first was that the three sisters,
Caroline, Sarah and Mary Ann, were known troublemakers and that two of them
were banished to the penal colonies of Australia - Sarah to New South Wales and
Caroline to Van Diemen's Land (modern-day Tasmania). The sisters came to light
when the researchers were poring over the records of Victorian criminologist
William Miles, whose interviews with offenders made for oddly familiar reading.
'One talked of teaching younger kids to pick pockets by treating it like a
game,' says Joseph. 'We thought this guy was having a laugh. It was pretty much
the plot of Oliver Twist. We thought, "He's just nicked that!" But
the prison accounts were written a few years before Oliver Twist. We think
Miles and Dickens met, and it's possible Oliver Twist was based on these
stories.'Ó
One
of CarolineÕs descendants is a Supreme Court judge in Australia, and a
descendant of one of her step-sons became premier of Tasmania and another was
attorney-general of Tasmania.
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ABOUT
THIS BULLETIN:
This
bulletin is written and edited by Kenneth V. Graves, ken.graves@gravesfa.org.
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