Denison, Texas
July 6, 85

Love ya,
Mama
Prov. 3:6

Implementing the peeling trick, and trying out a new potato salad recipe was fun, especially since the potato salad turned out so good that I wanted to eat the whole bowl myself. And I needn’t have worried about the poppy seeds—they might just be the “secret” ingredient. The recipe is from a 1950s Austin Heritage cookbook.

POTATO SALAD ALMONDINE

4 medium potatoes
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 large white onion, chopped
2 stalks celery,chopped
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup sour cream

Steam or boil potatoes in peelings until tender. Peel and slice thinly. Sprinkle with vinegar while still warm. Let cool or refrigerate over night. Add other ingredients in order and toss lightly. Refrigerate several hours before serving.

Serves 8.

March 12.th 1888
Dear Little Maud
Within this book so pure and
white let none but friends presume
to write; and may each line
with friendship given direct the
readers thoughts to heaven.

Your Mother Rebecca F. Stout

The other side of the page seems to be a farewell from a friend.

To my dear Maud
Jan 6/89
Kittie Frazier
Above all be patient whith those that love
When many miles from here your rove
Remember your friend at Cedar Grove

Semper ? P ?

The 1880 census shows both the Stout and Frazier families living in Cedar Grove, Walker County, Georgia. Most likely, Maude and her family were preparing to leave Georgia in 1889, and move to Howe, Grayson County, Texas.

Tut’s funerary finery— magnificent golden treasures and Egyptian works of art—gave the distinct impression that the pharoah was a graceful, young man who led a golden life. Only his death at 19 marred the perfect picture. King Tut may have lived in the “Golden Age of the Pharoahs,” but he certainly wasn’t the golden boy that the dazzling artifacts from his tomb portrayed. His DNA profile revealed genetic diseases which were the result of inbreeding. Marriage between siblings was common among royalty in ancient Egypt, and Tut’s father and mother were brother and sister. Not only were King Tut’s chronic diseases painful and crippling—he walked with a cane– he also had to deal with the turmoil caused by his grandfather who tried to force Egyptians to accept monotheism by worshiping the sun god Alton.

What I find really interesting about King Tut’s story is the use of advanced radiological and genetic techniques that unlocked the puzzle of his genealogy and general health. Successfully determining Tut’s DNA profile is another step towards helping modern doctors identify specific diseases, and to develop effective drugs to treat them. And using DNA to determine an ancestral line is just plain fun.

The above picture of Uncle George as a young teen-ager is the only remaining picture in the album mailed to Dad while he was in Korea. I sure would like to have seen the picture that caused Grandmother and Papa to laugh. It seem like I remember that Grandmother always spelled the word Daddy as Dady.

Sunday morn
Aug 17. 52

My Dear Sam.
This is part of the pictures Hollis took when he was up here. As you can see some are not so good. We have had some good laughs over the one around the table. Dady thinks he is so funny and I know I am. I will send another album tomorrow. If these are too many to keep up with you can send them back and I will take care of them. If not keep them. Sure is hot weather here.
Love,
Mama

I am the keeper of Grandma’s bookcase and this is what I found.

When Dad submitted a DNA sample to Family Tree DNA in 2008, the test results verified my papertrail leading to John Young who settled in southeastern Virginia, near the Cumberland Gap, in the 1780s. But I was surprised that the test revealed an equally close DNA link to a second John Young (1778-1836) of Buckfield, Oxford County, Maine.

Here’s how my “We’re All Cousins” theory works. My mother’s great-great grandfather, Dodridge Bryant (family legend says he is related to William Cullen Bryant) was born in Massachusetts. Seeing how Maine is less than 100 miles from Massachusetts, it is entirely possible that my parents’ lines intersect within the last ten generations. On top of that, I am probably related to President Obama. You’re doubtful, you say? Consider the probability that Obama and George Walker Bush are related. Yep, they too can call each other “cousin”, although they had to go back eleven generations to find a common ancestor.

President Obama is also kin to James Madison, Dick Cheney, Winston Churchill, Jimmy Carter, Robert E. Lee, Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford, Harry S. Truman, and Brad Pitt.

So, go back ten generations–alright, make it twelve— and you will be claiming most of your co-workers, neighbors, and, very likely, President Obama, as cousins.