Web site documents trace lives of Jews worldwide

A genealogy Web site is launching what it's billing as the world's largest online collection of Jewish family history records.

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In 1850, the elderly master of a South Carolina estate took pen in hand and painstakingly divided up his possessions. Among the spinning wheels, scythes, tablecloths and cattle that he bequeathed to his far-flung heirs was a 6-year-old slave girl valued soon afterward at $475.

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The revival of China's love-affair with the ideas of Confucius has taken another significant step forward after 1,000 members of China's most powerful aristocratic clan unveiled the first complete edition of their family tree for more than 70 years.

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An exclusive introduction for Independent readers on how to give your shabby old genealogy a bright new look. By Professor Ginette Beaujolais, family history consultant.

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The company's free Family Tree Builder enables anyone to build family trees, research their family history, add photos and videos, and now, maps, photo albums and enhanced search capabilities.

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Three month-old George Parfitt has been baptised in a christening gown used by 20 members of his family since it was made by his great-great-great grandmother 125 years ago.

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If our ancestors had swung down from the trees with six fingers on each hand, we'd probably be counting by dozens.

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Wars generate millions of records that can shed light on family history, detailing everything from the color of soldiers' eyes to what their neighbors may have said about them.

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About 3.5 million of today's Ashkenazi Jews - 40 percent of the total Ashkenazi population - are descended from just four women, a genetic study indicates.

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This video is a fascinating look at Paul Nurse's personal history .. Nurse, who is a biochemist, Knight, 2001 Nobel Prize Winner and President of Rockefeller University in NYC, reveals how, after 58 years, he finally learned the truth of his own family history.

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The Bucket List

I'm indulging in a bit of narcissism with this article. Not newsworthy, just felt like putting the things I fantasize about accomplishing in print. In no particular order of importance, these are things I would like to do or to witness before I am gone:

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Politics may not be in the blood, but it could be in the genes. That's the theory a team of political scientists and geneticists is trying to prove with extensive studies of twins, genes and brain scans.

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Barack Obama in traditional German lederhosen? It may be hard to imagine, but researchers in the U.S. say they have located documents that prove the president has German roots dating to the 1700s.

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If you think it's impossible to find your ancestors from the comfort of your armchair, think again! Whether you're a weekend genealogist with little time, have physical or monetary constraints that make it hard to get out of the house, or are just a plain old homebody, these ten  …

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Even without a documented connection to a notable forebear, experts say the odds are virtually 100 percent that every person on Earth is descended from one royal personage or another.

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Two genealogy buffs say the Republican president and the Democratic front-runner are 16th cousins, three times removed.

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Archaeologists have successfully extracted DNA from skeleton remains under an English church that could prove a skeleton found near Jamestown belongs to one of its founders.

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Researchers are aiming to learn more about how the Earth was populated by collecting and analyzing genetic samples from 100,000 people around the globe.

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Nine times out of 10, when genealogy enthusiasts root around in their family closet, they don't find more than what they expected to find. But that 10th time, they might find what Linda Hayes found — a huge skeleton. "It was life-altering," says Linda

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Duck Soup: A Case For Love

What does a coroner, a small television studio, police, Facebook.com, an author and a professional genealogist have in common? If you said a new reality television show, you might be closer than you think. What the six have in common is a search for the living.

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Your DNA is a set of bodily instructions, a catalog of our evolutionary past and a personal warning label about your health risks. It is also a secret. No one knows what your DNA says...

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The plantation where Michelle Obama's great-great-grandfather lived is tucked behind the tyre stores and veterinary clinics of Highway 521. But its history and grounds have been meticulously preserved, down to the dykes that controlled the flow of water into its expansive rice f …

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"Researching your family tree is a good way to make history personal," he said, noting that he has gotten back to 1748 in his father's lineage, but is now hampered by records in German churches. "Genealogy is a lot of fun, but it can be a real time sink, too," he said.

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Historians hope a new Web database will help bring millions of blacks closer to their African ancestors who were forced onto slave ships, connecting them to their heritage in a way that has long been possible for white Europeans.

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With the election tomorrow, let's think briefly about what presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, and vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin have in common. For sure, it's a bit of Irish.

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A genealogy website has brought the famed Schindler's List into the 21st century - putting it online to help potentially thousands of Jewish families to trace their personal history.

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