I wrote the words below in 1966 while on deployment with the Royal Canadian Air Force at the Italian Air Base at Decimomannu, Sardinia, when I was flying CF-104 Starfighters during the Cold War. It was dedicated later to one of my air force buddys, Jack Murdoch.
Little did I know then that I would develop an interest in the science of genetics and DNA that might tend to complement the sense of reincarnation that the poem implies.
Bill Arthurs
In Memorium John Herbert Murdoch
1931-2001
Costa del Sol
by William R. Arthurs
I see my multi-image stretching to the sun;
The trace of footsteps seaward whence I come.
Again I stand here, restless on your shore;
To muse for fitful hours as before.
For I am Visigoth and Moor. I am ancient Greek,
And troubadour.
Millennia ago I shuffled down this sheltered bay.
Each thousand years, each transcendent day,
Your enchantment beckons. I obey.
The drums that beat the multitude to war
I hear them not: for me they pulse no more.
It’s now your solace, your solitude I crave;
And there’s some silence midst your crashing wave.
So succour us who seek the grail of youth,
Who ride the universe in search of truth.
My time is short, and I am tied to time;
So little left to live, and love, and rhyme,
To clasp the coy Astarte by the hand,
To write te quiero on your wrinkled sand.
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“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.” Thich Nhat Hanh
As if fate wants to prove that we are all cousins, at least cousins by marriage, I recently discovered that we of the English Titus line are related to John Dewey Watson, one of the co-discovers of the structure of DNA and author of The Double Helix. He and his research partner, Francis Crick, were awarded the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962. Here is the way the Titus connection has worked out.
1. Robert Titus. b. 1600. m. Hannah Carter.
2. John Titus. b. 1627. m. Abigail Carpenter.
3. Abigail Titus. b. 1652, m. Thomas Cushman.
4. Samuel Cushman. b. 1687. m. Fear Corser.
5. Jacob Cushman. b. 1720. m. Elizabeth Read.
6. Rebekah Cushman. b. 1760. m. Samuel Tingley.
7. Rowena Tingley. b. 1787. m. Josiah Allen.
8. Henry K. W. Allen. b. 1818. m. Mary D. Blackinton.
9. Frances M. Allen.b. 1856. m. George E. Maxcy.
10. Harriet M. Maxcy. b. 1875. m. Alfred E. Lewis.
11. Robert V. Lewis. b. 1917. m. Edith M. Irey.
12. Elizabeth Lewis. m. James Dewey Watson.
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Information on genetics and DNA testing procedures and costs can be found on the DNA Interest Group section (click on Links page) of the British Isles Family History Society Of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO). For further information go to: http://www.bifhsgo.ca/bifhsgo_sigs.htm
DNA testing by the Titus DNA Project conducted by Family Tree DNA has been done on descendants of all four of the sons of Robert Titus. These tests have reached the point where we can now postulate a modal set of markers for the English, Dutch and German lines. We are in a very early phase, the pioneering portion, of the Titus role in this science, and we need more volunteers to further complete the picture!
It should be stressed that the tests are for genealogical purposes only, and no medical testing or data is involved. The Y DNA chromosome is passed down from father to son, to son, etc., so only male Titus family members are eligible. If you are interested please contact me at barthurs@sympatico.ca and I would be pleased to help guide you through the process.
The following numbers provide a view of the ancestry of the English Titus line. In this case they indicate that the line belongs to the Haplogroup R1b1b2. These figures are markers derived from STR’s, or “short tandem repeats,” or mutations of the Y chromosomes which have been passed down from father to son for thousands of years. Below are the STR markers for the modal set and for those of the present-day surrogates of the four sons of Robert Titus, carried down for 400 years and over 12 generations.
Marker Modal John Edmond Abiel Content
b. 1627 b. 1630 b. 1641 b. 1643
393 DYS 1 13 13 13 13 13
390 DYS 2 24 24 24 13 13
19/394 DYS 3 14 14 14 14 14
391 DYS 4 11 11 12 11 11
385a DYS 5 11 11 11 11 11
385b DYS 6 14 14 14 14 14
426 DYS 7 12 12 12 12 12
388 DYS 8 12 12 12 12 12
439 DYS 9 11 11 11 11 11
389-1 DYS 10 13 13 13 13 13
392 DYS 11 13 13 13 13 13
389-2 DYS 12 29 29 29 29 29
458 DYS 13 16 16 16 16 16
459a DYS 14 9 9 9 9 9
459b DYS 15 10 10 10 10 10
455 DYS 16 11 11 11 11 11
454 DYS 17 11 11 11 11 11
447 DYS 18 25 25 25 25 25
437 DYS 19 15 15 15 15 15
448 DYS 20 19 19 19 19 19
449 DYS 21 30 30 30 30 31
464a DYS 22 15 15 15 15 15
464b DYS 23 16 16 16 16 16
464c DYS 24 17 17 17 17 17
464d DYS 25 17 17 17 17 17
460 DYS 26 12 12 12 11 11
GATA-H4 DYS 27 11 11 11 11 11
YCA IIa DYS 28 19 19 19 19 19
YCA IIb DYS 29 19 19 19 19 19
456 DYS 30 16 16 16 16 15
607 DYS 31 15 15 15 15 15
576 DYS 32 17 17 17 17 17
570 DYS 33 17 17 17 16 17
CDYa DYS 34 34 34 34 34 33
CDYb DYS 35 37 39 37 37 38
442 DYS 36 11 11 11 11 11
438 DYS 37 13 13 13 13 13
531 DYS 38 13 13 13 13
578 DYS 39 9 9 9 9
395S1a DYS 40 15 15 15 15
395S1b DYS 41 16 16 16 16
590 DYS 42 8 8 8 8
537 DYS 43 11 11 11 11
641 DYS 44 10 10 10 10
472 DYS 45 8 8 8 8
406S1 DYS 46 10 10 10 10
511 DYS 47 10 10 10 10
425 DYS 48 12 12 12 12
413a DYS 49 24 24 24 24
413b DYS 50 24 24 24 24
557 DYS 51 16 16 16 16
594 DYS 52 10 10 10 10
436 DYS 53 12 12 12 12
490 DYS 54 12 12 12 12
534 DYS 55 14 14 14 14
450 DYS 56 8 8 8 8
444 DYS 57 12 12 12 12
481 DYS 58 23 23 23 23
520 DYS 59 20 20 20 20
446 DYS 60 12 12 12 12
617 DYS 61 12 12 12 12
568 DYS 62 11 11 11 11
487 DYS 63 13 13 13 13
572 DYS 64 11 11 11 11
640 DYS 65 11 11 11 11
492 DYS 66 12 12 12 12
565 DYS 67 9 9 9 9
So here above we have several slight differences from the modal English Titus line in the four male descendants of the sons of Robert Titus. The surrogate for the John Titus line has a two allele difference at the 35th marker (CDYb), when compared to the modal set to the left. The Edmond Titus surrogate has a one allele difference at marker 4 (391). The Abiel Titus line has two separate differences, a one allele difference at each of two markers, a reading of 11 instead of 12 at marker 460, and a 16 instead of 17 at marker 570. The descendant of Content Titus strays the most from the norm, with four single allele differences at markers 449, 456, CDYa and CDYb.
A second method of subdividing the different haplogroups is accomplished through another type of genetic markers called SNPs, or “single nucleotide polymorphisms.”
In the case of the subclade of R1b that this English Titus line belongs to, named R1b1b2, there are four SNPs involved, namely M343, P25, P297 and M269. Below are the steps of evolution of R1b to R1b1b2 with the years of discovery of each SNP.
Subclade Y-SNP Mutations
R1b M343 (2004)
R1b1 M343 (2004) P25 (2000)
R1b1b M343 (2004) P25 (2000) P297 (2008)
R1b1b2 M343 (2004) P25 (2000) P297 (2008) M269 (2002)
The above haplogroup, or subclade, (R1b1b2) is the most common in Europe and most present-day males are members. In fact, the situation is similar to that of conventional genealogy when the surname being researched is Smith or Jones.
The haplogroup is believed to have existed before the last ice age and has been connected with the Aurignacian culture which was prominent in Europe from 21,000 years BC back through 32,000 years BC. They are famous for their cave paintings at sites including Lascaux, France, the Valley of Foz Coa in Portugal and Cueva de las Monedas in Spain.
Further references on the science and history of genetics can be found in the Bookshelf section of this site.
Bill Arthurs