Work on LeBlak continues

 The Le Blak family in England is interesting. They are known to be Norman French by the Calender of Patent Rolls entries. The DNA of members of the Blake yDNA group that I help manage points towards the anticipated I1 haplogroup for this family but no one has a perfect trail back to the Blake family of Calne. Wills of the Calne family are very revealing and I have mostly transcribed all of them and blogged them through the years. Hence I decided given the charts that have been produced for Blake that include a portion of the Andover Blake family I should add a chapter to my book on this family and put all the "proofs" on the table so to speak. 

There is a request for opinions by the National Archives of the UK concerning old wills and I believe I shall write today to mention that with the controversy over Blake I think all Blake original wills should be retained into the future although the scans are more than adequate for me but to put to rest any thoughts of the original not being reproduced correctly it would be a wise move especially given the publication of the book "The Ancestry of Diana, Princess of Wales, for Twelve generations" by Richard K Evans (published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society 2007). One of her 12th generation ancestors is a descendant of the Blake family at Andover. That ancestor did leave a will as did his great grandfather William Blake of Eastontown son of Nicholas Blake which is clearly detailed in the will of William. That will be one of today's projects. The archives did mention they would keep famous wills and other historically significant wills. The heir to the throne, Prince William, Prince of Wales, would appear to carry the ancient Hunter-Gatherer ancestry passed to him by his mother (of course it is very ancient but the very thought that William carries such a blood line is amazing really and he is truly a son of the British Isles from its very founding by ancient peoples. The fraudulent work of Horatio Gates Somerby regarding Nicholas Blake at Old Hall, Enham, has influenced American genealogy for over a century and must be corrected. Another of my aims and I have my grandfather's memory of the discussions that must have occurred following the publication of a book purported to be from the papers of Horatio Gates Somerby in 1881. I propose that this book and more likely the effect of this book on thousands of American descendants of Blake families are greatly influenced by his fraudulent work and the original Blake wills (and associated and I could prepare a list but not in time for their deadline).should be retained for a longer period as they affect the ancestry of the Royal House.

Other than that the day will be a busy one anyway. Up early before sunrise and as always it is a beautiful time in God's world. Lenten is special as we Christians spend it contemplating the gift of Jesus to the world, his death and his resurrection.