Some Ancient DNA discoveries
Cheddar Man In 1903, skeletal remains were found in a cave in Cheddar, England. The remains of a 23 year-old man, who was killed by a blow to the face, were discovered to be at least 9,000 years old. Ninety-four years after the discovery of "Cheddar Man", scientists were able to extract mitochondrial DNA from his tooth cavity. Bryan Sykes, and his team at Oxford University distributed DNA test kits to local Cheddar schools, and a match was found to a local schoolteacher, Adrian Targett. Read more on Cheddar Man. Ice Man - Otzi of Italy Widely known as "Otzi (Oetzi)" the Iceman found in 1991 in the Italian Alps, is also known as "Similaun Man". Of the Neolithic era, Otzi lived between 3350-3300 B.C. in the "Copper Age". He was believed to be 46-years old when he died at the top of a mountain pass from wounds received. Read more on Otzi. Ice Maiden - "Juanita" of Peru Also known as "Juanita", the Inca Ice Maiden was discovered on Mount Ampato, near Arequipa, Peru by Johann Reinhard in 1995. She was sacrificed sometime around the ages of 12-14 and lived about 500 years ago. Her body lay frozen at the mountaintop until a nearby volcanic eruption melted Mount Ampato's ice cap. Luke the Evangelist - aka St. Luke A doctor, but better known as the biblical author of the "Gospel According to Luke", Luke the Evangelist was believed to have been born in Antioch, in the Roman province of Syria. Historical sources cite that he died at the age of 84 in Thebes (Greece) around the year 150 A.D. His body was interred first in Constantinople, and then later transferred to Padua, Italy. Geneticists have tested the remains believed to be those of Luke, and sampled Syrian and Greek populations for comparison. They've determined that the body attributed as Luke's, is likely of Syrian origin.

Living in The Mideast - Part 8 By John Sprague
While I was on the plane going back to Iraq, I decided that I had had enough high adventure to last for a long time. It was now clear to me that if I was to continue working in this part of the world, it was going to have to be in Kuwait or I should wisely head back home. Certainly, my family in the US and England had influenced my decision. I was getting lots of feedback at that time. The lead story in Iraq just happened to be about the contractors from my company who had just been killed and their bodies were then hung from a bridge up there. You may remember the story. I had not been too bothered by fear but I was a little concerned about the night-time patrols that took me outside the protective guard of the military base. I carried no weapon to help protect me if I ran into trouble out there. I made the wise decision to quit my security job and go back to Kuwait, with the next convoy going southward. I had no idea if I would even be able to find another job within my firm in Kuwait. On this trip, I drove the suburban and had three fellow contractors with me. It was a fast moving convoy this time. I had my speed up to 180 kph which is about 120mph at one point. There wasn’t any way I was going to lose my place in this high rolling military convoy. As you can imagine, I made it back in record Time. As the focus of Kuwait came into view, my speed was reduced considerably and then even further when we came upon a truck fire in the road. It was blocking the highway so I followed the other vehicles as they crossed over the medium to the other lane of traffic. One of the great things about the desert, sometimes you can make your own road. Once past the big fire, the cars and some trucks crossed back over to the other side again. Once we got down to Amgara in Kuwait, I stopped at a security site where I was able to put the Suburban into its much needed car wash. After washing off the two plus inches of Iraq desert mud, it was now white in color once again and near showroom clean. Once back in the office, I was allowed to use the car for a couple more days while I looked for another job with the same co. There were no Security openings in Kuwait at that time so I ended up with a job in the materials dept. One of my previous jobs was in inventory control and I had met a few people while doing security. I ended up getting a job as a receiver in a warehouse environment. Also in Kuwait, it is hot in July and August and it is a very good idea to have a roof over ones head. Now, the down side of the job was that it was a huge pay cut. One of the good points was that I got to live in a 5 star hotel for 3 mos. The Palms Resort was right on the ocean in Samiya which was a very nice area. It was quite a change from a dusty old tent in the epicenter of biting insects. Aside from houseflies, Kuwait doesn't seem to have many bugs. You might say that it was way too hot at a temperature of between 120 and 140F during the daytime. It has plenty of scorpions and snakes though, as well as lizards. It was fun living at the Palms Hotel with its upscale restaurants, starbucks and 3 pools. After about three months, we were moved to a place called the Flamingo which was about a 1/2 star in comparison to the Palms. There was no longer fruit on the table or newspaper outside my door. All good things come to an end, it is said, and so we have to enjoy what we have when we have it. http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

DNA is DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID
What is DNA? I recently took the Y DNA test while my wife took the MT DNA test. The collection of DNA is done by scraping the inside of one's gum and then releasing the tip of the scraper into a solution filled container that is then sealed and sent to the testing lab. I chose to do the entire 67 marker test. The results are now being returned to me. I am in the R1b1 group. This article will attempt to explain the process. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the chemical inside the nucleus of all cells that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms. A DNA molecule consists of two strands that wrap around each other to resemble a twisted ladder. The sides are made of sugar and phosphate molecules. The “rungs” are made of nitrogen-containing chemicals called bases. Each strand is composed of one sugar molecule, one phosphate molecule, and a base. Four different bases are present in DNA - adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). The particular order of the bases arranged along the sugar - phosphate backbone is called the DNA sequence; the sequence specifies the exact genetic instructions required to create a particular organism with its own unique traits. Each strand of the DNA molecule is held together at its base by a weak bond. The four bases pair in a set manner: Adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T), while cytosine (C) pairs with guanine (G). These pairs of bases are known as Base Pairs. These Base Pairs are the basis of Y-chromosome testing. Chromosomes are paired threadlike "packages" of long segments of DNA contained within the nucleus of each cell. In humans there are 23 pairs of chromosomes. In 22 pairs, both members are essentially identical, one deriving from the individual's mother, the other from the father. The 23rd pair is different. In females this pair has two like chromosomes called "X". In males it comprises one "X" and one "Y," two very dissimilar chromosomes. It is these chromosome differences which determine sex. The Y-Chromosome Human sex is determined by the X and Y chromosomes. A female has 2 X-Chromosomes and a male has an X and a Y-Chromosome. When a child is conceived it gets one chromosome from its mother and one chromosome from its father. The chromosome from the mother will always be an X, but the chromosome from the father may be either X or Y. If the child gets the X she will be a girl, if the child gets the Y he will be a boy. There is much more information on this subject which I can not fully explain here.

Gov William Sprague
Rhode Island Governor William Sprague Born: September 2, 1830 Died: September 11, 1915 Birth State: Rhode Island Party: Republican Family: Married twice--Catharine Chase, four children; Inez Weed Calvert Periods in Office: From: May 1, 1860 To: March 3, 1863 Resigned Relation to Another Governor: Nephew of Rhode Island Gov. William Sprague
Nephew of Rhode Island Gov. William Sprague

Sprague Father and Son Baseball Players
Ed Sprague can refer to: Ed Sprague (pitcher) (b.9/16/1945)Boston,MA, a pitcher in major league baseball from 1968-1976 Ed Sr currently owner Minor League Team,2007. Ed Sprague (third baseman) (b.7/25/1967)Castro Valley,CA, a third baseman in major league baseball from 1991-2001 Ed Jr currently is a Head Coach at a West Coast College,2007
Edward Nelson Sprague Sr., and Jr.

(121 pages) Rebecca is a  long time resident of Dennysville. She is also a former teacher and local historian. I have corresponded with her in the past and found her to be a warm and thoughtful person with a wealth of knowledge of the Passamaquoddy and Washington County area of Maine.  -John.

(Cousin)General Augustus Brown Reed Sprague
"Who's Who In American History", page 1165. SPRAGUE, Augustus Brown Reed, soldier, banker; b. Ware, Mass., Mar. 7, 1827; s. Lee and Lucia (Snow) S.; (Mayflower descendant in 7th generation);ed. pub. and pvt. schs.; m. Elizabeth Janes Rice, 1846; m. 2d, Mary Jennie Barbour, Oct. 23, 1890. Clerk in stores in Worcester, 1842-46; in mercantile business for himself, 1846-61; served in Civil War 3 yrs, and 9 mos. as Capt., lt. col. and col., Mass. vols.; bvtd. brig. gen. "for gallant and meritorious service during the war." U.S. collector internal revenue, 8th Mass. Dist., 1867-72; sheriff Worcester County, 1871-90; mayor Worcester, 1896-97. Republican. Pres. Worcester Mechanics' Savings Bank, Jan. 1900--; pres. Worcester Electric Light Co., Sept. 1901--; Mem. G.A.R. (comdr. Dept. of Mass., 1868), Loyal Legion, etc. Address: Worcester, Mass. Died 1910.

  My 12th G Grandfather    Isaac Allerton,  Mayflower Pilgrim  

Isaac Allerton was born in England about 1586, but nothing has been conclusively established concerning his ancestry or the exact location of his birth. He was a tailor in London before joining the Separatist group at Leyden, Holland. In Holland he married Mary Norris of Newbury, England on 4 November 1611. With his wife and children, Bartholomew, Remember, and Mary, he embarked from Holland on the "Speedwell" and transferred to the "Mayflower" at Southampton.

Isaac Allerton was one of the forty-one signers of the Mayflower Compact.

Isaac Allerton's wife, Mary, died at Plymouth on 25 February 1620-1 during the general sickness that befell the Pilgrims that first winter. He then married Fear Brewster, daughter of William Brewster, before 22 May 1627. She died 12 December 1634 after they had two children, Sarah and Isaac. He was married a third time, before 1644, to Joanna Swinnerton.

Isaac Allerton served as an Assistant Governor from 1621 to 1631, and as a business representative of the Colony, making several trips to London in that capacity. He was dismissed after being accused of extravagance and mixing private trading with public interests. He moved to Marblehead about 1633 and operated a coastal trading fleet for a time before moving to New Amsterdam where he resided for ten years. He finally located at New Haven. He was a trader at both locations.

MEDDYBEMPS MEMOIRS - Part One
By John Sprague My parents purchased our camp on beautiful Meddybemps Lake, Maine in 1946. They bought our camp (this is what cottages are called in downeast Maine) from "Donkey" Smith of Calais. There was just our camp and Tommy Denyer's cottage right next to Reynolds Beach. Dad painted our place the color "Red" so from then on, we were known as "the red camp" near the beach. Cliff Reynolds owned the beach but our family had beach rights. Mr. Reynolds also owned the camps on our right side and he had them all rented during the summer. Cliff had quite a business with the beach, his camps and boats to rent. He had a place for people to tent and campout in his field opposite the beach complete with a hand pump for drawing well water, a snack bar and a place to launch boats. Literally growing up there, I used to dive off our pier in front of our red camp. I would swim diagonally all the way out to the beach raft. It was usually crowded on that float, especially on a hot summer's day. It was fun being a kid in those days. Dad worked in a paper mill (St Croix Paper Co) in nearby "Woodland" in Baileyville, Maine. When the Woodland schools let out for summer vacation, we Sprague children and our mom would move right out there to Reynolds Beach and stay until Labor Day. I could swim all day, fish and go boating. Guess I never realized how lucky I was at the time. I could jump in the boat and drive to the town dock. I'd tie up to the dock and walk up to Palmeter's store. They sold gas there and I could get candy and ice cream or a few groceries. The Palmeter family was always friendly. There was Curtis "Chub" Palmeter and his wife Alberta, daughters Betty, Maxine and Myrtle and a son Curtis Jr. Charlie Bridges worked there too and was a good guy. The store was a gathering spot for Meddybempsters and the summer campers. There were guides and caretakers like Cecil Ward and Ronald Cousins. Richard Dwelley helped us put in a septic line and tank so we could have indoor plumbing and didn't have to use the outhouse any more. I enjoyed seeing Howard Allen there at the store and I'd sometimes visit with him at his nearby house.For friends, I hung around with Mark Ketchum, Dale Sherrard, Johnny Hanson, Jeff Orchard, Roger Holst, Jon Mahar and a few others. Sometimes, mom would have me do errands. I'd go to the post office in Meddybemps which was just a short walk from the store, over the bridge by Harry Smith's Dam and Lottie Lombard’s store to the P.O. which was in the Everett Gillespie home. Once in a while, I'd get a glimpse of his two pretty daughters, Nancy and Frannie. Later, the post office moved further down Route 191 and Lottie’s store was also closed. Lottie’s used to have lots of baskets hanging in her store. I can still remember smelling the sweet grass from all those Indian baskets.

MEDDYBEMPS MEMOIRS - Part Two
By John Sprague In later years, doing genealogical research, I learned that Lottie had been distantly related to my own family. The Palmeter store remains as a friendly part of past days on the lake. The village also has a little white community church, a bubbling brook and lots of blueberry fields. After leaving the Palmeter store, I’d head back to the dock to fetch my boat and return back to the cove and then motor to the camp. Dad always had a power boat to use growing up and when I got a little older, I built my own hydroplane which I enjoyed skimming across the water. Kip Kineap also had a hydroplane but it was a lot faster than mine. Since we only had one car, in those early days, dad would bring bags of groceries he purchased at Coulter's store in Woodland. On the weekend, we might go into Calais to shop or get food from the A&P or IGA. My favorite store was Western Auto and Todd's hardware but there was also a 5&10,W T Grants, Bernadini's Peanuts( They were large peanuts and cashews always hot and the bags were always a little greasy) but they smelled great and usually didn't make it all the way back to the camp. We ate them! Other stores in Calais were Woolworth's, Fishman's, Downeast TV and a few other places we liked to go. No Wal-Mart’s in those days. Mammoth Mart, Kings and then Ames had not yet arrived on the scene. Rich's didn't come until much later. Sometimes dad would take mom, me and my sisters to the St Croix Valley Drive-In Theatre in Baring. We would always burn a circular green smudge wick in the car because of mosquitoes and black flies. In those days, the theatre had the speakers on a pole which you would have to put inside the auto window. No tuning to a radio frequency in those days. A few other times, we went to the movies in St Stephen, New Brunswick at the Queen Theatre. The Canadian border was only about 16 miles from our camp and Calais didn't have a theater for years after the State Theater burned down. The movie playing the night it burned was "A hot tin roof". We enjoyed ourselves. It was a good life (when things were simple.) We had company most all summer long plus Cliff's cottages brought plenty of friends to play with. Many of his camps had the same tenants year after year. Most stayed two weeks at a time. In later summers, I had my "Ham" radio gear and my sisters had boyfriends. We played cards on rainy days; water skied on hot days and swam nearly every day. Meddybemps Lake attracted a lot of people from Maine, New Brunswick and other eastern states. The lake is quite large in size being 8 miles long, 7 miles wide, with fifty-two islands. Some had nick-named it Calendar lake. There were cottages on most of those islands and most had big boats. I was always a little envious of the Islanders. One boat I remember as a small child was called the "Dixie Clipper" owned by the Graham family. I had heard they had something to do with the Dixie cup company. That was never verified to my knowledge. It might just as well have been a rumor but that family was quite well off just the same and had a huge cottage and a mile of shorefront. Some of the boats on the lake were more designed for ocean use, I thought. Meddybemps was deep water in parts but was also known for its many rocks.

MEDDYBEMPS MEMOIRS _ Part Three
By John Sprague There were quite a few boats and motors that were damaged on that body of water. I soon learned where most of the rocks were. Many of these boulders just below the surface were soon marked with paint or buoys but every once in a while, we realized that some of them were overlooked. I managed to shear a few pins over the years and had to fix the outboard motor numerous times. We had a lot of rain at the lake. I can recall bailing water out of the boats many times. I also remember the seaplanes that would land on the lake and sometimes we got to take a ride up above the lake. Ed Ketchum had a plane and so did Ed Arbo. Of course, so did the fish and game warden so we had to make sure we had our fishing licenses with us at all times and measured the length of our catch. Dad liked to go fishing after work and we'd generally have a fish fry 2 or 3 nights a week. It seemed like there were more fish and larger in size in those days. We'd fry, bake and barbecue them. I had the honor of filleting and cleaning the perch, bass and pickerel on occasion. The latter species usually ended up in fish chowder. Mom was a good chowder maker and dad was known for his homemade clam chowder. Mom was also an expert pie maker. We ate well at the lake. Berries were also numerous. We would pick wild strawberries in July and raspberries and blueberries in Aug. At the end of summer, this part of Maine had fields of blueberries to rake and be winnowed and sent to Stewart's or Wyman's factories. There was lots of work for us children for at least two full weeks. We could earn enough money to buy our own school clothes or anything else we wished. I would usually work for Howard Allen or Forest Sadler way up on Conant's Hill. I could rake a lot of berries but my back was always sore at the end of the day. If you wanted really clean berries, they were hand picked elsewhere. Strawberry shortcake and blueberry cake were my favorites although they were also good on cereal or with cream. On Lake Meddybemps, we had the best sunsets too. Many people took pictures of them throughout the years. We had a fireplace out front where we burned wood, cooked hotdogs and toasted marshmallows. When the wind picked up, it was time to douse the fire. The waves would pick up. We were on the south end of the lake. The waves would get quite large and you could see the white caps coming down lake. Then it would start to downpour. It would get dark and then the thunder and lightning would start. Thunder storms were intense with bolts of lightning crashing down on the lake. It was a sight to behold although some were afraid of the noise and feared being hit by lightning. I once saw a bolt come in the window and bounce off the black kitchen stove. Another unique thing there was the sky was always pitch black at night and you could see every star in the sky. Eventually I had a telescope but I admit it pointed at the beach on some occasions. We rode bikes on the camp road and had some baseball games in Reynolds’s field. Another interesting thing about Meddybemps Lake was that everyone waved to each other out on the water, even though we didn't know most of them. It was just a friendly gesture we all did. The lake was pleasant and even the elm trees were pretty and welcoming around the village. Eventually, the Dutch elm disease took its toll on those trees. Soon bright street lights were installed around the shore and on the highway. Upon Cliff's death, his son erected his new home on the beach. Unfortunately, life doesn’t stand still. However, I still proposed to my wife on that beach under a starry sky one summer evening.

MEDDYBEMPS MEMOIRS - Part Four
By John Sprague Later on, we bought the "red" camp from my folks. One of the first projects was to paint the camp another color. It was now the blue camp. Everyone now complained that they missed the red camp. I did add hot water and a shower which received approval never-the-less. We did get very good use of that camp place growing up in a nearby town. We would view the foliage in the fall. The leaves always seem to look better down next to the water with the vibrant New England foliage. Dad would hunt there in Nov. His brothers and other hunter friends would stay right out there for a couple weeks every year. It was a tradition. Uncle “Deed” would come up from Massachusetts and Uncle Harlan would come from Kittery and his other brothers would come out there from Woodland. I can remember going out there to visit with them some evenings with the rest of the family. They had it all set up and the cooking was always delicious. Even cousin Bart Guthrie came all the way from TN one year for the hunting season. Then, in the middle of the winter, we would drive out there to skate and play in the snow. Some years, there was no snow and we could skate all the way up the lake instead of clearing a small area. Sometimes, dad would drive the family car right on the ice since it was usually three feet thick. One year, we drove all the way to the town dock area. On the way back to the camp, the ice started to crack. Dad told us to roll all the windows down. That was one of the last times we drove on the ice with our auto. Once safely back at the camp, we warmed by the wood stove and drank hot chocolate. Spring would bring the annual ice-out in late April. Sometimes, we were there when the ice disappeared and hopefully left the dock on the shore. Many a year, we had to repair or build new piers. We did, however, take full advantage of the red camp. In the mid eighties, after I had finished college, my wife and I moved to Calais from Massachusetts and started a business. We hoped to enjoy the camp like in the fashion of the old days; I was hoping my own son would have a similar experience like I had. Self employment businesses unfortunately don’t always provide enough free time. This was the case for me. I was always working it seemed. When I finally got out to camp, I was usually too tired. My wife and son did get to enjoy Meddybemps Lake for a few years before we returned to Boston. Nothing stays the same of course, so I cling to those happy memories of long ago.