« Reply #95 on: Tuesday 02 July 19 12:27 BST (UK) »
Thanks arthurk - I think this sounds like quite an interesting read. I see my library has a copy of it so I will try to get hold of a copy.
I can see this subject is quite controversial but I really do think there are times when we might be influenced by our genetic make up. Not everything of course but I do think sometimes the things we are drawn to might have some genetic connection/predisposition.
Regarding the 'Emily gene' when I was about to have my own son, I suddenly became interested in a name for him (if he was a boy) which I had never been particularly fussed on. However, I felt this one particular name was the right one for him; the name I really particularly liked became his second name. Many years later, when I really got in to family history I discovered the name that I felt was so 'right' for him features very strongly in my ancestral background - it is in every generation of a line I am particularly drawn to. Mind, this is not an unusual name and I know many people would say there is no connection at all with any genetic influence. Personally, though I am still convinced that genetic influence does exist not only in physical appearance/temperament but also sometimes, in our decisions/choices, aptitude and things we are drawn to.
Conroy, Fitzpatrick, Watson, Miller, Davis/Davies, Brown, Senior, Dodds, Grieveson, Gamesby, Simpson, Rose, Gilboy, Malloy, Dalton, Young, Saint, Anderson, Allen, McKetterick, McCabe, Drummond, Parkinson, Armstrong, McCarroll, Innes, Marshall, Atkinson, Glendinning, Fenwick, Bonner