So, the results are in. I received my genetic test results from my Ancestry.com DNA
test. So, the thing is, I knew with relative certainty that Great
Britain and European Jewish would figure heavily. And they did.
Those two together made up 61% (38 and 23%, respectively). That jives with what I've traced back along
the family tree, particularly from my Paternal Grandfather's side.
Where it starts to branch a little is kind of
interesting. My 3rd largest sector is Scandinavian. I didn’t
see that coming. The theory, according to
my friends on Facebook, is that the Vikings were highly mobile and extraordinarly
prolific, especially in parts of the UK
Something about raking and millaging?
I don’t know. Anyway – I have
some Swedanegian in me. In fact, 19% of
me.
Finally, there’s the Scotland/Wales/Ireland slice of the pie. That’s a whopping 10%. And honestly, there isn’t a lot of land separating
that 10% from the Great Britain 38%. So. This may also connect back to the forbidden
Viking conquests.
The remaining bits and pieces are “Low Confidence” regions – Caucasus,
Finland/NW Russia, Iberian Peninsula, Europe South. Basically, I’m a mutt.
And then, the question comes… do I believe any of this? Is it valid?
Well, friends – signs point to yes.
You can share your results to see if you have any cousins – near or
distant – who have also done the test.
And…
Sure enough, a first cousin.
My mother has two half-brothers –
same father, different mothers. Their mother
died, and my grandfather remarried (my grandmother), and they had Mom. So. I
don’t really put a lot of effort into these two men because… well, it’s a long
damn story. I recognize that they exist,
that my mother has some guilt surrounding her relationship with them, and that
is her thing. Good for her. Fine for me.
That said, I know I have cousins, I know who they are – but again, we’re
not close. But! Sure
enough – one of them did the same test, and it linked us. So, my thought is, it seems pretty accurate
if it could suss that out with only a modicum of DNA in common. He
lives in California, BTW. So, that’s some
proof for you skeptics.
My sister wondered if I was disappointed, and at the time, I said
no, that I was surprised, but not disappointed.
I’d like to restate. I am a
little disappointed. See, I thought I
was probably, somewhere down the line, black.
I am so, so not black. At all. What are the odds?
It doesn’t matter, whether I'm black or not in the grand scheme of
things. We all have a past, we all came
from somewhere. Every family tree has a
few squirrels, a rotting branch or two, and most of all, roots.
 |
| Proof that there was life before Reading Rainbow. |
In my case, just not the roots I had anticipated.
It does now make me curious about Mom’s side, as well as my
Maternal Grandmother. I need to do some
digging. I need to find out more about
the 38, 19 and 10%... I have the 23% under control.
Onward, upward and forward.
ae
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