Disappointments and Discoveries--DNA Test Results

As I mentioned in an earlier post - A Trip Through Time - I've been doing some research in to my family tree and I've made some pretty amazing discoveries.

I also mentioned I was having a DNA test done and I promised to report back when I got the results.

They're heeeeeere.

My prime motivation for having my test done is that there were oral family histories that we have Native American roots on one branch of the family tree, and that those roots probably trace back to one of the Algonquin-speaking peoples of New England-Canada area.

At least, that's been our family lore for many years, and although I don't really look Native American, my sister does have traits suggesting she could have carried those genes. I was also told that one branch of my family were French-Canadian fur trappers (also family lore although we certainly do have French-Canadian ancestors who later jumped the border to settle in Michigan), and the conjecture was that one of them may have married a Native American woman.

I didn't see any mention of a Native American while working on my family tree, but that can be deceptive because they could have been given an "Americanized" (or "Canadianized?) name that wouldn't stand out in the records as NA.

What did the results reveal? Native American genetics = nada. Zip, zilch. I carry no Original People DNA. That old family legend is a myth.

Or at least, if the genetics are there, I didn't inherit them. One of the things I discovered on this journey is that my siblings and I may inherit different portions of our ancestors' genetics, so if there is Native American somewhere in our gene pool, one or more of my sibs may have inherited the genes that I didn't. I'll have to ask my sister (or brother) if they'd be interested in taking a test to confirm we're truly void of Native American genes.

In working on my family tree, it reflected that I'm descended from the Bruces (as in King Robert the Bruce of Scotland) and the Cromwells, a prominent UK family who descended from feudal Welch and French royalty, nobility, two saints and one possible Knight of the Round Table.

Did my DNA support my research of Welch, French/Western European roots? Oh yeah. 

30% England, Wales and Northwester Europe

I also knew I was descended from German stock, specifically the Herman and Kratzer lines pretty close up in my family tree. In fact, there's a town in Pennsylvania named after my ancestors--Kratzerville. Did my DNA results support these branches of my family tree? Emphatically, yes.

38% Germanic Europe

And what about those Scottish roots? Though I've only been able to trace my Bruce family lines back to early New England colony days, did my DNA support the Bruce bloodlines? Indeed it did, though that slice of my genetic pie was smaller.

10% Ireland and Scotland

And now for the surprises. There were slices of my DNA pie that I had no clue about. Nothing in my family tree research to date uncovered or suggested these roots, so that part of my DNA reveal was a sit-back-in-my-chair-eye-opener! Ya'll ready for this? (I wasn't. LOL)

9% Eastern Europe and Russia

8% Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

Which makes a good 17% of my DNA--more than my Scottish portion--descended from good olde RussiaRussiaRussia. Wow! Didn't see that coming.

There was one major clue. I have green eyes, and green eyes are relatively rare and supposedly originated in southern Siberia (which is part of my "genetic map") long, long ago. Over the centuries, the green eyes migrated to Europe and the UK and then hopped across the pond to the Americas. 

My having green eyes was one of those subtle clues that my DNA might trace back to that area, but in spite of my research (which is for one of my novels about a civilization of ancient green-eyed people), that thought never crossed my mind! 

Here's that former blog if you're interested in reading more about green eyes:

Green Eyes--Surprising Fun Facts and Research

So...Holy Moscow, the third largest chunk of my DNA pie traces to Russia and Eastern Europe. How about that? 

The history of that area is actually pretty fascinating and tumultuous. It was once part of the Roman Empire, and later became the Kingdoms of Rus' (the basis for the later names of both Russian and Belarus). In medieval times, about half the population was wiped out by Mongolian raiders--led by two grandsons of Genghis Kahn--so I'm descended from the survivors. 

The Baltic area was also one of the last areas of Europe to accept Christianity and was targeted by crusaders. More specifically the Teutonic Knights in the 12th and 13th centuries, and that was followed by a German-Danish occupation -- which may explain how Russian-area genetics became entwined in my heavily-Germanic family tree -- that blended Estonia and Latvia into "Livonia." 

The only Livonia I'd ever heard of is a town in Michigan. I'm certainly getting an education on my root-finding mission.

But there was one last small surprise yet to come. A small sliver of my DNA pie came from yet another surprising source. 

5% Sweden

Yah. I have a bit of Swede in me, donchaknow. Oh, youbetcha. Yah. (Okay, that's really the North Dakota spin on a Norse accent, but you get the drift.)

So here's the entire breakdown:

38% Germanic Europe

30% England, Wales and Northwester Europe

10% Ireland and Scotland

9% Eastern Europe and Russia

8% Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

5% Sweden

But my DNA results weren't done surprising me yet. As part of the DNA test, Ancestry also clues you in to other members who might share your genetics. Seems I have some relatives--CLOSE relatives--who aren't in my family tree. 

It was one of those big surprises that Ancestry.com warns about before we take the test and it's popped up in the last 1-2 generations of my family. This one is taking some real investigative work since most of my rellies who would know the details are gone, but one thing is sure--public records can sometimes lie. DNA doesn't. 

Have a great week.