Haha get it? Cause we're gardeners...roots! Yeah? So anyway. Who all is interested in genealogy? My mom has been working for years on our family trees (one for her side of the family, one for my dad's, and then she's doing trees for other relatives) on Ancestry. She, my older sister and one of my uncles all took DNA tests through 23andMe, but I couldn't justify the expense for the longest time. But last month, I finally decided I could, and ordered a kit through Ancestry. Since I got my results back, I've been working on my trees too, and have found some interesting stuff! My maternal grandmother's line came from Ireland and my maternal grandfather's line came from England. My dad's line is still being worked on. He's certain he's got German and Native American ancestors. Somehow though, I have 0% Native American DNA Not sure why, and he refuses to take a test himself (he believes the government would use it for nefarious purposes). My younger sisters have agreed to take a test if I buy them kits. A branch from grandma's line, the Irish, were nobility! They were the de Barry family, Wikipedia actually has pages on most of them. The last one on that branch of our family to have a title, David Barry, 1st Lord of Barrymore once stormed the castle of Ballymac Patrick (now Careysville), near Fermoy, which was held by his grand-aunt, and hanged 40-58 (no one seems sure of the number) of the rebel leaders (the 1641 rebellion) before breakfast. My results are - Europe 92% -Great Britain 67% -Ireland 17% -Scandinavia 3% -Finland/Northwest Russia 3% -Europe West 1% -Iberian Peninsula < 1% Africa 7% -Senegal 3% -Mali 3% -Cameroon/Congo < 1% West Asia < 1% -Caucasus < 1%
I have the DNA test results from Ancestry for Randy, me, our two daughters, both grandsons and Randy's parents. It took several months to save up and then wait until kits went on sale (usually around Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentines and sometimes Christmas they are 20-30 percent off) Between the 8 of us, we represent pretty much 75 percent of the whole world. Even though we each get half of our DNA from our Mom and half from our Dad, that doesn't mean we get more than a sampling of all they are and that's why Native American may not show up in some of the results. Plus if the Native American ancestor is more than (I think) 5 generations back, that DNA is so 'watered down' that it is not likely to show up at all. Hence the reason that being part Native American has to be proved by lineage not DNA. You have to have a family tree with a direct link back to a Native American ancestor before any tribe will recognize you as one of theirs. When you are looking at Irish ancestry you need to remember that many of today's Irish are part Scandinavian from the Vikings who invaded early Ireland and intermarried with the locals. Rumor has it that I have a direct line back to Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland 1306-1329 but I have not taken the time yet to prove. I am mainly trying to find my maternal grandmother....I can find nothing, not a single mention of her prior to May 1926 when she gave birth to my Mom. I am going with the theory that she is an alien from another galaxy who got kicked out of the family space ship by her ornery brother as they were passing through Earth's atmosphere.
I've never done the DNA tests. I have the same feelings as your father Bip, and refuse. But I have been doing family tree research for almost 21 years, and until 1957 when my parents moved to Canada, my entire line is in Germany and Prussia for as far back as records exist. I am quite happy with that and don't feel the need for any DNA testing.
I like knowing where my ancestors actually came from, not just where they lived. There are so many stories there that I would love to discover. Like how and when did I get some Melanesian blood? There is bound to be a story there....good or bad, it would give me an idea of what kind of life my ancestor lived. But having or not having the test done is determined a great deal by whether you want to know where your ancestors lived or want to know their ethnicity. The three major DNA tests available (and there are more on the horizon) are Ancestry.com...23andme...FamilyTree. And from what I have read it is better to get a test done by all three than to rely only on one. They each test for a few different things so sometimes the results vary. And having a Mitochondrial testing that gives results through only your female relatives and is only for females would be a whole new world of information too.
I've been considering doing a test with 23andMe as well. My older sister who took it got 1% Native DNA, but we don't have the same dad, so I'm not sure if that came from mom or her dad. My uncle can't remember his results, he only took the test because mom talked him into it. And unfortunately, all my grandparents are dead, so I can't get them tested I was surprised at the African, until mom told me her great grandmother was biracial. At that time, of course, being biracial was a scandal, so it was covered up for a long time. Mom didn't actually know about it herself until about 15 years ago.
My ancestors came from Scotland and England. Many of my great grandparents already moved to Africa and now my familly is mostly in Australia and New Zealand. Some are in Europe and Africa too. My first cousin twice removed "Guy Lindsay Scott." was the acting President of Zambia between October 2014 and January 2015. I have quite a few illustrious ancestors.
