Kiss Me ... I'm Irish?

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 Source: InspiredImages/Pixabay

My DNA results have arrived! The results are much what I expected - very European and British - as I have been finding with my genealogical research. I tested with Ancestry DNA and FamilyTreeDNA. In this post, I'll deal with the Ancestry results.  The results from both companies are generally the same, but there are few interesting twists. 

The caveat is that ethnicity estimates are just that - comparisons to the genetic profile of a representative sample of the native population. Despite, the warning about the generalized nature of ethnicity estimates, they are fun to take a look at and ponder.

This is what Ancestry DNA estimated for me:

European 99%  

• Europe West 37%
• Great Britain 30%
• Ireland 25%
• Trace Regions 7% (Scandinavian 4%, Iberian Peninsula 2%, European Jewish <1%)

African <1% (Trace Region: North Africa)

The interesting bit is that Ancestry pegged me at 25% Irish (theirs is a separate category). To my knowledge, I have no Irish ancestors or heritage. However, a cousin of my mother assures me that there is at least one Irish connection on the Brown side. Whether or not that accounts for a quarter of my ethnic makeup, remains to be seen. 

In digging a bit deeper into the Irish result, I did note that Ancestry includes in its definition of Irish, the locations of Ireland, Wales and Scotland (also found in France and England) - which might be taking into account my Welsh family and Scottish McPhee roots. I guess it's my Celtic heritage coming through. 

In any case, I've been thinking that I just might celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year to embrace my newly discovered Irish heritage - however defined or calculated. Any excuse for a party... especially in the dreary month of March! 

Cheers, K.

Well, I Did It... Genealogically Speaking

What exactly did I do? I have jumped into the genetic genealogy pool with the purchase of AncestryDNA and FamilyTreeDNA testing kits. After a long break from doing any genealogy research of my own and a super-busy year of work, I decided that I needed to do something different to spark my interest and research.

I had the privilege of attending the Ontario Genealogical Society Annual Conference in Toronto in June for work and followed the genetic genealogy stream in the program as something that I wanted to learn more about for myself and my library patrons. I attended several sessions given by Cece Moore of the DNA Detectives - and while I won't confess to understanding everything about the ins and outs of DNA and genetic genealogy, I was hooked. Her stories, advice and information were captivating and intriguing, so I bought the AncestryDNA kit at the conference. I promptly took it home, left on holidays and left it untouched for the summer.

When FamilyTreeDNA advertised its summer sale, I bought their kit - knowing that the Devon DNA Project was affiliated with FamilyTree DNA.  I've hit the proverbial brick wall on my Ball line in North/South Molton, and am hoping that FamilyTreeDNA, with its large UK base, will help connect me to descendants of my Ball family that stayed behind in Devon.

Finally, in early September, I sat down one Wednesday morning, did my tests, and mailed them in on the way to work. Now, I am eagerly awaiting my test results.

I'll keep you posted when the results are in!

Cheers, Karen