Good morning!
I’ve posted a video on my homepage about Ancestry DNA, but I wanted to talk a little more about it today. It’s a topic I will revisit a lot if you like to keep up with my posts. First, let me say, it’s just cool. What we can do for genealogical research today- “Hey, let’s compare our DNA” – is so scientifically advanced from the research earlier generations were capable of doing. Using DNA testing has become more mainstream in recent years. When I did the test 4 years ago, most people had never heard of the concept. There are several companies that offer this testing, I chose Ancestry’s service primarily because I had worked with that company for over a decade prior to using their test and felt somewhat of a rapport and trust in the company’s integrity. I also had never heard about questionable practices regarding the data they collected as I had about other companies. If you haven’t seen or used Ancestry’s DNA kits, they are really self-explanatory and easy to use. The packaging is sleek and reminded me of buying and Apple product.
My husband and I were in a whirlwind of traveling at the time I decided to do the test. The traveling included, what else, visiting sites in both England and Scotland over a couple years from which our ancestors had come. So we submitted our tests several months before we left for Scotland. One of my favorite memories is sitting in a restaurant in Fort William, Scotland and seeing the DNA test results appear in my email queue. (We had Wi-Fi at the restaurant, otherwise we were disconnected for the trip.)
My biggest surprise? I had Asian heritage! For a girl pretty confident about her lineage, and able to document many, many lines of my family tree, I was a bit shocked to see that result. I was expecting 100% European ancestry. Must have been one of those sailor grandfathers traveling the world – haha. My husband claimed the 100% European ancestry, but he had his own surprise that included a significant amount of Scandinavian heritage. Knowing his considerable Scottish background, it wasn’t that surprising with further reading to understand how inextricably linked Scotland is with people from the north. And could help explain his red hair!
If you haven’t explored this avenue as an addition to your research I highly recommend it. It’s fascinating. More information here.
Genealogy Love 