Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Your Turn

From a reader

Have you done a gene or ancestry tree kit or even just tried to go back and find out where you came from?

69 comments:

Unknown said...

yes, and i found a half sister.

hunter said...

Hey everybody! I did a DNA kit and came back "Super Mixed White" which means mostly western and northern European blood, sadly nothing exciting.

German (I'm punctual!), Norwegian, some Irish (alcoholic, thanks Ireland), Portuguese (for the tan) and some other white people stuff.

Pretty boring but same as mom told me so that was a pleasant surprise.

sandybrook said...

no Im not interested in knowing.

hunter said...

@Unknown - that's wild, did you connect?

I made eleven egg babies about ten years ago so in another ten years I expect a lot of inquiries.

hunter said...

Sandy - why not?

Tricia13 said...

My older sister did it. Also have my father one as a 🎁 (cool idea actually). No big surprises... European on both sides (Anglo/Irish,French, German,Ukrainian, Hungarian). Nomadic ,tinkers (as they say in 🇮🇪)

sandybrook said...

I know enough about my family through my grandparents era which is over 100 years ago so that's all i need. I know who they are, i know who they all gave birth too, I know how they died.

norster said...

I found out my parents weren't married, well not to each other lol 🤣 and I have 2 sets of half siblings - that I've found so far...

Zebra Seasoning said...

No, have done genealogy the old fashioned way- have relatives who researched it. One found family back to the 1300s.

Tricia13 said...

Norster-that’s a find!

Do Tell said...

My mom did. The results didn't sound all that revelatory. She can trace her roots through her grandparents, I think, and my dad through his, but not sure how much further back than that.

My brother hates the DNA kit idea, he thinks it can be abused.

MyDogSmiles said...

Not a chance. The founder of 23 and Me was co-founded by Anne Wojcicki. Guess who her ex husband is? Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google. Here's another coincidence. Whose Anne Wojcicki's sister? Susan Wojcicki whose CEO of Youtube. Nothing to see here folks :/

Notagoodscreenname said...

@Norster. So they were married to others at the time? Or just not married?

cheesegrater15 said...

I've used Family Search by the Mormons. It's cool as hell. They have a picture of my great-grandfather's WW1 draft card.

Simon said...

Not a chance I’m handing over my DNA to do whatever they want with it. And, you are paying them to do it too.

PhillyWilly said...

Yes, in the main, no surprises. So mostly italian, about 10 percent Irish and English respectively. 2% each of Middle Eastern (ive been working on ululation), Norwegian (no clue), and turkey/caucasus.
My mom's bio father was given the boot and never heard from again after my great uncle kicked the shit out of him. but he never had any other children. but found lots of cousins from his side.

IndieRaga said...

I want to do that.....where do I get that kit thingie ?
I definitely have diverse blood in me..
...

Trapped said...

Hell no I was told it all by my Myme and she was a midwife
She knew everyone’s business

Rammed Earth said...

In due course, everyone will figure out where they came from and who they really are. My sicilian american father in law used to forward the most virulently xenophobic anti-muslim old person hatebook memes via his close chum, the recently deceased Holywood reporter, whose deepest closet was that he was a Rape-ublican in Lie-beral WeHo. After he took a DNA test and found out he was an Iraqi, my FIL didn't send another bad word about the Eh-rabs. Billy Bob's a Jeans Genie. https://www.gq.com/story/billy-bob-thornton-bad-santa-2-profile
Diva keeps him in stitches. https://www.instagram.com/magikatarot/
It's a shame Gail was so mean to Lisa, they had more in common than being in love with the same man. #Blacklisted

norster said...

@Tricia13 8 siblings so far - wouldn't be surprised if there were more !

@Notagoodscreenname Yes they were both separated, but not divorced - my mum only admitted that when I couldn't fine a marriage certificate.

Every family has skeletons, you just don't expect it to be you ! Lol 🤣

rocky619ca said...

Used My Heritage.
I was excited to find out other than just being Mesoamerican/Andean that I was a good percentage Irish/Scotch/Welsh only 3% Italian,15% Iberian,4% Middle Eastern and 7.9 Ashkenazi Jewish.

Vita said...

OT-- Cub fans...WGN showing the Game 7 World Series victory on Saturday afternoon at 2 pm CST. You'd think they'd pace themselves and reshow every win of entire championship season!

I've heard too many spins on the access to info to want to do the test, but a cousin did some research on Ancestry.com and brought a bunch of pics and documents after my mom passed. She even had a couple of pics of the "old country" generation that even our parents had never met (my great grandparents). Fascinating stuff.

Anonymous said...

Yes used Ancestry. Confirmed we are primarily English and French with 1-2% of Scandinavian (those naughty pillaging Vikings). It's fascinating.

E said...

I'm with @MyDog. No matter what it would be fun to know there is NO WAY I am giving Silicon Valley my most personal data

Sunkist said...

My father's side goes back to England forever. I am also Irish and other western EU. Based on my 1st cousin's 23/me profile we go back to Anne Boleyn. I always say everyone with English ancestry goes back to royalty because EU/Britain monarchys were so incestuous and these are tiny countries

B626 said...

Yes
And I’m still looking for a 1/2 sister

LowCountryMan86 said...

For those wanting to do it....I'd suggest not. Found out about half siblings and now my family all hates each other

Don't Telle said...

Yes, I do genealogy on the side and have submitted my Mom's brother and my Dad's to FTDNA and Ancestry. It's addicting and my Mom helped me with the research.

I lost my beautiful, perfect mother unexpectedly last week to a massive heart attack. She had been to Ireland a couple weeks before and developed a-symptomatic pneumonia she did not know she had which brought on the attack. We are waiting for the results of the Covid-19 test before we can bury her. It has been the most surreal nightmare that I would wish on no one. In addition, because of the pandemic, we are not allowed a funeral and are quarantined. She was my best friend, my confidante, my heart, my everything.

PhillyWilly said...

Very Sorry for your loss Don't Telle. Hang tough.

Blue Haired Witch said...

@ Don’t Telle. I am so sorry for your loss. And to have the pain compounded by all the Covid-19 protocols makes it even worse. So sorry.

No, I won’t do a DNA test willingly, but a half-niece found my brother’s son in the database. She’s from Siberia, and was from my father’s first marriage. She brought her father ( my half-brother) over last year to meet our family members. He looked so much like our dead father that it was almost like having him back amongst the living.

Vita said...

I'm so sorry for your loss, Don't Telle. That is purely heartbreaking. Prayers to you and your family, and for your precious Mother.💜

Todd said...

No. They are notoriously unreliable and there have been accusations of companies essentially making up the results.

Men should never do them. I saw a special were they showed how a hacker sift through results and figure out who you are due to qualities in the DNA. It was easier to do on men than women.

Mindflayer said...

Well....my father is doing this in the Old fashioned way. Goes back to the 1700's and some even further.

I have not used ancestry/heritage or a DNA kit so no idea about the DNA percentage and all. Of you know what I mean.

Rammed Earth said...

Telle, she's on the other side now, pushing for all of us. Peace to you.

Bleu said...

There are lines of my family that are documented back to the before the Revolutionary War. Some members really get into it; others don't. There are some known last names everyone would recognize but my family lines never end up with any wealth somehow lol.

DavidHowesCREBroker said...

I already know where my ancestry came from.
It's been a tradition in my family to keep a genealogy that's been passed down for generations.

There is even an official: Howes Family Association!

Besides, don't most of those sites claim ownership of (parts of) your DNA from submitting?

Village Guru said...

I know about one half-brother from a woman my Dad had an affair with, but he doesn't know about me so far as I know. I know his name, where he lives, and what he served time for. I'm not putting my DNA online for him to find me; I want nothing to do with him.

EyeSee said...

No. My father is a pig, so I'm too afraid to find out what is out there.

T. W. said...

Yes. I need male relatives from both sides to do the test for more accurate results pertaining to the family tree.

Otherwise I am pleasantly surprised!

Girl with a Hat said...

my family name is the clue - it traces my family's lineage back to the Teutonic Knights and the Crusades.

EyeSee said...

Haven't yet done so. Might try it. My father is a vile pig, so I wouldn't doubt there are half siblings floating around somewhere.

Pogue Mahone said...

Sometimes it's best to not know.

Don't Telle said...

Thanks so much Philly, Vita & Rammed! It's been surreal and to be forced to grieve alone is rough. It helps to post about it. Thank you again!

LaurenMaye said...

@MyDog, EXACTLY!

Katrina's Voice said...

I did 23andme, and MyHeritage.

Found 4 half siblings and several nieces and nephews. Met one half brother - the rest want nothing to do with me, and were angry with my half brother for meeting me. What a mess! (I'm adopted, and met a full sister after matching my birth mother via ALMA - that experience was much more palatable.)

Super interesting, but definitely changes your perspective.

Ash01e said...

I would love to get one, since my dad is adopted, and I would like to actually know what I am, aside from 100% Mayo on WonderBread White Girl White.
It gets frustrating when people ask my background, and all I can say is "My great-grandma on my mom's side is from Rome, and she had my grandma with a man from Transylvania, which is why she's the only Italian I know who hates garlic. My grandfather (who hid his first family from everyone until his wake/funeral- and it was great to watch my mom explain that she was his first born at his casket while his widow hung her head in shame)'s family were supposedly German Catholics, despite Ellis Island papers stating otherwise. My dad was adopted, but has strong alcoholic/addict genes that he passed to me. So yeah, no clue....."
So, I don't want to find out if I'm related to anyone, other than my mom, grandma, brother, and children. I just want to finally know what ingredients came together to make me, because it really does stink to not know.

Kansa said...

Yes, I did, about 10 years ago or so. It was the health information which was particularly useful. I found out then that I had the genetic mutation which gives me a lot of trouble and would make it really bad for me to get covid-19 (hence I am taking social isolation seriously). I didn't know what it meant, but found out about A-1 Antitrypsine Deficiency. Ignorance really is bliss on some of the medical info. One thing that was really useful, was that I have a very great possibility of having a toxic reaction to a popular antibiotic. I'd never had it prescribed to me, so it's good to know that in advance. As far as ancestry goes, there were a few snippets of information which must have happened so long ago. Northern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Near East, little tiny amounts of dna from those. The rest, I knew about, no surprises there. I'm glad I did it.

Megley said...

Not on Ancestry, but I researched family lore and got confirmation that my paternal relatives founded Doaktown, NB, Canada. We are direct descendants of Squire Robert Doak. We are also related to Doak Walker, and post Joyce Kilmer on my mom's side of the family.
Not claiming Mama June's boyfriend, Geno Doak. Nope.

Kansa said...

Don't Telle, I am sorry for your loss, especially in these troubled times. Wishing you peace and sweet memories.

Flashy Vic said...

Like zebra seasoning and mindflayer, my dad and uncle did it the pre gene testing way.
They got the direct male surname line back to a Welsh village in the 1480s. That's a very lucky break.
Co-incidentally the Welsh village was only 15 miles from a town in South Wales that I lived in for 8 years. My dad was English and my mums side side solidly Ulster Scots and I'm also a Belfastman and pretty much ended up living in Wales by accident, which makes the coincidence that much greater. I've driven through that village dozens if not hundreds of times as it was on a main road between my Welsh home and the nearest big town of Newport Gwent.

Flashy Vic said...

There's no words adequate, Don't Telle, but there's the tiny consolation that you and your family are in thoughts and prayers of total strangers across the globe. Hang in there and God bless.

LaurenMaye said...

@Don't Telle, sorry for your loss. I lost my mom many years ago in a tragic way, always a painful thing to go through. Many Blessings to you. @Megley, I knew a Doak Walker many years ago, was kinda shocked to see that, it's an unusual name.

LaurenMaye said...

@Flashy, Wow! What are the odds?! How are things by you?

OKay said...

I asked my husband to get me one for Christmas. No real surprises, but it turns out I'm part German and Ukrainian, which I did not know.

I was really hoping it would turn out my dad was Bill Gates, but no such luck.

Bradford said...

Yes, did a bunch of genealogy as a kid and have now used Ancestry DNA and online resources to extend many lines further. Working on my application to the Mayflower Society and fun to find that both sides of my family were here for the Revolution and numerous lines trace back to British royalty.

Flashy Vic said...

@LaurenMaye. Health-wise okay, job wise the family is fucked. I'm finishing my tomorrow, probably for good. My daughter left her old job b for a great new one that she was supposed to start this week and they rang on Monday to say they dont need her now. That same day her boyfriend lost his job.

I still don't know anyone who is even ill.

Unhappy times ahead for all of us.

Don't Telle said...

Thank you so much Kansa, Flashy & Lauren! Much appreciated!

MrFusion said...

No way. Goes straight into a government database. FTS. None of their damn business.

A.Claire said...

The folks did genealogy years back. No shocker that I'm mainly, Irish, Scottish, and Polish descent. Some interesting stories and news articles were found.

That is quite an amazing coincidence @Flashy Vic. I don't believe I have any Welsh ancestors, but I did spend quite a chunk of my childhood in the small village of Crickhowell, as a youngster. Small world, eh?

@Don't Telle - so sorry to hear about that, how utterly devastating. May you be able to find some sort of comfort and endure through these times. ♥

rednoir said...

My maternal grandfather invented a screwdriver particular to Canada. I found out as an adult and was kept from the fortune. He died before I was born.

I have an Irish playright ancestor, Brimsley Sheridan. Wrote School For Scandal.

Most of my ancestry was documented by older relatives long ago. Scottish, Irish, red hair, blue eyes.

Kiki said...

Woah!!! 😲

dix said...

No. I want to but with the health testing they also do that can be tricky with life insurance. I've heard life insurance companies can ask now if you've had dna testing done, including ancestry kits, and few states have protections in place yet. So at least make sure you have all of the life insurance you'll ever need already in place before you do these tests. Also, the Pentagon warned soldiers not to do the testing.

Permafrost said...

I won't take one, but my Mom took one. She's about half Irish, half Norwegian, with just a little bit of Italian (2% or so).

My Dad hasn't taken one, but both his parents were Jewish immigrants from Europe.

I could probably round my ethnic heritage to 25% Irish, 25% Norwegian, and probably 50% Ashkenazi Jewish.

To be honest though I'm more interested in my family heritage than pure ethic background. My Irish side of the family managed to put together a pretty good family tree. It doesn't reveal any impressive background, but it's infinitely more interesting and personal than some DNA stats.

Flashy Vic said...

@A Claire. Crickhowell?! Know it well! A truly beautiful place.Ive had a few summers evening pints in the Bell Inn there. I lived in Brynmawr just on the other side of the high moors. A summer drive over the moors from Ebbw Vale and down into Llangynidwr - and yes I can say that, we two are probably the only two here who can - is one of the loveliest sights I've ever seen. Like arriving on the Shire. I gotta go back sometime.

Flashy Vic said...

The 13th century bridge at Crickhowell for you Yanks to see the place
. There is an extra arch on one side than the other. Nobody knows why or, I think, how. And yes it is that lovely.

https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article10877721.ece/ALTERNATES/s1200b/visit-wales.jpg

LaurenMaye said...

@Flashy. Sorry to hear you are in that position, that's really rough. Will keep you and your family in prayer. My state locks down this Friday night. The only cases of c19 are in our major city, last I saw was 30. Some where down the line I think we will find out this was done on purpose by some very evil people. As to the bridge you spoke of, I read about that years ago, was very interesting. Most of my knowledge of your corner of the world comes from reading James Harriot :) Stay well, stay safe, and keep the faith. Blessings to you and yours!

Don't Telle said...

Thank you so much Claire! ;-)

Do Tell said...

OMG. I am belatedly seeing this @DontTelle, but I am really sorry to hear that. What an awful thing to be going through under normal circumstances, but now? I'm so sorry. Wishing you strength.

Mommywoman said...

I am so sorry, Don't Telle.

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