Does anyone really know their "heritage"?
- Thread starter zzyzzogeton
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blades&wrenches
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We'll see soon enough. My wife is adopted and has always been curious about this very topic so she ordered a couple different DNA tests. She asked me if I wanted to take one (more for her curiosity as its not a big deal to me) so I did just a few days ago. Results still weeks away, I'm sure.
I know lots of central European as my Dad is 100% German. My mom says she is a bit of a mix of English, Irish, German, and Native American. I'm more curious as to how much Native American than anything else.
I know lots of central European as my Dad is 100% German. My mom says she is a bit of a mix of English, Irish, German, and Native American. I'm more curious as to how much Native American than anything else.
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The Native American is the only thing I'd do it for. Just to see if my family's full of crap.
I wouldn't even bother with any of these DNA testing businesses like Ancestry DNA or whatever. And especially because my ancestry is Japanese. Truth be told, there are MANY rich and varied streams that go into Japanese DNA, but I have heard these ancestry kits have next to nothing for those of East Asian descent. It's all for European and African-blooded people (and maybe Native Americans), which may show all kinds of variation in their results, while East Asia is just lumped together as 'East Asia'. That means nothing, as Asians have as many rich DNA variations as Europeans.
I've also heard that these tests are not even all that accurate, and people have gotten different results from different DNA tests. The fact is, NOBODY is "pure-blooded" anything. I've started thinking that everyone has 2 sets of grandparents, 4 sets of great-grandparents, and etc., etc. Keep going back further and further and multiply, and everybody has a staggering number of relatives, even if only distantly. They didn't all stay in the same places, but naturally branched out and away.
My family is very much 'Jomon' Japanese in appearance, especially my dad's side. When most Westerners imagine Japanese people, they think of Japanese with more 'Yayoi' characteristics.
In the end, I'm really my own person, and I don't define who I am by my ancestry, although other people have tried to define me by that.
Jim
I've also heard that these tests are not even all that accurate, and people have gotten different results from different DNA tests. The fact is, NOBODY is "pure-blooded" anything. I've started thinking that everyone has 2 sets of grandparents, 4 sets of great-grandparents, and etc., etc. Keep going back further and further and multiply, and everybody has a staggering number of relatives, even if only distantly. They didn't all stay in the same places, but naturally branched out and away.
My family is very much 'Jomon' Japanese in appearance, especially my dad's side. When most Westerners imagine Japanese people, they think of Japanese with more 'Yayoi' characteristics.
In the end, I'm really my own person, and I don't define who I am by my ancestry, although other people have tried to define me by that.
Jim
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Well I'm a Macdonald. Theres about 6 million of us world-wide 
My family have records back to 1800 that prove that both sides of my family originate in Ireland which would actually make me a "McDonald". But that means I'm descended from 14th century Scottish mercenaries. There is one thread of English in me that originates in Yorkshire in England. 
I consider myself English born and bred but I know I'm Scots/Irish/Spanish (a great-grandmother) and possibly German (post 1890?)
If all that is true, if I go back far enough then, apart from the Spanish great-mother, I'm basically Viking.
Strangely enough my brother bought my mum a DNA kit for her recent birthday which she's just sent off. Though I guess we in the old world maybe closer to our roots to you guys in the colonies??
I'm out on a limb here but even more strangely enough has anyone here considered "genetic memory"?
Let me explain. My mum had a really broken childhood, passed from relative to relative (a result of WW2). From the earliest age she used to doodle, as people do, various patterns and shapes. Without any sort of prompt or encouragement she'd doodle these elaborate patterns. It was only when she was halfway through school that one of her teachers recognized these doodles as what we would call nowadays "Celtic" art. And they are. I've seen some of my mum's old text books from school and there covered in Celtic scroll work but she was never taught it or knew about her Celtic ancestry until later on in life.
My family have records back to 1800 that prove that both sides of my family originate in Ireland which would actually make me a "McDonald". But that means I'm descended from 14th century Scottish mercenaries. There is one thread of English in me that originates in Yorkshire in England. I consider myself English born and bred but I know I'm Scots/Irish/Spanish (a great-grandmother) and possibly German (post 1890?)
If all that is true, if I go back far enough then, apart from the Spanish great-mother, I'm basically Viking.
Strangely enough my brother bought my mum a DNA kit for her recent birthday which she's just sent off. Though I guess we in the old world maybe closer to our roots to you guys in the colonies??
I'm out on a limb here but even more strangely enough has anyone here considered "genetic memory"?
Let me explain. My mum had a really broken childhood, passed from relative to relative (a result of WW2). From the earliest age she used to doodle, as people do, various patterns and shapes. Without any sort of prompt or encouragement she'd doodle these elaborate patterns. It was only when she was halfway through school that one of her teachers recognized these doodles as what we would call nowadays "Celtic" art. And they are. I've seen some of my mum's old text books from school and there covered in Celtic scroll work but she was never taught it or knew about her Celtic ancestry until later on in life.
UffDa
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My paternal grandparents were from Riga Latvia. My maternal grandparents were from Lunna Belarus. That's as far back as I have been able to go. As far as I know, they never talked about their life in Russia. I know from records on the Ellis Island data base that they came to the USA in the early 20th century after spending time in England.
When I was a kid in Los Angeles, we had two oval formal photos of people of people I did not know. I assume that they were great-grandparents, but I have no idea which side they were on. Do to a split in the family, they are long gone. Probably in a landfill somewhere.
When I was a kid in Los Angeles, we had two oval formal photos of people of people I did not know. I assume that they were great-grandparents, but I have no idea which side they were on. Do to a split in the family, they are long gone. Probably in a landfill somewhere.
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Both side of my family came to America in the 20's from the far north of Ireland. They had some relatives in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan my maternal grandparents went to Michigan and stayed my paternal grandmother parents started in southern Ohio and ended up in Michigan.
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I'd recommend a genome sequence if you can afford it. Or AncestryDNA.
We always thought we were German. My parents even bought us lederhosen and enrolled us in German folk dance classes when we were young. A month ago I found out through a DNA test that we're not German at all. It turns out our ancestry is Scottish. Naturally I ran right out and bought a Sgian-dubh, a kilt, and all of the other accessories and then enrolled myself in a Scottish dance class because that's what you do when you find out the truth.
If your girl is mostly of European ancestry, there are a number of choices available. One service I've heard of that does NOT require a paid membership to get your results is CRI Genetics. It might be worth looking into not only how much a kit costs, but the requirements to actually learn the results after you've sent your DNA for a particular company to test.
Most of my family is probably untraceable. My paternal grandfather came from Kyushu and landed in Vancouver circa 1888, eventually making his way to CA. My maternal grandfather came here from Shikoku (also southwestern Japan) in the early 20th century. My dad's side is a bit of a mystery, as my paternal grandfather fled Japan by stowing away on a boat at age 17. I never met him; he was born in approximately 1871 and died in 1951. He was a solid over 6' tall, highly unusual for a Japanese, and even for many Europeans/Westerners, of that time. My dad and his 5 brothers were often mistaken for other races (American Indian, mixed-race, etc.). Several Westerners who've lived in Japan have asked me if I'm mixed with something else, like Italian or Portuguese, somehow due to my appearance and body hair. Weird.
All the same, if I ever chose to get DNA tested, I would wait until these tests are more accurate and way more diverse in the ancestries they can identify (which for now are concentrated mostly on European diversity).
Jim
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One of my great-great grandfathers was a draft dodger from the Confederates and a wanted fugitive from the Union army in Texas. He had come over in 1848 to get away from the BS going on in the Prussian empire at the time. When the Civil War broke out, he voted against secession as he thought a civil war would be bad for every one.
Various Confederate groups in Texas kept trying to get both he and his oldest son to join up. Instead, they joined the "home guard" and promptly left town. As he had a freight operation, he used the excuse that he had to deliver the freight he had consigned to Austin. When they got to Austin, he immediately got a load for San Antonio and dodged the sign ups going on in Austin by heading south. Then he kept going to the border and picked up a load scheduled for the Waco area. And he kept it up, each time claiming he was carrying war-time essential supplies for whatever city he was headed to.
When the Yankees started moving in, they would confiscate any freight they ran across during their patrols. To keep from getting his wagons, mules and goods stolen, he had to get creative. He managed to get in good with the Comanches west of San Antonio, Austin and Waco by giving them goods in exchange for "safe transit" of their "territories". They would keep track of any US Army patrols and guide him out of their way and then "hand him over" to the next batch of Comanches.
One of the family tales is that he would wear a dress and drive into whatever town he was going through after dark to unload/load.
Various Confederate groups in Texas kept trying to get both he and his oldest son to join up. Instead, they joined the "home guard" and promptly left town. As he had a freight operation, he used the excuse that he had to deliver the freight he had consigned to Austin. When they got to Austin, he immediately got a load for San Antonio and dodged the sign ups going on in Austin by heading south. Then he kept going to the border and picked up a load scheduled for the Waco area. And he kept it up, each time claiming he was carrying war-time essential supplies for whatever city he was headed to.
When the Yankees started moving in, they would confiscate any freight they ran across during their patrols. To keep from getting his wagons, mules and goods stolen, he had to get creative. He managed to get in good with the Comanches west of San Antonio, Austin and Waco by giving them goods in exchange for "safe transit" of their "territories". They would keep track of any US Army patrols and guide him out of their way and then "hand him over" to the next batch of Comanches.
One of the family tales is that he would wear a dress and drive into whatever town he was going through after dark to unload/load.
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“Where is your family from?” Is without a doubt the dumbest question I get asked. I even had a woman ask me what nationality I was in the grocery store just out of the blue when I was checking out. That was after this white guy in one of the whitest towns in the US spoke to her with a flawless western US accent. WTF? I found that one to be deeply insulting. It was like she was forcing divisiveness onto me. I’m sure she didn’t mean it that way but that’s how it felt. It was just so odd.
I find it dumb because that’s not what they’re asking. What they’re asking is “how do you like to identify” because that’s all it is. I was born in Ohio and my family is from Africa. You know, because that’s where all families are from. The in between is meaningless. I don’t have anything in common to an ancestor I’ve never met aside from genetics and the odd facial tick or something. I don’t understand why people wrap their identities around a culture they’ve never been a part of. But they do and that’s why they ask.
My friend loves telling people he’s Irish. Just Irish and not part Dutch, German, or whatever other bloodline that’s in him. God forbid you imply he’s part English. He can bet his bottom dollar he is though. lol. For anyone who thinks they’re pure blood this or that do this math. You have 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents...keep going. You will quickly get to a number that is greater then the population of the earth. To be just Irish means you’re claiming to be the most inbred jackass in the world.
We’re all related. Cultures come and go but people are all the same.
Sorry for the rant and if you find genealogy fun that’s cool. No judgement. I’ll just never understand it. I just don’t need some romantic idea of my ancestors to figure out who I am.
I find it dumb because that’s not what they’re asking. What they’re asking is “how do you like to identify” because that’s all it is. I was born in Ohio and my family is from Africa. You know, because that’s where all families are from. The in between is meaningless. I don’t have anything in common to an ancestor I’ve never met aside from genetics and the odd facial tick or something. I don’t understand why people wrap their identities around a culture they’ve never been a part of. But they do and that’s why they ask.
My friend loves telling people he’s Irish. Just Irish and not part Dutch, German, or whatever other bloodline that’s in him. God forbid you imply he’s part English. He can bet his bottom dollar he is though. lol. For anyone who thinks they’re pure blood this or that do this math. You have 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents...keep going. You will quickly get to a number that is greater then the population of the earth. To be just Irish means you’re claiming to be the most inbred jackass in the world.
We’re all related. Cultures come and go but people are all the same.
Sorry for the rant and if you find genealogy fun that’s cool. No judgement. I’ll just never understand it. I just don’t need some romantic idea of my ancestors to figure out who I am.
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I’m a human from earth. That’s really all that matters. And I suppose you could make the argument that even that is not terribly important.
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