DNA Results are in...

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At the RootsTech Conference in February, I purchased two DNA kits at a special exhibitor's price. Once we returned home, however, COVID took over and the unopened boxes remained on the bookshelf.

Last month I decided to take the test. The package indicated a 6-8 week turn around. I was hoping to hear before Thanksgiving. Instead, they completed my analysis in under three weeks! (We are still waiting on my husband's sample).

Initial observation: my ancestors were not adventurous explorers.

Before coming to America, they congregated in Northwestern Europe ... the United Kingdom, to be exact. The DNA results revealed the following:

  • 42% Scottish
  • 39% English
  • 13% Welsh
  • 4% Swedish
  • 2% Norwegian
In other words, I am British.

Once they arrived in America, my ancestors gravitated toward Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas -- where they lived for generations.

In other words, I am Southern.

As I've shared on this blog before, I've always wanted a rich ethnic heritage like my Irish catholic friends from high school.  Their family gatherings were large, boisterous, and FUN. The complete opposite of our small, quiet get-togethers.

Prim-and-proper is literally in my DNA.

But as I ponder this new information, I have to smile.

 Character traits I once thought unique and quirky are actually part of my heritage:
  • homebody
  • quiet and reserved
  • rule follower
  • stoic and unemotional
  • bibliophile
  • obsessed with Princess Diana
 I used to envision sharing a pint of Guinness with long-lost relatives at the local Irish pub. I dreamed of helping Nonna prepare homemade pasta in her small Italian kitchen. I longed for meaningful connection across the centuries, and I mistakingly believed that bond only existed in "other" ethnicities.

But tonight as I snuggle in front of the fireplace with my book and cup of Earl Gray, I will do so with renewed respect. For this is how I can honor my ancestry.

And as for that book? I now take great pride in my literary heritage. I think it's time re-read a favorite classic: Jane Austen... Charlotte Bronte... Charles Dickens... Daphne duMaurier...

Comments

  1. RJ ThesmanOctober 21, 2020 at 10:33 AM

    Such fun to imagine you in front of the fire with your Earl Grey tea and a Brit classic. Great post !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MollyOctober 21, 2020 at 12:25 PM

      Somehow... identifying this missing piece of the puzzle has helped with self-acceptance. I've wanted to "belong" for such a long time, and now I know my place in this world. Once we are allowed to travel again, I'd love to plan a trip to Chawton and the Moors :)

      Delete
    2. Sally JadlowOctober 21, 2020 at 10:39 PM

      Well, Molly, I'm glad you uncovered your roots!

      Delete
  2. Pamela M. SteinerOctober 24, 2020 at 5:19 AM

    Hi Molly! I just came over here from Enthusiastically Dawn's Journal writing prompts because she linked her post to you...and this was something that was particularly interesting to me at this time! I, too, have recently completed my DNA test and have been feverishly working on my Ancestry.com genealogy all during the pandemic. It appears we are fairly close in our ancestry heritage (England and Scotland make up more than 50%)...except I've got 16% Germanic Europe and 11% Eastern Europe and Russia sprinkled in there too along with Norway, Sweden and the Baltics, and only 2% Ireland. I was also surprised to find out that England was such a large part of my heritage, but this discovery came with finding out who my paternal Grandmother's birth parents were. She was adopted as an infant, and these DNA results has led me directly to her long lost family! That has been very exciting for me. My grandmother and I both loved to drink tea and now I know why! Hey, who knows? Maybe some of your English relatives are related to my English relatives! Wouldn't that be fun to discover? Thank you for sharing your results here. I am planning to write on my blog about by discoveries in memory and honor of my grandmother's 125th birthday this coming December. You can find out more about me at https://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/ "Closed Doors, Open Windows". Dawn and I became friends way back during her "Random Journal Day" days on her old blog. Nice to meet you here! Have a blessed day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MollyOctober 24, 2020 at 8:58 AM

      Thank you so much for stopping by, Pamela!
      I love the name of your blog - and strongly believe in the precept. I will plan to visit as soon as I finish this reply :)

      I would love to connect and share information as we make our way through the past. It would be fun to know in which English villages our ancestors lived ... drinking their tea by the fireside.

      Delete

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