- Pronouns
- He/Him
Background
Some time ago, I set about researching my family history, intending to discover where my last name came from. I signed up to Ancestry and began investigating. This article is more of a story, my story, which you are free to read whenever you please.
An Ending of Intent
As I mentioned, my original intent for starting a tree was to discover where my surname came from. My paternal grandfather does not share the same last name as me, nor does his father. I was told that my last name originates from my 3rd great-grandfather, a person who I have no idea about. I got in contact with various family members and began asking questions. It soon became evident that once I had exhausted all my options, I had hit a brick wall. There were no records I could find; I didn’t know when or where he lived, just his surname.
A New Journey
Although that was my prime focus, and partially still is, I shifted to a new dynamic of research. How far back could I trace my family history? You will know that as you go back in time, the tree will get much more prominent. Mainly because of each linear generation doubles. I have traced back ancestry as far as the 1400s, and believe me; it was not easy evaluating all those records. My tree, consequently, grew beyond manageability in size. To combat this, taking a DNA test was the next step for me.
Walkthrough
I took said test to learn more about myself, where I come from, and to see if I could fill in any missing links. My results came through earlier than expected, on the 13th of October. Was I surprised? Partially. The remainder of this article is going to be a walkthrough of those results and what they mean to me.
I am from The United Kingdom, England to be precise. I am 61% English, which was lower than I expected. The majority of my family that I know of personally come from England, as did their families. I expected more around the 70& mark. Ancestry will highlight where you came from in each nation by indicating regions. For me, two central areas where highlighted. First, the West Midlands. This is a region I have come across more and more as my tree has developed. I can safely assume, based on the knowledge I already have, that my father’s side originates from the West Midlands, particularly the patriarchal line.
As with any family, migration can play a crucial part. Family from the West Midlands moved further south in the country to places such as London, and later on to the United States to Pennsylvania and the midwest.
Second, Yorkshire and the North East. Again, I can safely assume that it is my mother’s side who originate from here. The majority of my mother’s side still reside there, and there is no record of anyone moving out of the region. These people also migrated to the US and Canada, and later on to Australia in the 1860s possibly as convicts.
We can now move past England and go north to Scotland where I inherit 27% of my ancestry. I must say, I am well chuffed about this. I know that my grandmother family on my father side come from here. I have only been to Scotland once, but I would love to go again. Like England, I was surprised by the results here. 27% seemed high, and I did not expect it to be as such.
Next, we travel to Scandanavia, specifically Sweden, where my DNA indicates that I am 8% Swede. There are a few factors regarding my physical appearance that could point to this link. The most relevant example is that I have green eyes. Of course, this is merely genetics and may not mean to my puny Swedish heritage. We can look to historical evidence, for tribes, namely Vikings, that migrated to the UK and settled there. Perhaps this is where this percentage arises.
I will encompass the last two into one paragraph. We’ll start with Wales. According to these results, I am 3%, Welsh. This is more or less what I expected, I only know of one strand of my family that comes from Wales, Mouthmouthsire to be specific. Lastly, the final percentage of my DNA belongs to Germany. I will assume that this is a result of the Germanic tribe’s migration to the British isles. Angles, Saxons, and Jutes to clarify. Unfortunately, since this result is so small, there is no real way to tell where I have come from within these countries.
Thank you and Goodbye
If you have made it this far, thank you for reading and learning about my experience. I will continue to update this article as my DNA results do the same, which they inevitably will.
