MM's - 4.29.2019 - Related, or not related. That is the question.

Several years ago I spit in a test tube and sent it off to Ancestry.com to run a DNA check and tell me who my ancestors were. Or, at least, where they came from. I did this before it became known that these DNA tests could identify you as the scoff-law who did not come to a complete stop at a stop sign on the corner of N10th and Willis, back in 1965. But what's done is done. I took the test.

And Ancestry.com said I was (surprise) descended from folks from England and Ireland, with a few other tribes mixed in, which were something of a surprise. Specifically, they said my Ethnicity was made up of the following estimates:

Great Britain 46%
Ireland/Scotland/Wales 21% 
Scandinavia 14% 
Europe West 12% 
Iberian Peninsula 3% 
Europe East 2%
Finland/Northwest Russia 1%

So, small as the percentages were, it was surprising to see Scandinavia, the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Russia in the mix.

So, a few days ago I got an email from Ancestry.com saying that my "distribution was now more precise." They went on to say, "Your DNA doesn’t change, but the science behind it does. Using our latest research, Ancestry implements regular ethnicity updates to keep your results as precise as possible." I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I sort of think that it says "Earlier, we took a SWAG estimate, but we've sort of figured out what we are doing, so this one is a little closer to the Right Stuff.

And the new Ethnicity Estimate listing is:

England, Wales & Northwestern Europe: 59%

Ireland & Scotland: 38%

France: 2%

Germanic Europe: 1%

 

No more Scandinavians, Iberians, or Rooskies in the mix. I confess that with today's political climate, that does make me feel a little better - and it does seem to be a better fit for the actual ancestors that I know about.

 

Frankly, I'm still unsure what it all means, except Ancestry .com says there is a very high chance that I'm closely related to Steve Alfred, Jacob Gann and Chadric Head - along with about 2000 other 2nd, 3rd and 4th cousins,

And I'm pretty sure the statue of limitations has run out on that stop-sign thing, no matter what the DNA evidence says.