Genealogy: How I Found My DNA Relatives, Part 2 -- Ancestry Composition

The Ancestry Composition Results from  My DNA Test

  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you…”  [Jeremiah 1:5]

I received my DNA test results (23andMe) about 4 weeks after shipping the kits.  Interestingly, they arrived about 2 weeks before the others. By the way, if you’re interested in buying from any company, wait until Black Friday when they are discounted. OR if you want to buy a 23andMe kit sooner than that, HERE is a referral link to purchase.

 

I thought that this was fascinating. My ancestry composition very closely matches the relatives who have tested.  When I decided to do the test, truly, the only information I wanted to know was “am I really from Spain?”.  My adoptive parents had always told me that… my mother’s maiden name was Valencia, so that seemed right, but I always wanted to know for sure.  People have asked me my entire life, “are you … Chinese? Japanese? Aruban? Greek? Jewish? Cuban? Spanish? Portuguese? Hawaiian? Italian?”…  and so many others.  You name it, I’ve been asked.

So this verified it: The highest percentage of my ancestry (49.7%) is Spanish/Portuguese from Spain.  A totally unexpected turn of events is that one of my younger relatives did a 16-generation ancestry research project  (she hired a professional genealogist) for the family going back to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand’s time!!! I’d never seen a genealogy more than 5 generations and now I have one (father’s side) with 16!!  

One of my male relatives in the 1400s was exiled from Spain by the monarchy (the other  choices were to convert to Catholicism or be executed).  He was on one of the first ships departing Spain at that time. That’s the 1.0% Ashkenazi Jewish part. What a discovery!

I am also 35.4% Indigenous American.  This will probably always remain a mystery since my mother’s side of the family has never done much genetic research, but who knows? I may learn more as time goes on.  On my father’s side, the genealogy that was done shows three Zuni Women. Sadly, the recordkeepers (mostly Catholic friars) did not include their actual names. But on the other hand, mostly kept very clear records which is the reason that the genealogist could go back so far with such accuracy and detail. About 9% of my ancestry is Asian, Middle Eastern and African. 

So very interesting…more later.