DNA Matches and Surname Mysteries

At this point, I have several thousand serious DNA matches. No, they are not all close matches, but if I examine the family trees closely enough, the link is usually evident. But there are a few surnames that keep showing up in my matches that just don't compute. For instance, the surnames of Cox, Manning, and Wilson appear in numerous family trees as ancestors of individuals who share my DNA. But I don't have a clue, at least not at this point, about my familial relationship with these ancestors. One of the ongoing problems with evaluating these "cousin" matches resulting from Ancestry's DNA tests is that so many of the individuals with whom I match don't have much family information posted on the site for review. However, one thing is for certain, if the cousin matches keep arriving by the dozens, as they have since my test results arrived, I may indeed match up with all 1,011,001 of my relatives!

Ancestry DNA Results - New and Improved

Wow! My DNA results at Ancestry.com show I am not really 67% Scandinavian, as earlier results indicated. I'm slightly disappointed, since being 67% Scandinavian explained why I've never been able to get a decent tan. 

It seems the DNA database at Ancestry.com has grown by leaps and bounds, something that has enabled more refined reporting of a participant's DNA results. This is something the company mentioned initially, stating results would likely become more precise as more people chose to participate in DNA testing. My own new and improved results show one thing has NOT changed.........I remain 100% European! 

So according to my new test results, I'm happy to report much more "specific" (and terribly intriguing) information. My genetic heritage comes from a broad list of locations, and the highest percentages are from the British Isles and Ireland, as shown here.

British Isles  -  46%  
Ireland  - 22%

The two results above (a total of 68%) are remarkable, but not surprising, since my parents and grandparents always told me we were "Scotch-Irish." And we have lots of red hair on my mother's side of the family to prove it!

Europe West - 26% 

What the heck does this mean? Were my ancestors from Austria, Germany, or France?

Not quite.....Ancestry.com explains a "Europe West" result could denote ancestry from one or more of a dozen countries, apparently classified as "Europe West." 

Belgium
France
Germany
Netherlands
Switzerland
Luxembourg
Liechtenstein
Also: England, Denmark, Italy, Slovenia, Czech Republic

To say the least, my ancestry is a hodge-podge of cultures, don't you think? 

O.K. So now my ancestry is up to 94% European? Where's the other 6%??

Below the list of western European countries is a drop-down menu that includes something Ancestry.com calls "trace elements." See below:

Iberian Peninsula - 3%

The online explanation for Iberian Peninsula says my ancestors were from Spain and/or Portugal, but could also be France, Morocco, Algeria, and Italy. Iberian Peninsula involvement may explain dark hair and blue eyes of a very large number of paternal family members. And Morocco and Algeria involvement may explain the J1 Haplogroup identified in some of my paternal male ancestors.

But there is more.....

Holy smokes! I thought I was 67% Scandinavian....wrong. Revised DNA results show I'm only 2%. Guess it doesn't take much Scandinavian ancestry to prevent me from tanning.

Finnish/Northern Russia <1%. No wonder so many of my cousin matches (maternal and paternal) show origins in the Volga/Ural Mountain area. 

Now to unravel the connections for over 3,500 cousin matches.......

Thanks, Ancestry.com...I am truly genetically enlightened.

Surname Saturday

Last week's new "cousin matches" to my Ancestry DNA results have prompted me to add a few surnames to the list I've posted here several times in the past.  If you would like to determine the makeup of your own genetic DNA, and find some cousins, too, go to Ancestry.com and click on the DNA tab at the top of the page.  I submitted my DNA sample about a year ago, and got the results back about three weeks later.  What I found was this. My genetic ancestry is 67% Scandinavian, 7% Eastern European, and 26% British Isles. The test was easy and fast, and in less than a year, I already have over 100 "cousin matches. "

So here goes with a revised list of surnames.  If you see a name here that matches one belonging to an ancestor of yours, I would love to hear from you.  Maybe we can share some information that help add another branch or leaf to my ever-growing "family tree."

Atwood
Baskin
Baldridge
Branch
Coddington
Coggins
Fenner
Garrard
Gibson
Marble
Merriweather
Middleton
Motte
Neatherlin/Neatherland
Pettus
Porter
Ragland
Tighlman/Tilman/Tillman
Thornton
Tinsley
Trigleth
Williams