I know who my parents are, their parents and their parents. That is just a drop in the ocean in terms of my ancestry.
Around 15 years ago I went through a vigorous spate of piecing together my family tree through old family records. Looking for clues in a handwritten keep-sakes, faded names scribed in fountain ink on the back of sepia photos, I made much progress. With the help of my cousin, various online ancestry searches and message boards I did well.
It was quite addictive.
To take out the guesswork one needed proof (matching name wasn’t enough). I needed birth certificates, marriage certificates, census details. Once a piece of the puzzle was solved adrenalin kicked in and I recall staying up very late night after night in hope of finding another hair-line strand, that fragment of information that could send me in a new direction.
I knew my families (both maternal and paternal) were heavily skewed to Great Britain and Ireland. My searches stopped around the early 1800s as church records were missing and the clues dissipated. I lost some interest as life took hold and sent me in other directions.
Only just last year I saw a wonderful documentary on Ancestry DNA: a group of people living in England were tested against more than 700,000 check points in order to trace back their ancestry over thousands of years. The group was most likely chosen for their ‘blinkers on’ approach to their heritage, a dogged determination that their immediate culture was pure and uncompromised, and a strong indifference verbalized about other countries. The results were very interesting and made for good viewing as most had a few DNA surprises that in most instances, incorporated the very countries/cultures they had ‘issues’ with.
After some snooping it seemed that this DNA experience wasn’t limited to the lucky few on the documentary and anyone could take this test via www.ancestry.com.
So, My Englishman and I decided to undertake the test ourselves – a Christmas present to each other. We had little preconceptions except for our known British connections.
Here’s a few little facts should you want to do this yourself.
The kits
After a spending a few minutes leisurely in your chair completing your online order, you’ll soon receive a snazzy box with everything you need. Simple as can be, just follow the instructions. It involves preregistering an unique code to identify yourself/your DNA over other family members; spitting into a vile; twisting on the lid that releases a stabilizing liquid; putting into a sealed bag; stuffing into a secure box; and posting.
They ask that you don’t eat, drink, smoke or chew gum for 30 minutes before the test. It’s pretty painless.
The postage
You pay for the postage up front when you purchase the kit. This includes the kit being posted to you and the international postage back to Ireland where the lab is located. The box has a bright sticker clearly stating ‘international pre-paid postage’ with a ‘human specimen category C, exempt’ on the back.
The first time I took it to NZ Post anyway to check. No they said, it would cost me $18 to air freight and the international pre-paid postage notification was only for the UK. Hmmmmm. Not wanting my DNA spittle to wind up in lost baggage somewhere, I paid this. It arrived safely several weeks later (they the lab sends an email from Ireland once it arrived).
The second occasion was weirder however. The next NZ Post worker categorically stated that not only was additional air freight costs an absolute necessity, it would involve parting with $49 plus extensive customs paperwork. Even re-reading the bright sticker message out loud, questioning if that was really necessary, it was received with disdain for daring to question Ms NZ Post of Ponsonby. Under scornful eyes, like a rebel I threw caution to the wind and decided to just do as a box said, directly into the Par Avon box outside. Several weeks later it arrived safely.
Lesson: Ignore NZ Post and make your own call on whether to pay excess postage or not! Mine got there both ways, just saying.
The results
You will get a few emails during the course of the process: that your specimen has arrived; that it is going into the lab for testing; and the results. They will be emailed to you. They breakdown the major percentage splits and identify some trace DNA that may surprise you. You can share them, save them or print them.
There also is a ‘DNA Matches’ section whereby you may be able to track down extended family members – third or fourth cousins for example. The whole process takes around 6-10 weeks (from postage to results).
My Preconceptions
My grandmother on my mother’s side was as Irish as they come, so I was told. The rest of my lineage from what I had uncovered was from various parts of England. So, other than those two predominant ethnicities I had no idea what the rest of my family tree may uncover after thousands of years! I was soon to find out.
My Ancestry DNA results!
Well, well, well! This was really fascinating. The Ethnicity Estimate groups your DNA into clusters. While I am 98% European it is made up of Great Britain, Ireland, Eastern European, Scandanavia (indicating Vikings!) among many. The split is clearly stated in percentages and there’s a handy map too so you can see at a glance. My remaining 2%? African – more accurately Ghana and Nigeria!
My Englishman did the test too. I am more British than he is as it turns out, what a hoot! He has more Irish than me (although he didn’t know he had any in his family tree to speak of). His surprise, was a faint trace of Jewish and South Asia in his ancestral DNA.
It was been such a fascinating experience I’ve bought kits for each of my boys for their birthdays this year. Despite having the same parents they all look very different (as I do to my own siblings) so it will be wonderful to reflect on traces of DNA differences. Surely there won’t be many? Think again — there can throw-backs even with twins!
They have Maori ancestry too and I can’t wait to see how that is reflected either through Melanesia or Polynesia traces.
Fascinating stuff folks! If you’ve done this yourself, or looking to, I’d love to hear from you.
