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Have you ever been so sure about something, and then found out it was completely different than you thought? That is what happened to me. Thank you to Ancestry.com for providing us DNA kits so we could feature this service. All opinions and are our own.
I was always told I was German… My great, great uncle was even the captain of the Hindenburg. I never even questioned this about me since there seemed to be no question about this. Recently Ancestry.com approached us about taking their DNA test to determine our heritage and feature those results here in a story. The results changed everything I thought I knew about where I came from. I was personally shocked by the results, but now I am so much happier because I know the truth.
The process to get the testing done with Ancestry.com is very simple. First, you visit their site here and order a kit. The kit is shipped to you in a small box that contains the necessary materials to collect and ship back a DNA sample. It is a small tube where you collect your saliva, which is then sealed up and sent back to Ancestry.com in one of their pre-filled out envelopes. Then, in a few weeks, you receive an email notifying you that your results are ready. That’s where the fun starts!
When I received the results email, I anxiously opened it to discover that what I had been told my entire life was not really correct. As it turns out, I am 81% Eastern European, 9% Irish, and 10% trace regions. The largest category, Eastern European, is not German as I thought. So why was I being told all these lies my whole life?
Actually, the reality is, that I was not being lied to in any way. The most likely scenario is that my “German” ancestors were not German themselves. They most likely relocated at some point in the past from Eastern European regions into Germany. So, my ancestors lived in Germany, but their ancestors were not from there at all.
The other surprise to me was that I am 9% Irish…..I had no idea! Heather has always known that she has Irish ancestry, so it was a pleasant surprise to me that I am part of the club too! Now if I could just have that “luck of the Irish” that I keep hearing about.
Heather and the girls (Maddie, Ashley, and Emily) also had their tests done. There were some minor surprises there too! Our plan is to get Ancestry DNA kits for the rest of the family so we can really put the whole picture together. We want to see where each of the places we are from come from. I’d really like to know if it is my mom or dad that has the Irish in them too!
Another very interesting feature of the DNA report is that it automatically matches your DNA with known people in their database if you choose. It then alerts you of familial matches. As you’ll see from the screenshot below, it let me know of many 2nd-3rd cousins that I have never heard of before. Maybe I should reach out to see if we have anything else in common! Maybe there is some sort of inheritance that I am missing out on….
I have to say that this is a fun and unique way to get some really interesting information about yourself. These kits make great gifts too! You might be surprised at what you find out…
I think Ancestry DNA is such a wonderful idea. When you think about it, we only have word of mouth to go on when it comes to our lineage. This is a way to see exactly what our lineage is.
That is such a neat thing! I would love to try this and see what’s what in my DNA.
I have always wondered what my DNA would reveal. My grandpa was an orphan so we don’t know much about that part of the family.
Isn’t it amazing how our own history is so often different from what we thought it was? We can trace back our family’s locations, but is that actually where they originated? Very cool!
I have been wanting to learn more about my ancestry and ethnicity for years now! I think I will finally make the plunge and take a test as a birthday gift to myself.
I would love to have my DNA tested. It is so fascinating to be able to find out what your heritage is.
I’d love to have this done! It would be so cool to know more about where I came from.
This is so interesting, I would love to know what my results say. I can’t believe that it is that easy to find out!
Would love to try this. One of my good friends did it and was super excited to trace her history a bit more.
I’ve thought about getting this done before. I have been told so many different things about my heritage, it would be nice to know what’s true and what’s not.
Wow this is interesting! It would be nice to really know my race.
This is really interesting – I did one earlier in the year but felt it was rushed and perhaps not done properly – I sent my test and had results withing 7 days and to me that is such a quick turn around and no one could tell me why it took such a short length of time when it started a 30 day turn around on the website. I would be interested in getting it done from a more reputable manufacturer.
Hands down, the most interesting thing I’ve ever read recently. Though for curiosity purposes, I’ve always wanted to know if my genes were from the other side of the world.