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Sunday 11 February 2018

Your DNA ?

OK .. so I could lead this post off with a question about do you think your garden aptitude comes from your DNA ? .. Do you think your DNA influences what you like and don't like in life ?
Hardly a true garden question but something I have wondered about.

So .. has anyone else gone ahead and have done a DNA test from one of the companies that advertise on TV ? ... they even have price cut specials ... like the ones I missed out on for Xmas ... groan.

I became TOO curious and couldn't wait, so in late Autumn , after my birthday .. brainstorm.
I did the test from Ancestry .. I had already tried to construct what I could of a family tree there.
The next step was evident to me.
I would like to know where I come from, as opposed to where I THINK I come from ?

My maiden name is Glencross .... not all that common.
Most people don't recognize that it is a Celtic surname .. Scottish .. and ... lowlanders at that.
Part of the Glencross clan was involved in the "Lowland Clearing".
They were effectively driven off what lands they had as tenants, by the upper class who owned them and wanted more money for rent.
That was around 1775 .. my father's family settled in pre-Canada .. Nova Scotia aka New Scotland.
So we have been Canadian before Canada was a country and that part is amazing !

Well ... there was quite a surprise waiting for me with the DNA test.
The sad part is I will never know who is responsible for this new element.
I think it is my father's mother , whom I thought was of Dutch origins but now ?
I don't mind sharing the results .. I don't think it would change anyone's take on me from this blog.

The break down from Ancestry DNA :
24 % Scandinavian
23 % Great Britain
17 % Scotland/Ireland/Wales
17 % Europe West ... Netherlands, France, Germany areas
8 %   Europe East .. Austria, Hungry, Ukraine areas
6 %   Europe South ... Italy and Greece  (that is a surprise)

BUT ... the biggest surprise was being almost a quarter Scandinavian ....
Where did that come from ??? ... I am supposed to be so SCOTTISH !!!!
What Vikings fought their way into my blood line ?

A  mystery to me ... but very entertaining ... and I have to say believable ...
My grandmother was over 6' tall .. my father and brother well over 6' tall ... my sister 5'9" or 10"
I am 5'9" .... although age is kicking my attributes ? haha
Are we Viking remnants from all those ancient  raids in the UK ?

Are you curious too ?

P.S. Hubby is almost pure "potato-head" .. meaning IRISH ... haha


18 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Yep, I am curious too. We did two of them. One of them is just for where your ancestors come from the other is more about your medical dna. I haven't got that one back yet.
The other one was 84.7 North and Western European; 14.1 Irish, Scottish, Welch and 1.2 Nigerian.
I have always said I got my curly hair around my face from some place in the dark continent. Must have been way back when because no one knows in the family has ever mentioned such a liaison. It has always been mentioned as Indian. You just never know.
I think this is all fascinating.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

P.S. My husband is 39.6 Scandinavian.

Buttons alias Grace said...

I have 11% Scandinavian and 54% Scottish, Wales and Irish and %% Great Britain. We may be related lol. I am so happy I did it I found my Mom family. She was adopted. Wonderful Hugs B

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

My Daughter and my Hubby have done the DNA thing. My Dad did his while he was alive. I haven't done it yet. I guess I kinda know already who I am(-: It is interesting though. (-:

Christine said...

Hello Joy, It's been awhile since I've been around but your post just popped up on my blog as I was adding a photo and I saw the word DNA and had to respond. I just sent in my DNA kit to Ancestry and am not-so-patiently awaiting the results. Your ancestry and what I think is mine are very closely aligned (is THAT why I like you so much?). When I get my results back, I will share with you. Where we don't align is that you are 5'9" and I am 5'3". ;-)

Casa Mariposa said...

Gardening is not in my DNA but being a smartass is. I took one of those tests, too, and it confirmed what I already know that I'm Swedish, English, German, and a smidge Irish. I'm your basic white lady. LOL!!

Martha said...

HAHAHA! I had to laugh out loud with the potato head comment :) These tests are fun and sometimes surprising. My brother did one a few years ago and shared the results with me. We are only 51% Mediterranean (we thought it was more) The rest is pretty much a split between Northern Europe and Southwest Asia. You have some Greek in you, Joy! We might be related through some ancestor :)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Lisa girl isn't it a little bit frustrating not to know the answer to those questions but on the other hand how fascinating is this ! .. we used to laugh at the commercials and then I thought why not ... I was sure hubby would be a "load of Irish" but wow .. I was sure I would be a kilt full of Scottish ! haha ... we never know eh ?

That is AMAZING Grace ! to find your mom's family when she had been adopted .. you must have been over the moon with satisfaction to finding out more of your own history too.
Hey girl .. we are probably related some how ? LOL

Cindee .. I think I have a wee bit of scientist in me that just had to see what would happen.
I guess there wee no surprises in your family's testing then ? .. I wonder if we ever really know who we are though .. that is a huge diversified question of life : )

Christine girl HELLLOOOOO ! LOL
I have been away from the blogging world for a while ergo my lack of visits to your blog (sorry) .. yes !! the wait to find out is a killer ... and the surprise factor ? WOW .. I was surprised .. yes ! please let me know how it turned out ... I love hearing other people's stories with this .. it is so remarkable what can turn up : )
Too funny about the height .. you never know what that Viking blood will do to you ? LOL

Tammy girl I would totally vouch for you on the smart ass gene ! haha
You totally are the basic white toast crazy lady ! LOL and you do have a garden gene in you as well girl : )

Hey there Martha : )
Yah .. I just had to be evil and give John's genes an ID marker name ? haha
So you were surprised too with the percentage not being quite as high for the Mediterranean side .. that is how I feel about my Scottish gene ... especially with such a closed history of when and where they settled in Nova Scotia and not moving any whee else.
Yes !! I must have some Greek in me girl ... too funny, no wonder I like that music ? LOL


Nadezda said...

Hello Joy!
I was surprised you did this DNA, now you know who were your ancestors. Some of them were from Ukraine, not far from me :-)
I didn't do DNA, here is no this service.Perhaps I wouldn't do it, the result doesn't mean something.
However you know the history of your family!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Nadezda girl : )
Yes .. the curiosity got to me ? haha ... hey that is right .. I may have some relatives nearby you girl! haha .. this was all on line through Ancestry .. if you went on line you could get the kit and it actually is processed in Ireland .. just google Ancestry and have a look .. you never know ! ..

Jennifer said...

I have recently discovered that I have Welsh roots on my father's side. There is also Irish in both my parent's family history. You might like the show "Who do you think you are". You can find it on Youtube (British and American versions). Each episode traces the family of a celebrity back through time. It sounds dry, but is really more like a mystery that unfolds.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello there Jennifer girl ! .. YES ! I have watched that show a lot (on PBS .. nice lack of commercials : ) .. You should take the test and see those percentages it really makes you wonder .. well for me I wonder WHO is so Scandinavian in my line that I came out so strongly on that side ! So many from the East coast are descendants of Scot/Irish blood lines it is almost a given.

Barbarapc said...

What fun! I've only known one gal to have done the test - a Christmas present from her husband - which confirmed the source of her high cheekbones - those Hungarians! I'm thinking you really don't need much Scandinavian to come out on top - look at the medal count in these games - those Norwegians are only 5 million, but look at all the medals they've won. Looks like they've always been good at recreational activities?

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hey there Barb girl .. we just couldn't resist the test .. baby boomer curiosity ? haha
But ... I was not expecting so much Scandinavian blood ... I thought I was so Scottish !
Yup .. they darn well have to be good at winter games living in that part of the world : )

RobinL said...

Well now I am! Haha I’ve been curious for awhile, but haven’t done anything about it. I think I need to do this too.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Robin girl : )
Yes ! .. it was a bit of a surprise to see how it all came out .. so I think the curiosity will get to you so you will have to get this done and let us know how it turned out !

Thelma said...

So interesting your ancestors. I want to do this. I'll wait until I get back home to Gaspe for the summer. I spend Winter with my sister in the Eastern Townships, south of Montreal. My father's family (Day) came from England. I'd like to know if and how much Irish I have.
I'm happy to have found your blog. I do my gardening in Gaspe. There's a lot of snow there yet. It's always nice to see what Spring will bring as the flowers start poking out of the ground.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Thel ! .. I just saw your post on the maple sugar cones and wow .. I am going to be thinking of them ALL day now ! LOL .. they look scrumptious!
My hubby and I treated ourselves to the DNA test just because we were curious .. I was pretty certain of his results .. he is dark Irish .. his grandfather was the first O'Connor to come over from Ireland.
Mine was more surprising though .. the be 1/4 Scandinavian shocked me because I thought I had overwhelming Scottish blood .. it goes to show sometimes you just don't know what is hiding in your DNA ! haha
Glad we found each other's blog : )