They say "DNA doesn't lie", and yeah, I threw in the "Don't" for a quaint colloquial thing, seeing how I may be 30% Scandanvaian by blood, but this girl is 100% Okie! I am who I am, right? Well, let's go over this damned report I paid for. I knew when I sent off the money that I would be really hacked off about the end result, but I didn't realize the (b-words) would have added in my ancestors from pre-historic times! No, I'm just kidding about that, but they did add in the relatives from around 1000 A.D., the Vikings!
Yes, yes, yes, all is well in Scandanavia today, having the right to claim nearly every soul's DNA who has walked in or around Europe since before water was invented. The Nordic Vikings invaded England. They invaded Scotland. They invaded Ireland. They invaded Wales. It does make me wonder who was there before they arrived, that's one thing I've not really studied much. Think about it, those islands became the "New World" for many a Viking, but I also think it was more for plunder and gain than hope for a new society, taxation, and/or religious worship. Maybe history really was written by the literate and the winners of every known war. The unknown wars and the illiterate don't stand a chance of any of us knowing their story, do they?
OK, so my story starts with my two parents meeting, falling in love, marrying, and making a baby; me. I was born November 22, 1961, and though I'm nearly 60 years old on this Earth, I can't say that I feel even a day older than 20 most of the time due to my inability to grow old. Call it the Peter Pan syndrome if you wish, but I just don't see the need to grow old, and therefore I haven't allowed it in my life. Every now and then my body reminds me of the date-to-remember fact, but for the most part I am just barely out of my teens and hyper as ever, looking for new and adventurous ways to spend my time, my efforts, and of course, my money. I didn't spend too much on the MyHeritage DNA test. I think I paid $59.00 USD for it, whereas my sister spent over $100 on her Ancestry test over ten years ago, so yeah, things have changed a bit I suppose. We have better and more accurate Science now, and it's a bit less expensive.
My parents had parents. That fact shouldn't shock anyone. I think where the lines get hung up on DNA is when someone is adopted and they don't tell anyone, this corrupts all the data naturally. I know for a fact that as far back as my great grandparents there were no adoptions, and through birth records, we have evidence of where my families from both mom and dad came from, but there were a few tricky steps along the way. We had to use military records at one point just before the Revolutionary War, and from that point, we were able to track it back to the original origin of at least that family line. Like every one of my family lines, they all traced back exclusively to Scotland and England. There was no Irish blood, no Welsh blood, nothing other than Scottish blood on Dad's side clear back to 1615, but that boy's parents were both from England, so from about 1600 and beforehand, I am 100% traceable to the Yorkshire area on both my dad and my mother's sides.
At least with Mom's side, there were a few wandering Edwards, Free (or Friar) and there is a bit of Manchester blood rolling inside of me, but for the most part, it's Yorkshire way into the 12th century where it stops as far as recordings go. The one record that proceeds that time is unstable and so the family (and me of course) tend to use the 1215 record of a Stringfellow (possibly James) being a part of the court record as a witness in a land dispute in a matter not pertaining to him personally. He was just a witness as a landowner in the area. He is presumed to be our kin. It is foreseeable that he is/was because his line does match up neatly with Sir Robert Stringfellow, who was Scottish-born, but English knighted, probably out of duty to King Edward. We were given a family crest, which denotes we were at one point, loyal to the Crown. That ended. I would have been a Jacobite, I'm sure of it.
When I think about it, and I do, many of my ancestors were either privateers, pirates, rebels, outcasts, settlers, revolutionaries, revilers, and/or spies for the rebel side. As recently as the Civil War, my people were spies on both sides of the conflict, my dad's direct ancestors being on the Confederate side, his cousins were soldiers for both sides. From the English Lords to the Scottish Revilers, my people had difficulties with authority. Perhaps that's why I can't seem to stay employed unless I'm working for myself. It stands to reason; it's in my blood. I'll go with that. I would, however, consider myself to be more of a privateer than a pirate. I don't do things out of sheer gain, but for the betterment of others and for the establishment of a new good in society. Still a rebel by their account.
The MyHeritage DNA test came back today after four weeks of intense testing. I am (as you can see in the photo) over 30% Scandanavian, but that's simply not true. It is true in that before my people settled in England and Scotland around the years 1000-1050 A.D., I was of Scandanavian blood, but I think the test should draw a line at around 1500 A.D. since records are less apt to be found, and most if not everyone in those areas were in fact from Scandanavian blood - - at least I think so, perhaps I'm wrong. I get it, I am 12% Iberian and yes, there was the one Italian that slipped into the picture somehow. She was probably a lady, and she was no doubt beautiful, sexy, and creatively wonderful in the kitchen. I think I like her. She adds spice to my otherwise oatmeal life.
If you take the 51.3% of my life that is proven to be both Scottish and English, and you add to it the over 30% that is shown to be Scandanavian, you have basically a 99% truth that I am of English and Scottish blood. It's not only 81% because it would by default, claim somewhat of the other as well, and there is a factoring involved that the MyHeritage people gave me to use as a means to distribute the Scandanavian bloodlines if I knew where and when they came from; but as I do not, the basic way to determine it is to do the factoring using England and Scotland as the two more likely countries to have been invaded and to go from there. If I do that I am around 99% English and Scottish, and if I divide it proportionately I would be 55% English, 44% Scottish, .8% Iberian, and .2% Italian, which equals one still very pissed off woman who would prefer that the Crown stay out of my life entirely. (Although I know that isn't possible) Viva la Rebel!
All that being said and done, my sister has her test, I have mine. Hers showed that we were Nordic, mine says Scandanavian. Her test had a more German influence, and that would make sense considering my grandmother's stout little body and stumpy legs, but it doesn't show to be true in my DNA test, perhaps my sister was in fact adopted. We always said she was, maybe we were striking a chord and mom just didn't want to admit it. The older I get the more I think it was me who was or must be adopted because I don't really relate to a single family member whatsoever. I just don't. It's as if I'm an island, and to be honest, that is perfectly OK by me - - I would actually prefer that to be honest.
Well, I can't say that I am happy to know what I know, but I sort of already knew it. I didn't know about the Iberians or the Italian, but there's room for love in my heart -- except for the English, no love there....well, maybe for the Bee Gees; there's that. OK, and scones, tea, lemon curd, and maybe the aeroplane. Did you think it was an American who invented heavier than air flight? No, think again, that my friends, was an Englishman by the name of John Stringfellow, and yes, he is one of ours. I'll accept him. He didn't like England either and wanted badly to move to Ireland. I don't know that he ever made it, but he did manage to get his invention accredited to him rather than the Wright Brothers! (Of course, it was over 100 years after his death that this was made public!) Life. History. Written, as I said, by those who are literate and those who have influence over others. (and a good publisher)
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