Genetic profile updates -- yes!

Haven't been over to 23andme for a while, so I popped in to see if there were any updates to my genetic profile, and there were! Ongoing discoveries and updates are a couple of the many reasons why I love 23andme.

This time they had a couple of interesting profile updates, including a report that tells me how my genes affect my weight and how far back some of my ancestors from certain countries were and when they showed up in my ancestry.

Turns out I'm predisposed to weighing 11% more due to my genetic makeup.

In addition, my Scandinavian and Italian ancestors go way farther back than do my UK, Irish, French, and German ancestors. Interesting indeed!

I highly recommend 23andme. And hey, if you decide to order your own DNA kit, I'd love it if you'd use my referral code. I'll get a handy credit at Amazon if you do -- and you KNOW how I love eBooks!
http://refer.23andme.com/v2/share/6398733869105202177

Daughter of the Celts/Vikings

Yes, I am a proud daughter of the Celts/Vikings.

From the Celts, my ancestors were from Scotland (Clan MacNeil from the Isle of Barra & Clan Fergusson), Wales (9th generation, Mary Molly Daten from Wales), and Ireland.

From the Vikings, my ancestors were from Norway, Finland, and Sweden, with the majority of DNA from Norway.

The Norse raiders came to the Isle of Barra, the home of Clan MacNeil, and procreated with them. So I'm a Scot/Norse lass :).

Chart related to my DNA raw data analysis

I'm posting about the Kalash (the brown piece of the pie chart) that's shown as part of my DNA raw data analysis, but I'll also be posting about the Afansievo_Yamnaya, which is essentially called a ghost tribe. That, too, is ultra fascinating!

The SHG stands for Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers, but my info from 23andme already told me I had Scandinavian in my ancestry (Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish).

Uncovering my ancestral DNA connection to the Pagan Kalash people of Pakistan

Uploaded my raw DNA info into GEDmatch last night and WOW! I have a small amount of South and West Asian in my data, and I just assumed that maybe it was from India. WRONG! Turns out it comes from the Kalash people of Pakistan, which is the LAST pagan tribe (many of whom are blonde and blue eyed) that exists there! The Taliban tried to wipe them out and nearly succeeded. I had never heard of the Kalash and had to look up the word. Imagine my surprise over what I found.

Apparently, Alexander the Great's army had something to do with the Kalash, which is why their features are so different from the physical features you find in Pakistan.

I'm gobsmacked! Thanks to GEDmatch and the tools on there, I've discovered SO much more specific information extracted from the raw DNA data I uploaded into their system.

Anyway, have I mentioned how much I love, love, LOVE science?! I'll be posting more about the results from various GEDmatch tools, so be prepared.

And again, if you haven't had your DNA ancestry done, you should absolutely get on that NOW! There is SO much more about you that you have NO IDEA about and would never know of without the beauty of the unique DNA code within you. It's one of a kind and there is NOBODY else like you. :-)

Also, once you have your test done (and I hope you do), upload your raw data to GEDmatch (it's FREE!) and then we can compare and see if we are related through a common ancestor. You just never know!

Read the article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-glyn-williams/pagan-kalash-people-of-pakistan_b_4811627.html

[Genealogy] Clusters of maternal ancestors in Virginia and West Virginia

Up to 5 generations on the maternal side, the vast majority of my direct ancestors lived in Virginia and West Virginia. I was born about 25 miles from the West Virginia border, in fact. Out of this cluster, most of them lived in Pocahontas County, West Virginia.

Clan Macneil and Kisimul Castle

For those who like history and Scotland (and really, how could you NOT?!), I am descended from Clan Macneil on the maternal (my birth mother's) side of the family.

Although the Macneils claimed they were descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, a high king of Ireland, they were NOT. Instead, recent tests revealed the Macneils had Viking DNA instead!

Essentially, Clan Macneil were fierce Viking-Scottish pirates that would take over ships that sailed by the Isle of Barra.

The Clan Macneil motto is "Buaidh no bas" (Victory or death), also translates as "Conquer or Die."

Clan Macneil's Kisimul Castle is located in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, off the Isle of Barra. I hope to see it in person some fine day!

My ancestor, Thomas Macneil, is my connection to the clan. He fought in the American Revolutionary War. These are my peeps! ;-) On the paternal side, I'm related to Clan Fergusson.

What do you get when you have Norse-Scottlish DNA? A hellion! Yep, that's me. I'll admit it. A bit too brash and mouthy for some, but at least you know where I stand on things!

[Ancestry] Great-grandparents -- maternal side

No room for racism; we are all connected

Wonder if racists ever realize how ignorant and uneducated they sound? Whenever I read a racist comment on an article (usually one about President Obama!), I automatically think, "Wow, that person has issues...and they're stupid to boot." The race you should be concerned about is the HUMAN race. We are all connected. It's easy to see this if you find out about your ancestral DNA. Once you realize how connected you are through your DNA to other parts of the world, you realize that there is no 'them or us.' It's all WE.

Here's an example:

According to my DNA, the oldest female in my maternal haplogroup can be traced back to the Middle East, particularly in the Fertile Crescent.

The site states, "The haplogroup continues to have a strong presence in the region today, comprising about 10-20% of the populations of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Palestine, and 25% of the population of the Arabian peninsula."

Haplogroup: J1, a subgroup of J
Age: more than 38,000 years
Region: Europe, Near East
Example Populations: British, Scandinavians
The Vikings carried J1 from Britain to Norway and Iceland.
Highlight: J1 spread from the Middle East all the way to Iceland."

* Source: 23andme.com 

As I've said before, we are all connected. Yes, I'm American. But if not for my ancestors in other parts of the world, I wouldn't EXIST today. Think about the human connections. I'm over 98% Northern European (Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Norway/Scandinavia). But J1 made it out of the Middle East THOUSANDS of years ago and then spread to other parts of the world.

So when you speak of 'those people' in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, or anywhere else, you should first think about the origins of the human race and how we all came to be. Again, your concern should be with the HUMAN race. We are all in this together. If we don't start acting like it, there will BE no more human race.

One more thing: TRAVEL. If you've never been overseas or to another country, DO IT. I find people who've never been outside the U.S. are sometimes the most xenophobic and ignorant of all.

Anti-semitism is also ridiculous. I've never understood hatred of the Jews. My literary agent of ten years, Meredith Bernstein of the Meredith Bernstein Agency in NYC, is Jewish. She's also brilliant and has always been kind to me. My son was often mistaken for being Jewish when he lived in NYC because his name is Jonathan, which is apparently a popular male Jewish name. He dated several Jewish girls, too. I don't get the whole anti-semitic thing. Never have, never will. To me, when people make anti-semitic comments online, it always ends up sounding like jealousy. To be honest, there have been times when I wish I were Jewish.

My tolerance for racists or anti-semites is about as low as for pedophiles, rapists, and murderers -- ZERO. If you want to get the cold shoulder from me or be outright ignored, say something racist or anti-semitic. Chances are, I'll unleash verbal napalm on you first, though.

Folks, it's the 21st century. Time to grow up! There's NO place for such attitudes in our society. They only serve to divide us into them vs. us. Then it makes things much easier to do awful things to those 'other' people who look different from us or live in a different country. After all, then you don't see them as people like you or me; instead, they're objects or things and not people with families, lives, history, etc. That's not only sad, it's senseless as well. Time to evolve!

Viking DNA? Yes! More about my Norse and Scottish ancestry

http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2015/01/15/dna-tests-prove-scots-clan-are-viking-not-irish/

DNA tests prove Scots clan are Viking not Irish

HOLY COW! Just ran across this article, and it's about Clan MacNeil, the clan that's connected to my birth mother's side. There is a Thomas MacNeil mentioned in the 9 generations of genealogy info I have from the family genealogist/historian. Because I can prove my ancestry from Clan MacNeil, if I wanted to visit the Isle of Barra, off of Scotland, I could visit there and also the clan castle. I'd love to do that some day!

The article makes total SENSE because I did my DNA ancestry through23andme.com and it came up with a shit-ton of Northern European, with Norwegian/Scandinavian. THIS is where that Viking/Norwegian link comes from! WOW. And I stumbled across this article by accident. Holy crap!

I was right all along -- that part of my DNA is related to this. I don't care if I'm not related to Irish royalty, because on my birth father's side, I'm related to two U.S. presidents AND a Russian Tsar.

This is so freaking exciting to me! Okay, now I'm ready to move to Norway or the Isle of Barra, where my Viking & Scottish ancestors lived.

From the article: "The clan was infamous throughout Scotland and beyond for its Viking-style pirating and great seamanship.

MacNeils raided the seas from their base at Kisimul Castle in Birlinn vessels – boats similar to the Viking longships.

Western Isles MP, Angus MacNeil, who also lives on Barra, said: 'The MacNeils were a notoriously pirating clan. It’s no surprise we have Norse DNA.
'Maybe we are the last vikings.'

The MP joked: '‘Conquer or die’ is the clan motto. Given the size of the island we ended up on we must have been better at the dying than the conquering.'"

Welsh dreams...

Paul is watching "Penny Dreadful." Timothy Dalton is in the series and I melt every damned time I see him in anything, pretty much. *sigh* Plus, he's Welsh.

In the copy of the genealogical papers I have from the family historian on my birth mother's side, my 9th generation ancestors, William Hughes and (Mary) Molly Daten, married in Surrey, England. Molly Daten was born in Wales and lived to be 87. They had six children: Mary Hughes (1748-1810), Susannah Hughes (1767-1834), Rebecca Hughes (1769-Unknown), Elizabeth Hughes (1774-1870), Moses Hughes (1774-1841), and Milburn Hughes (1776-1867).

I have Scottish ancestors as well (Clan Fergusson and Clan MacNeil of Barra), but I haven't spent as much time investigating my Welsh, Irish, and Northern European ancestry.

After having my DNA test done, there are so many parts that make up the whole. I love this stuff!

Perhaps when I go back to the UK, I can visit Wales and see my friends Gareth Tamplin and Robin James Ganderton.