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 :).

Crucial bit of info about my birth father—finally!

Holy crap! I'm sitting here and my mind is blown. I just found out a crucial bit of info about my birth father that has taken me since 1999 to find out.

For those who don't know, I was adopted at the age of six days old. My birth name was Starlette "Star" Ferris, but my adopted family (my mom and dad) named me Beverly Renay. In 1999, I began searching for info on my birth family because I was driven to fill in the blanks about my past and who I was.

I've gotten lots of info (and even met) my birth mother, Fay, and my two birth brothers, Jan and Van. But hardly any info about my birth father, save for his name and what my birth mom told me. They were never married. They were engaged and then she broke off the engagement.

Anyway...I digress.

My first cousin Debra, who contacted me last week (I think it was) just sent me info I didn't have before. Cut to the chase is that my birth father, Richard Ferris, was a LAWYER. Holy crap!

In a strange coincidence, my cousin has her MS in Psychology, which is the same thing I am pursuing! And she's a teacher, something I plan to do after I get my MS. It also turns out that the two of us are probably the only cousins on that side who have gone to college. Wow! There's more info about ancestry, too, like the fact that my great, great, great grandfather came from England and was a judge. That makes sense because my birth mom told me there were judges and law people in that side of the family.

Here is her e-mail to me. It's long, but given all that I've shared about my search for info about my birth family (both sides), I'm going to post it. I tell ya, each time I find out more info, it fills in more of the blank holes that I've wondered about my entire life. Each time I find a piece of the puzzle, my eyes well up with tears. I am grateful that 23andme helped me connect with my first cousin, Debra.:

"Bev,
I have a friend who is adopted, and so I understand the "wanting to know more". Like I said before, I did not know about you until a couple of years ago when Van told me. My mom did not know about it either. Back then things were handled differently than they are now.

I can tell you anything you want to know about the Rider family history. I have searched census records online and found all the information I could without paying any money to ancestry.com and other such companies. I do not have it organized in a good way to send it all at once, but that is on my to-do list for someday.

I know the Dilley family (Fay's mother) came to the US in the late 1600's from Germany. Fay's father's family came from England. Grandpappy told me that his grandfather came from England and was a judge. I found him, Otho Wade, in the census records, so I am only back to early 1800's on that branch of the family.

There is a cemetery in WV near Sherwood Lake that has most of the old family burial places. The Rider family used to own Sherwood Lake in WV but the government took the land to make the lake and camping area. They let Grandpappy live on the land for the rest of his life, but they tore down his 2 story log cabin and other buildings and split rail fence as soon as he died.

I live in Charlotte, NC. I am 63. I was married 22.5 years, but now I am divorced. I have 2 sons who are 36 and 38. They also live in Charlotte. I am a teacher. I am the only one of the cousins who went to college as far as I know. I have a BS Math and BA and MS in Psychology. I teach at a Community College. Right now I am teaching Math because they do not need a Psych instructor.

Grandpappy went to William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va and majored in pre-med. He did his residency, was a medic in WW1, and then never practiced medicine. I do not know why because no one ever told me about it until much, much later, so I never got a chance to ask questions.

He was a hermit and lived at Sherwood Lake the last 23 years of his live in a cabin, no elec. or running water. Granny took the 7 kids and moved to the town of White Sulphur Springs. I know they were poor and lived in a converted chicken coop which she fixed up as nice as she could. There was a bathroom with a sink and a commode, but she never did have a bathtub or running water in her kitchen. She made do all of her life.

My son has a flat tire. so he needs a ride. I will type more later. I am full of information that I do not mind talking about. My email is xxxx You can ask me anything.

Your father was Richard Ferris, and he was a lawyer in Covington, VA. More later because I have to scoot now!"

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

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!

Proud of all my roots!

Proud of ALL my roots, from the HUGE Northern European percentage (Scottish/Welsh/Irish, French, German, Norwegian), to the bits of Russian, Swiss, and Italian strands of DNA woven in there as well. You can't get much more European in ancestry than I am, basically.

Still, I honor the Tuckahoe Cherokee ancestry contributed from my Great Grandmother, Lucy Anetta Ray. I recognize and honor ALL of my ancestors and am proud of those connections.

Had it not been for DNA testing, I would've never known about all the parts that make up who I am. When you're adopted, there's a big hole in your past. At least that's how I felt. It was important to fill in the blanks as much as I could. Not only for me, but also for my children. They needed to know the info about their history, too.

Gotta love science and technology! Think of all the wonderful things -- and knowledge -- it's brought to us! I have connected with cousins I never knew I had. Thank you, science and technology, for all the wonderful and amazing things you bring to life! 

...and a whole lotta others!

Szeretlek means...

Szeretlek means "I love you" in Hungarian ;-)

Paul is German, Hungarian, and...not sure what else until we do his DNA ancestry test (it may be a while, for obvious reasons). Anyway, when we got married, our talented seamstress, Mari, used Hungarian lace in my dress. 

It's also fortunate that I've always loved paprika, since it's used a lot in Hungarian food. Speaking of which, I LOVE Chicken Paprikash and methinks it's past time to make it again.

But I digress...

I want to take Paul to Europe so he can visit the places where his ancestors came from, including Germany and Hungary. I've found records online showing his great grandparents, Janos (John) Krupla and Zsofia(Sophie) Nagy, were in Bremen, Germany, and they immigrated to the US, arriving in New York City.

Paul has very little info on his birth father, but we know his name was Bill Sykes and he was from the Cleveland, OH area. I am hoping a DNA ancestry test will help him fill in some of the gaps like it did for me.

Paul's birth name was supposed to be Eric Sykes, by the way. Far as I can tell, it's possible that Sykes can be traced to Yorkshire, England. But as I said, we can't pin more down in a definitive way until we get his DNA test done -- hopefully in the near future.

So, in another world and at another time, I would be Star Ferris and Paul would be Eric Sykes. Those were our intended birth names (my birth mother still calls me Star, not Bev). How weird would it be to know us not as Paul & Bev Sninchak, but Eric & Star Sykes? Wouldn't that be strange?!

[Ancestry] Great-grandparents -- maternal side

[Genealogy] Connecting with another cousin

Just made contact with a 3rd or 4th cousin on my birth mother's side, thanks to 23andme. His 7th great-grandfather was Ellis Hughes, who came from Wales. He is also related to the Rays, as I am.

My great-grandmother, Lucy Anetta Ray, is related to William S. Ray. My great-grandmother was Tuckahoe Cherokee, according to Norma Ellis, the family historian/genealogist.

Need to pull out the info my brother, Jan, sent to me years ago as a birthday gift (it was the most important birthday gift anyone's ever given me--I'm so appreciative of him doing that!). Can't remember off the top of my head and haven't memorized nine generations of info on that side of the family, lol. But I'll check into it over the next few days when I get more time.

Edward (the cousin I connected with) has done some technical writing, but said it didn't come easy to him. He doesn't know anyone else in the family who writes. However, my birth mother, Fay, used to write song lyrics and performed/sang when she was younger.

Malcolm Gladwell (bestselling author of The Tipping Point, Outliers, and other books) is a DNA relative along my birth father's (paternal) line. So there's at least one writer/author from that side of the family tree.

I believe a propensity for writing, painting, music, and other types of creativity/artistry may have a genetic component. I'd like to see if that holds true for either side of my family tree. My son works as a technical writer and has a BFA in Dramatic Writing. My daughter is also a natural scribe, though hardly anyone knows that, save for me, Paul, & Jon.

[Vlog] Film, books, pipes, Northern European ancestry, and the ignorance of racism

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 gravestone on the Isle of Barra

Source/photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/38200560@N08/4660867380/

This is a Viking gravestone on Cille Bharra, otherwise known as Scotland's Isle of Barra. My birth mother's ancestors (and thus mine as well) were of the MacNeil clan from the Isle of Barra in Scotland.

As noted in an article I posted a link to recently, the MacNeils always claimed descendancy from Niall Noígíallach, otherwise known as Niall of the Nine Hostages, a prominent high king of Ireland. However, after an ancestral DNA project was conducted on clan members from the Isle of Barra, it was discovered there was no trace of DNA to link the clan to Niall of the Nine Hostages.

Instead, much to most everyone's surprise, there turned out to be Viking DNA (Norwegain/Scandinavian) in the MacNeil clan's background. This made sense to me, because the vast majority of my DNA is from Northern Europe, with strands of DNA from Norway/Scandinavia represented in there.

For a person like me who was adopted, piecing together one's heritage is exciting after starting out not knowing *anything* about one's ancestry. I located my birth mother (and two birth brothers) back in 1999.

From there, I began gathering information and even corresponded with the family genealogist/historian, Norma. As I've said before, having my ancestral DNA done through 23andme.com was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I am now connected to over 900 of my DNA relatives through their database, including 1 first cousin I've never met and 17 second and third cousins, plus more ancestral connections beyond that.

I post about this stuff a lot, but it's one of the most important discoveries of my entire life. I want my children to know their history and ancestry from my side and their father's side. You quickly learn we are all connected some how, some way.

If you ever get the chance, you should spend $99 to find out about your ancestral DNA, whether it's from 23andme, Ancestry.com, or another reputable company. Even if you think you know a lot about your family and ancestors, I'll bet you'll find out things you never imagined -- with a few "Wow!" surprises in there for good measure!

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.