Since I first tested my DNA using Ancestry.com, they’ve updated their data and I’ve had both of my parents tested at 23andme. Lastly, I’ve also had my mtDNA tested at FamilyTreeDNA so that I could join the Armenian DNA Project. Additionally, I’ve spent a ton of time at gedmatch.com and have asked Douglas McDonald, who performs BioGeographical Ancestry testing on raw data from 23andme, to look at the data for both of my parents.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d done until I wrote it out all. It’s a lot and I still only understand small pieces of my results and how I may link with others.
Ethnically, I think I know what’s up, but there are a few surprises.
Doug McDonald said for my dad:
Most likely fit is 100% English (Western Europe)
which is 100% total EuropeThe following are possible population sets and their fractions, most likely at the top:
English= 1.000
but with 0.3% African which is real, and other things seen on the chromosomes which are likely noise.
23andMe says for my dad:
None of this was a surprise, actually, but it was interesting to see that the 0.3% African wasn’t noise as I thought it could be, along with the Native American. Based on where his family has been geographically in the US and how long they’ve been here, I had always assumed one or both would show up. Now how to find where or when that came into his DNA? That’s the hard part.
Doug McDonald says for my mom:
Most likely fit is 54.2% (+- 9.2%) Europe (various subcontinents)
and 45.8% (+- 9.2%) Mideast (various subcontinents)The following are possible population sets and their fractions,
most likely at the top
Spain= 0.528 Georgian= 0.472 or
French= 0.509 Armenian= 0.491 or
Hungary= 0.502 Armenian= 0.498 or
Romania= 0.648 Armenian= 0.352 or
English= 0.449 Armenian= 0.551 or
Italian= 0.675 Iranian= 0.325 or
Spain= 0.621 Iranian= 0.379 or
Germany= 0.435 Armenian= 0.565 or
Irish= 0.414 Armenian= 0.586 or
Tuscan= 0.641 Adygei= 0.359
23andMe says:
So Doug is right-on with her being half-Armenian and half either German or English. I believe that 23andMe is seeing some of her Armenian DNA as Italian for some reason. I’m really 99% certain that she does not have any Italian ancestors.
On gedmatch, I’ve connected with a woman who shares a 5th great-grandfather with me. In 1808 Thomas Roberson married Rebecca Clackler in Putnam County, Georgia. Thomas was Scots-Irish originally from the Abbeville District in South Carolina and Rebecca descended from John Clackler, who came from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to Chevous Creek in Edgefield County, South Carolina. In Rotterdam he was called a “foreign Protestant”, so I’m not sure where he originally came from. My guess is England, Ireland or Scotland.
At any rate, Thomas and Rebecca had 10 children. Their son Thomas Jefferson Roberson was my 4th great grandfather and another son, James Jackson Roberson was this woman’s 3rd great grandfather and… we swabbed our cheeks, had the data analyzed and met up on the internet because we had matching spots on our chromosomes. How totally weird.