AncestryDNA

People often ask, where are you from because of my dark hair, eyes and olive skin. I say American, because I was born and raised in America and when pressed I say Welsh because what I know for certain was my grandfather came over from Wales. 

With four grandparents I assumed it would make me 25% Welsh. 

For Christmas, my brother bought family members an AncestryDNA kit and the results are in ...

63% Great Britain: England, Scotland, Wales

16% Europe: Germany and France

8% Scandinavia: Sweden and Norway

5% Middle East: Israel ...

I was stunned. 

My brother has traced our family tree all the way back to the late 1500's. I was surprised to read documentation on a great-great-great-great-grandfather, Peter, back in the early 1800's came from Pennsylvania and moved to Manchester, a township in southern Summit County in Ohio. My ancestors moved from there, but that is where we moved to and I grew up. I believe my brother is looking into seeing if we can find where his land was.

My 5th & 6th Great Grandmothers were Indians: Sarah Rising Sun and Techacha Morning Star (I'm liking the name connection to my own, Dawn). Her husband my 6th Great was BlueJacket. Another great-great-great... was an Indian hunter. The others in many directions, a successful lineage who lead impressive lives. On a not so impressive find, documentation proved my paternal grandfather was married five times, married to two women at once, both named Dorothy. He died when I was four. Daniel Boone is also in our lineage. 

A great, great, great ... who's father was not identified which altered one path of the family tree as he took his mother's last name (my last name), making my last name, should have been different. It would have been something different, but the path stopped there. 

My ancestors migrated here around the 1700's. 

What about before then? Beyond the 1500's where my brother left off?

Side note: I'm grateful my ancestors were from many countries. Way back when "royals" would inbreed to keep their bloodline pure. Yea, guess what happens when inbreeding happens, you get some seriously messed up deformities. I will gladly take ancestors from many countries! 

Let's go way ...

                         way ...

                                     way back.

When God destroyed the earth in Noah's day, Noah's family and his son's Shem, Ham and Jepheth were the last family on earth God told them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth." The Ark touched land on the mountains of Ararat, located in present-day Turkey.

Population began.

"Now the whole world had one language and a common speech." 

- Genesis 11:1

Until, the Tower of Babel was built.

"Come, let us go down and confuse their language 

so they will not understand each other. 

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth ..." 

- Genesis 11: 7-8

Ancestry doesn't go this far back, but the bible does. 

One language and a common speech. The division began. 

Back even farther ...

Where was Noah from?

Where was the Garden of Eden? It was in the Middle East, situated somewhere near where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are today. That's where it ALL began.

Now, if my brother could trace that far back!

The dots connect.

Seeing the branches of our family tree is rich in history. I look forward to diving in and researching the documentation that is available to see where my lineage flows.

Another odd thought, I already have two branches below my own name. My girls and now a granddaughter. 

What a great gift, thank you, Jason!