Especially with us Americans, it’s easy for us to get suckered into those various genetics tests to find out exactly what our racial and ethnic makeup happens to be. Just me, but I believe there’s something deep in our brains and souls to know what tribe we’re from.
Just be wary of a handful of things the ads somehow manage to leave out.
First of all, the overwhelming majority of these tests will only go one branch back on either your paternal or maternal line. I’m sure one can find a service that will go back in your family tree searching every branch… but it’s gonna cost ya.
Another thing, they usually don’t tell you how far back they go. Four generations, 10 or 15? How odd some of these companies fail to tell you that tid-bit of info, huh?
Even then, just because certain companies may specialize in going many generations back, that doesn’t necessarily mean they got your ethnicity right.
Interestingly enough, none of these genealogists can say with any surety how long your people have to live in a certain place before they’re considered to be “whatever” ethnicity.
Case in point; the Boers of South Africa.
Dutch men and women have lived in the southernmost region of Africa for nearly 500 years, but they aren’t considered Africans.
Why is it that no one can say how many generations the Nieuwenhuizen clan has to live in South Africa before they’re considered Africans? Apparently, 20 generations doesn’t cut it.
Even blacks in America see results such as “You’re 50 percent West African/Gambian.” OK… so what the hell does that mean?
Is that 50 percent completely of the Wolof people, or is that an even mix of Wolof and Jola? Possibly mostly Wolof and Jola, with 10 percent Serer? The best the client will get is a broad, sweeping geographical area.
Another example; there are an estimated one million people world-wide who classify themselves ethnically as Anglo-Indians.
Of course, these folks consider themselves ethnically different from the Bengalis, Tamils, Punjabis, etc., due to at least one ancestor being a colonial official (Englishman) during the 100 years of the British Raj in South Asia.
Here’s my point; if any given Anglo-Indian sent in a mouth swab, you can bet the results wouldn’t come back saying “You’re 100 percent Anglo-Indian.”
Just like the black Americans, the best the Anglo-Indians will get is a general region on a map of India.
One last point; what if they come back and tell you that you have 100 percent Irish lineage? But you found out for yourself that there’s at least one branch of your tree that includes those of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland?
By definition, the Angles (Anglos) are a Germanic people, and let’s not forget the Viking and Roman conquests of Britannica.
Speaking of Vikings, they established their own Dutchy in Western France. Before you know it, all those Scandinavians intermarried with the local Franks, now we have a people known as the Normans. You know, the folks who conquered the English about a thousand years ago.
So, whatever company told you that you’re supposedly 100 percent Irish. But you still have real and legitimate questions of how much English, German, Norwegian, Danish and/or French blood you very possibly may have.
But the ancestry folks could care less. After all, they’ve already got your $99.