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Post by kellybelly77 on Mar 31, 2016 19:20:45 GMT
I made DH do the Ancestry DNA test since I have really enjoyed seeing and using my (and my moms) results. He was always told that he is Native American on both sides of his family. His maternal side is from OK and one of the relatives has traced back a family tree showing this Native American ancestry. And his father told him that his paternal grandfather was also partially Native American. And looking at him you would totally think that he could be NA. Dark eyes, dark shiny hair, dark skin.
Now, dh's family is super dysfunctional and I know I have talked a little about it here! His mom lied on his birth certificate who his dad was, as she had broken up with his actual dad. She later got back together with his father and they all 3 lived together for a time. She tried to correct the birth cert but found out it cost money and never did it. So still to this day his birth cert is wrong. He was raised by his dad as his mom later abandoned him and at one point in his life he was raised by a great aunt and uncle. I mean, his family is a disaster.
So, the DNA results come back. Not a drop of NA DNA. Nothing. Zilch. He is mostly European and 2% Asian. Never would I have pictured Asian! I thought at the least, maybe some kind of South American, Spanish, etc.
We are so confused by the results! So we got to talking about his relative who put together a whole family tree claiming they are NA. And I wonder if she based her tree on things like incorrect birth certs, and hear say and family story. Because there is zilch. He was told that his maternal great grandma was NA. So you would think that would show up on his test. Dh thinks they mixed his results up but they found other relatives who have taken the test that we know of and connected them as relatives. I just think someone in his family was either operating on misinformation or not being truthful!
DNA results are busting up all kinds of family trees!!
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Post by Sparki on Mar 31, 2016 19:36:31 GMT
I had the same story....it was my grandfather supposed to be a tribal member. DNA came back, nothing. Since then, I've found a couple hundred of my grandfather's relatives - no NA. It was all a myth. Most common myth in DNA, in fact. My mom looks like a poster child for NA ancestry. Nope. Also, my husband, whose family insisted NO NA ancestry is 38%. Now that he and his mom (40%) have both tested, all of a sudden everyone is saying, Oh yeah, we knew that. LOL
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Post by kellybelly77 on Mar 31, 2016 19:43:02 GMT
I had the same story....it was my grandfather supposed to be a tribal member. DNA came back, nothing. Since then, I've found a couple hundred of my grandfather's relatives - no NA. It was all a myth. Most common myth in DNA, in fact. My mom looks like a poster child for NA ancestry. Nope. Also, my husband, whose family insisted NO NA ancestry is 38%. Now that he and his mom (40%) have both tested, all of a sudden everyone is saying, Oh yeah, we knew that. LOL 40% is a lot!! Most of dh's family is deceased so we can't test parents or grandparents but it would be interesting if we could!
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Post by sugarmama on Mar 31, 2016 19:45:33 GMT
I have one Native American marker through my maternal line and I have no idea what generation it would be. I think it may be from a tribe that was in the Tennessee region. So many of them took American names, making it more confusing. I need to spend some time learning how to research Native American ancestors.
Kellybelly, I wonder if your DH could get a cousin to do DNA just for a comparison?
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Post by teri on Mar 31, 2016 19:46:17 GMT
I've always heard from my Dad's side of the family that we had NA.... Haven't done the DNA testing, but have been doing the family tree thing and have found 0% NA in our tree.....................................LIES, it was all LIES :lol:
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Post by epeanymous on Mar 31, 2016 19:55:56 GMT
Both DH and I discovered when we did Ancestry DNA that our families were mistaken about their backgrounds. In his case, he had often been told he was significantly various other things, but it turns out he is almost completely one thing, and all of the family lore about one branch of the family hailing from another area is probably just that, lore. In my case, the numbers don't add up to where my parents believed their families to be from either, even if you max out the percentages on the various regions my DNA links to.
One thing I have learned through this process -- family mythology is just that. I heard all about the spirit of military volunteerism about a particular relative and how his generation was different than my generation. Great. Through this process I was linked to his form where he claimed a draft exemption. Hm.
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Post by hop2 on Mar 31, 2016 20:15:30 GMT
I recently found out my entire life I had been old a LIE and to top it off the correct info came from the SAME relative that lied!!!!! I had been told that I had family here in my father's side since the American Revolution and beyond. I even did a report on one of my supposed ancestors in school.
So DS had to do a family tree and I ask relative for the stuff he had because I was having trouble tracing back the things he said. Relative sends me tree where no one in my family was here before my grandparents!!!! No generations here, no revolutionary forefathers, I was like WTF??? Who does that??? My mother's side was EXACTLY what she told me. My grandfather was born on way here. My grandmother born here to recent immigrants all stories no matter how weird check out. Documents verify it. Father's side ALL LIES. My grandma came when 8 ( that I knew and was verified ) My grandpa born here to parents just off the boat. Absolutely no one was here in the US prior to my grandparents generation, no one!!! And this time there are documents so I know THIS is true.
It was kind of shocking actually, like I had no idea who I really was. I'm like totally half Irish so that's a plus. But what we're all the lies for? What purpose did it serve??
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Post by monicad on Mar 31, 2016 20:28:33 GMT
I think there are a lot of those stories out there, but like your dh I have relatives that look full blooded NA. Got mine back and I don't have a drop. I do have some Spanish/Italian/Greek (tiny amount) so maybe that explains it? That, or people aren't being truthful about who they slept with.
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Post by kellybelly77 on Mar 31, 2016 20:30:49 GMT
I have one Native American marker through my maternal line and I have no idea what generation it would be. I think it may be from a tribe that was in the Tennessee region. So many of them took American names, making it more confusing. I need to spend some time learning how to research Native American ancestors. Kellybelly, I wonder if your DH could get a cousin to do DNA just for a comparison? He has no known paternal cousins. He has 4 known maternal cousins and he is on shaky terms with them. He was raised by his dad and they were raised by their dad so none of the grandkids were ever close to their maternal side. He does communicate with one of his cousins a time or two a year so that would probably be the only one. I'm telling you, his family is weird.
There is also a NA specific test through a different company that tests DNA and links you to a specific tribe. I believe they have around 30 different tribes identified. The test is supposed to tell you what tribe you relate too, how many NA markers you have and which parent they came from. I thought about doing it for dh just to confirm the Cherokee tribe line but now there is no point. I found the test on Amazon..
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Post by kellybelly77 on Mar 31, 2016 20:37:44 GMT
I think there are a lot of those stories out there, but like your dh I have relatives that look full blooded NA. Got mine back and I don't have a drop. I do have some Spanish/Italian/Greek (tiny amount) so maybe that explains it? That, or people aren't being truthful about who they slept with. I think in his case the relatives were not quite truthful! I mean his mom flat out lied on his birth cert because she was mad at his actual bio dad. And to this day, that lie still stands in official records. Plus his family is all broken up. He doesn't even know who his moms dad is. His own maternal grandfather and he doesn't know a lick about him. Never met him, never knew him. So maybe not out right deceit but maybe some emotional issues that get buried and family stories that get forgotten because of how broken the family is.
It will be an interesting research project for sure!
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Post by Darcy Collins on Mar 31, 2016 20:50:45 GMT
My husband was in the exact same boat. Supposedly 1/16 Cherokee. His grandmother insisted her grandmother was 100% Cherokee. I started to doubt when I actually looked at the census records for her grandmother and they all said white- and her parents, and grandparents and great-grandparents. Now granted, there is a picture of my husband's grandmother's, great-grandmother who looks like she could have some Native American ancestry (despite being listed as white in census) - so I'm not claiming there isn't a Native American somewhere - but it's definitely not 1/16 and his DNA no longer shows up any.
I've found 99.9% of the trees I've looked at on ancestry or any of the other sites are crap. The biggest problem is people just assume that their grandfather Jerry Smith who lives in Oklahoma must be the son of Jon Smith who also lives in Oklahoma and starts pulling from that tree. There's no actual connection to source documentation. Very, very rarely I'll have to make an assumption about parentage based on living in the same tiny town with the same last name - but it's always tentative until I can find proof - and I'll be honest - it's as often as not wrong despite a relatively rare name.
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Post by elaine on Mar 31, 2016 20:57:17 GMT
I think there are a lot of those stories out there, but like your dh I have relatives that look full blooded NA. Got mine back and I don't have a drop. I do have some Spanish/Italian/Greek (tiny amount) so maybe that explains it? That, or people aren't being truthful about who they slept with. I think in his case the relatives were not quite truthful! I mean his mom flat out lied on his birth cert because she was mad at his actual bio dad. And to this day, that lie still stands in official records. Plus his family is all broken up. He doesn't even know who his moms dad is. His own maternal grandfather and he doesn't know a lick about him. Never met him, never knew him. So maybe not out right deceit but maybe some emotional issues that get buried and family stories that get forgotten because of how broken the family is.
It will be an interesting research project for sure!
That you both know that his official birth certificate is incorrect is an example of why DNA testing is so fascinating and important. Someone a few generations removed will have no idea and think that the birth certificate must be accurate. And then wonder if the company doing the DNA test made a mistake. Given social mores and taboos throughout the ages, people lie about their sexual liaisons that result in children for a variety of reasons. Science trumps oral history once again.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Mar 31, 2016 21:31:12 GMT
Most common myth in DNA, in fact. I grew up being told that a specific great grandmother was 1/2 Choctaw. A couple of years ago when I started doing research, I couldn't find anything to verify that so had already begun to suspect it was a family myth. My DNA showed that I don't have a drop of NA blood, in fact, I am 98% European. DH also was told they had NA blood. Well, his DNA showed up last week and he didn't have a drop either. He is 99% European, though a different mix than myself. What I did discover earlier, and verify through the DNA test, is that my father's family has been in the US since the 1700's and fought in the Revolutionary War! Also, they came from Scotland (which might explain my passion for tartans!). These were things I had never been told my entire life (and I am 59). It is so interesting to see what comes up from research and DNA - like a giant jigsaw puzzle!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 1, 2024 22:32:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2016 21:48:02 GMT
I was never really interested in doing an ancestry DNA test, but after reading about the family legends being proven incorrect, I'm intrigued. I've always been told my paternal grandmother's grandmother was Cherokee. Now I'm wondering how likely that is.
I have a book on the history of Highland County, Virginia which is where my paternal grandfather was born. In fact, his birth is one of the last ones recorded in the book which was published in 1911. The family can be traced back to right after the Revolutionary War. That's really the only documentation I have of my ancestry.
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Deleted
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Oct 1, 2024 22:32:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2016 21:49:38 GMT
I had my DNA done a few months ago in hopes of finding my birth father. My birth mom actually told me my results must be wrong because it came back that I was 90% British. She is mostly German so she is convinced my test is wrong. I don't know enough about how the DNA works to argue the point with her. I told her she is getting a DNA test for Christmas - she didn't find that funny.
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Post by Sparki on Mar 31, 2016 21:51:53 GMT
I find that people would rather have the mythical NA ancestry than to celebrate the legitimately awesome people that are in their family tree. For instance, on one side I am descended from a man who owned a fishery and helped feed George Washington and his soldiers during the Revolutionary war. On another, I am descended from a lady who purchased a slave from her neighbor (son of a slave and the slave owner), married him, then freed him. He became a wealthy landowner with white apprentices.
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Post by elaine on Mar 31, 2016 21:57:10 GMT
I had my DNA done a few months ago in hopes of finding my birth father. My birth mom actually told me my results must be wrong because it came back that I was 90% British. She is mostly German so she is convinced my test is wrong. I don't know enough about how the DNA works to argue the point with her. I told her she is getting a DNA test for Christmas - she didn't find that funny. If you are 90% British, your mom almost certainly isn't mostly German genetically. She may have been born to people living in Germany, but someone in the not all-too-distant family tree on her side was British too.
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Post by PolarGreen12 on Mar 31, 2016 22:13:19 GMT
I made DH do the Ancestry DNA test since I have really enjoyed seeing and using my (and my moms) results. He was always told that he is Native American on both sides of his family. His maternal side is from OK and one of the relatives has traced back a family tree showing this Native American ancestry. And his father told him that his paternal grandfather was also partially Native American. And looking at him you would totally think that he could be NA. Dark eyes, dark shiny hair, dark skin.
Now, dh's family is super dysfunctional and I know I have talked a little about it here! His mom lied on his birth certificate who his dad was, as she had broken up with his actual dad. She later got back together with his father and they all 3 lived together for a time. She tried to correct the birth cert but found out it cost money and never did it. So still to this day his birth cert is wrong. He was raised by his dad as his mom later abandoned him and at one point in his life he was raised by a great aunt and uncle. I mean, his family is a disaster.
So, the DNA results come back. Not a drop of NA DNA. Nothing. Zilch. He is mostly European and 2% Asian. Never would I have pictured Asian! I thought at the least, maybe some kind of South American, Spanish, etc.
We are so confused by the results! So we got to talking about his relative who put together a whole family tree claiming they are NA. And I wonder if she based her tree on things like incorrect birth certs, and hear say and family story. Because there is zilch. He was told that his maternal great grandma was NA. So you would think that would show up on his test. Dh thinks they mixed his results up but they found other relatives who have taken the test that we know of and connected them as relatives. I just think someone in his family was either operating on misinformation or not being truthful!
DNA results are busting up all kinds of family trees!!
I had the same kind of story. On my dads side we've always been told my GG grandfather was Blackfoot and the tribes healer. There are pictures and stories that have been passed down. I did DNA testing last summer, ZERO percent Native American. My Dads family insisted the mixed up the tests, made a mistake etc. My Aunt was like, but we have the cheekbones! Like that just made it so. My Mom did some digging, turned out GG grandmothers 2nd re-married after having all her kids to a healer in the Blackfoot tribe and her kids took his last name. So it wasn't a blood relative, and just was passed down wrong.
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Post by kellybelly77 on Mar 31, 2016 23:02:05 GMT
I made DH do the Ancestry DNA test since I have really enjoyed seeing and using my (and my moms) results. He was always told that he is Native American on both sides of his family. His maternal side is from OK and one of the relatives has traced back a family tree showing this Native American ancestry. And his father told him that his paternal grandfather was also partially Native American. And looking at him you would totally think that he could be NA. Dark eyes, dark shiny hair, dark skin.
Now, dh's family is super dysfunctional and I know I have talked a little about it here! His mom lied on his birth certificate who his dad was, as she had broken up with his actual dad. She later got back together with his father and they all 3 lived together for a time. She tried to correct the birth cert but found out it cost money and never did it. So still to this day his birth cert is wrong. He was raised by his dad as his mom later abandoned him and at one point in his life he was raised by a great aunt and uncle. I mean, his family is a disaster.
So, the DNA results come back. Not a drop of NA DNA. Nothing. Zilch. He is mostly European and 2% Asian. Never would I have pictured Asian! I thought at the least, maybe some kind of South American, Spanish, etc.
We are so confused by the results! So we got to talking about his relative who put together a whole family tree claiming they are NA. And I wonder if she based her tree on things like incorrect birth certs, and hear say and family story. Because there is zilch. He was told that his maternal great grandma was NA. So you would think that would show up on his test. Dh thinks they mixed his results up but they found other relatives who have taken the test that we know of and connected them as relatives. I just think someone in his family was either operating on misinformation or not being truthful!
DNA results are busting up all kinds of family trees!!
I had the same kind of story. On my dads side we've always been told my GG grandfather was Blackfoot and the tribes healer. There are pictures and stories that have been passed down. I did DNA testing last summer, ZERO percent Native American. My Dads family insisted the mixed up the tests, made a mistake etc. My Aunt was like, but we have the cheekbones! Like that just made it so. My Mom did some digging, turned out GG grandmothers 2nd re-married after having all her kids to a healer in the Blackfoot tribe and her kids took his last name. So it wasn't a blood relative, and just was passed down wrong. I can see that happening! Especially since records were scarce and people died so young and then spouses remarried. My dh definitely looks the part with his coloring! But he is also 11% Greece/Italian which can also explain his coloring.
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Post by lisacharlotte on Mar 31, 2016 23:54:54 GMT
I'm 17% NA according to my DNA test. That does match up with family history (what little I know). At that % my great grandparent would be 100%. It doesn't tell me if we're from north or south of the US border. Family history says Sioux. However, my fathers family were all from Southern California. It's a mystery at this point.
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The Birdhouse Lady
Drama Llama
Moose. It's what's for dinner.
Posts: 7,341
Location: Alaska -The Last Frontier
Jun 30, 2014 17:15:19 GMT
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Post by The Birdhouse Lady on Apr 1, 2016 0:29:03 GMT
I am fascinated with this. Where can I get a dna kit and about how much are they?
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Post by kellybelly77 on Apr 1, 2016 0:41:20 GMT
I am fascinated with this. Where can I get a dna kit and about how much are they? You can buy them directly from Ancestry.com for $99 or from Amazon for about the same. But wait until they go on sale, which is frequently. They go on sale every 6 or 8 weeks for $79. Black Friday I bought one for $69 which is the cheapest I have seen. I know other companies do the tests also, like 23 and Me. I am endlessly fascinated by the results!
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Post by pjaye on Apr 1, 2016 1:10:18 GMT
I am fascinated with this. Where can I get a dna kit and about how much are they? They are all around the same cost, about $100 and sometimes cheaper if there's a sale. There's several companies that do them, as mentioned Ancestry, 23andme, also FTDNA (Family Tree DNA) and National Geographic do a slightly different version that looks at Neanderthal DNA etc.
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Post by pjaye on Apr 1, 2016 1:29:17 GMT
That's why I laugh when people claim they know what their DNA is...they may know their family history but DNA is a 'bigger picture' and gives you clues to thousands of years of your ancestry, not just the small details of who married who and when.
I do think though you have to be prepared to be open to the findings, as we've seen on the various threads here people are often claiming "it must be wrong". If you don't want to know or you are having the test to back up an assumption...then don't get tested.
I got tested first and I've always known I have a biodad who is not Dad I grew up with. My mother had said he always told her his family were Swedish, but she didn't know if that was true...turned out to be true in my case, I have a chunk of DNA from there and also from the UK. When my mother got tested she didn't have either of those two so the logical assumption is that those DNA contributions were from my father's side. I also have more Scandinavian DNA than my mother, so some of that must have come from him as well.
My mother is trying to get her half brother to do the test. She knows he has a different father because my grandmother (now deceased) who is Polish was separated from her husband in the war and in a prison/work camp...she came out with another child. She always refused to tell him who his father was. He's 4 years younger than my mother. I asked her if she was prepared for the chance that he may not be her biological brother and she replied with "don't be ridiculous, of course he's my brother!" Well, yes, he'll still be her family, but he might not be a blood relative. She hadn't even considered the possibility. She was fostered out to family near the camp and had no recollection if her mother was pregnant or not, and Grandma always refused to discuss it. I warned her not encourage him to be tested if she wasn't prepared to deal with whatever might show up. So far he still hasn't done the test and I think that indicates that he doesn't really want to know...which is fine. Not everyone wants to deal with the information that might be revealed.
But I agree with the OP there will be many family trees chopped down as a result of DNA test results, and you can't be certain it will show a certain DNA to prove your family stories...you have to be prepared to deal with whatever it does reveal or it's better to leave it alone.
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The Birdhouse Lady
Drama Llama
Moose. It's what's for dinner.
Posts: 7,341
Location: Alaska -The Last Frontier
Jun 30, 2014 17:15:19 GMT
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Post by The Birdhouse Lady on Apr 1, 2016 1:30:00 GMT
I am fascinated with this. Where can I get a dna kit and about how much are they? They are all around the same cost, about $100 and sometimes cheaper if there's a sale. There's several companies that do them, as mentioned Ancestry, 23andme, also FTDNA (Family Tree DNA) and National Geographic do a slightly different version that looks at Neanderthal DNA etc.
I have another question that you may or may not be able to answer. What happens with your dna after they test it? Does it go into some database? Not that I am planning on committing a crime but would they be able to link me to my dna? I know that is a sketchy question but I do watch a lot of CSI and Criminal Minds!
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Post by pjaye on Apr 1, 2016 1:34:21 GMT
I have another question that you may or may not be able to answer. What happens with your dna after they test it? Does it go into some database? Not that I am planning on committing a crime but would they be able to link me to my dna Ah the $64,000 question! Yes they do keep it in a database. No they currently do not use it to routinely compare it to crime scene DNA. What will they do with it in the future? Who knows. Personally I have zero concern that anything will be done with it in my lifetime and I'm relatively sure I won't be killing anyone, so it won't affect me. If it worries you, then don't do it.
ETA: I actually like the idea that all of this could be contributing to a better understanding of human evolution and of DNA and how it all works. We know a lot but I think there is still so much more that we don't know...if my little bit of spit contributes to greater scientific knowledge in the future, then I'm all for it!
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Post by lindywholoveskids on Apr 1, 2016 1:35:51 GMT
My brother had his DNA tested because his wife thought she was part NA. Turns out my brother is 1/8 NA We think we have traced it to Great Grandpa who had been adopted and raised in England. I'd always been very interested in Native Americans - mostly the Southeast tribes. Kind of a neat surprise!
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Post by acd on Apr 1, 2016 1:51:18 GMT
I know what I want for Christmas! This is so interesting.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 1, 2016 2:12:30 GMT
I'm 17% NA according to my DNA test. That does match up with family history (what little I know). At that % my great grandparent would be 100%. It doesn't tell me if we're from north or south of the US border. Family history says Sioux. However, my fathers family were all from Southern California. It's a mystery at this point. Or several grandparents were part. I'm 10% - all through my grandmother - now her 40% isn't that one of her parents was 100% - it's that a bunch of her ancestors have some. I've been digging through Catholic church records for New Mexico trying to figure it all out. Unfortunately most hispanics in NM buried their Native American ancestry deep. I've only identified a couple of gggg-grandparents who were definitively NA. Most of my relatives in NM will say they're all Spanish directly from Spain - yeah - not so much.
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
Jun 26, 2014 18:51:17 GMT
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Post by perumbula on Apr 1, 2016 2:31:02 GMT
My parents' families have been into genealogy for decades, so my family make up is something that I've just grown up hearing about and knowing. It would be interesting to see how my DNA stacks up against my family tree. As far as I know I have no NA ancestor and I wouldn't expect to see it. But then one family line does go back to Pre-Revolutionary war on my Dad's side. (His family myth is that we are descended from John Hancock's uncle or something, but I would be fully prepared to find out that it's not true.)
DH's mom is very into genealogy but she's pretty much the first in her family. She swears there's an NA ancestor in there somewhere. I'll believe it when I see it. She would love to do a DNA test but I don't think she'd be very happy if it showed she's not part NA. She's based quite a bit of her identity on that belief.
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