MY OWN “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE” JOURNEY THE COVID WAY

A few years back I decided that I would do my DNA so I could better understand what my ethnicity was.

It is a personal choice to do your DNA. For me it is not about trying to align myself with a certain type of ethnicity it was about understanding my heritage and trying to answer some of those lingering questions.

What questions you may ask (or maybe you didn’t but I will answer them anyway). I grew up in a very multi-cultural area of Sydney, NSW, Australia and I loved it. I grew up at the with kids that had Greek, Lebanese, Yugoslavian and Italian parents but as far as I was concerned we were just all Australian because that it the country of which we lived.

Fast forward a few years and I am in my late teenage years and I would regularly be asked what my background was. I would always reply “I am Australian”. I would then be asked ‘But what are you parents background?” and I would reply “Australian”. I was told more often that not that I must have some sort of European / Eastern European blood in me because of my olive complexion, my brown eyes and I suppose just purely based on my look.

To me I looked like my parents, they both had brown hair, brown eyes and deep olive complexions.

Fast forward a few more year in my early twenties and I tragically lost my father at the young age of 46. I would still get the question about my “background” but it wasn’t until my fathers death that I realised I had no idea where my family come from.

I had so many questions.

Where did our complexion originate from? Where did these size 10 feet come from and why was my second toe on each foot longer than my big toe? Why do my two younger brothers and I share the same colouring and features however I don’t with my older brother and younger sister. Where did my love of beer and wine come from, or was that just a Australian thing? Joking of course …. but don’t laugh as some things did fall into place on that one.

Both of my parents were only children.

My paternal grandfather had passed away (I loved that man dearly, he was the best grandfather a girl could ask for) and whilst my maternal grandmother was still alive we didn’t really have a great relationship. I do wish now I would have asked her questions even as simple as “How did you and Pop meet?” If I could get an answer to that question I would be thrilled.

Both of my maternal grandparents were still alive so I took the advantage to ask many questions which, as will be revealed in future blogs was a beautiful love story.

Whilst all of my grandparents come from large families I only grew up with one set of “cousins” who we are all very close with still today (Yah to the Fitzpatrick clan xx)

Anyway so that is were my journey began and then I jumped straight into searching for my roots.

This started all before ancestry.com was a thing. I will say as much as ancestry.com can be frustrating with inaccurate information at times it has certainly made life easier for research.

I knew had a deep Scottish bloodline on my maternal side from both of my grandparents which research proved. Research on my paternal side led me to Liverpool, England on my grandfathers and I really couldn’t get past that due to a brick wall, my grandmothers side due to the Morgan & Gore family lines were easier to research and showed to be Welsh and Irish. The Gore line led me around the world with birth rights of India, Jamaica and Canada but ultimately starting in Ireland.

Scottish, Welsh, English and Irish ! It didn’t really explain on the surface the deep olive complexion. Whilst I know that olive skin is common in all countries it really isn’t something that you would expect on the surface of a Scottish, Welsh or Irish lass – maybe I am typecasting way too much in my mind on that so please don’t come at me 🙂

So when ancestry DNA was easily accessible I jumped straight on that band wagon. Maybe I would find that Spanish ethnicity that had been mentioned in passing by someone (I think it was my paternal grandmother at some stage) – I had all my fingers and toes crossed that I could answer some questions.

So whilst my ethnicity has changed slightly since first testing (and I am sure I have a photo of the original results somewhere) ancestry DNA confirmed to me at a minimum that my research was very well aligned with the results.

I am certainly Scottish ! Current results show that I am 43%.
Not only do I have a strong Scottish bloodline but my family originates from the Highlands and for me that is something to be proud of. All of my Scottish bloodline at this time come to Australia in the mid 1800’s as free settlers.

I knew of my Irish bloodline but if I am honest I was shocked at such a high percentage of 27%. Ireland as we know is not the easiest place to research on, even harder when trying to match up exactly where in Ireland when so may records are not available. My family line has many convicts stated as Irish and that is where much of the research stops (apart from the Gore Line)

Then we come to England & Northwestern Europe at 18%
Now when I first tested my England % was much greater but as more people test and the regions are further developed this percentage has dropped. I am actually shocked, I mean come on aren’t all Australian’s English convicts 🙂 I certainly do have convicts that come from England but what intrigues me here is the Northwestern Europe part.
Whilst the brighter green highlighted area is England there are from what I understand potential that some may have come from Northwestern Europe. Though I have found nothing to indicate this in my research currently it will certainly be an interesting area to see if it changes or breaks down further to a country level.

My Welsh line of 8% is very interesting indeed.
Further up I mentioned that I knew my Morgan line (paternal grandmother) come from Wales but I also mentioned that I believed my paternal grandfather’s line come from Liverpool – I thought I was a scouser! One of my many brick walls on my paternal line (Platt) through the help of some wonderful people in a Facebook group in Liverpool, found the burial details of my 4th Great Grandfather that confirmed his parentage – and where was he born – Denbighshire, Wales ! Research showed me that many of the family members went back and forth between Denbighshire and Liverpool. And remember that love of beer and wine comment – well we were the innkeepers of the local pub in Denbigshire throughout the 1700-1800’s plus on settling in Port Macquarie in Australia the family made wine and even won some awards….

Previously results hadn’t broken down to show me my Welsh strength (I think it was blended in with England previously) so the update last year was pleasing to see and verified my research areas.

The next two are where it gets very interesting for me
Norway at 4%
Germanic Europe 2%

What ! So many questions … Who, When and again Who are these people and how do they fit into my family tree !

Sure they are only a small % but even these small percentages make up who I am.
The Norway is predominantly shown below however Iceland and Denmark are a softer highlight. And the German which borders onto so many other countries is fascinating.

Based on the limited research I have done to date and as per http://www.highlandtitles.com ‘Scotland and Norway share strong links that stretch right back to Viking times. Northern Scotland, was, at one time, a Norse domain and the Northern Isles experienced the most long-lasting Norse influence.’ So is this the link for Norway?

Scotland and Germany also had strong links back in the day. Again as per http://www.highlandtitles.com ‘Aside from the language links, the history of links between Scotland and Germany is rooted in trade. Long before Germany existed as a nation, during the Medieval period, Scottish traders were drawn to do business with the Hanseatic League, who operated from ports around the Baltic Sea, including those on the northern coast of Germany.’ So the question raised is could this be a further link on the German percentage via Scotland?

I may never know the answers to the Norway and German ethnicity but it won’t stop me from looking.

Did I find the answers to my questions? Not entirely however I do know my background, I understand where my families originate from and researching further into the individuals and understand their story has given me more detail than I ever thought possible.

I am still and will always remain a very proud Australian, but I am also a proud Scots, a proud Irish descendant as well as English.

So if you haven’t done your DNA I would highly recommend it.
It isn’t just about the ethnicity it is also about the DNA connections you make along the way. The cousins you find across the other side of the world that you would have never known before as well as the confirmation that sometimes your gut feeling about a child or three being the child of your 4th great grandfather can be confirmed via a DNA connection even if they are a 6th cousin (true story and it’s an interesting one of my 4th great grandfather who let’s say “sowed his wild oats” before settling down that I will share at some time)

So thank you for reading if you have made it this far, I know its a long blog but I have enjoyed writing it.

Karen x

https://www.highlandtitles.com/blog/the-links-between-scotland-and-germany/
https://www.highlandtitles.com/blog/the-links-between-scotland-and-norway/