DNA can change everything

[kiltedtom]

DyerStraits,

Remember that the DNA of the British is very mixed. Celts, Gaelics, Germanic tribes and more have lived and died there. So, I imagine it would be surprising to find anyone, anymore, 100 % anything. But remember, those of mixed heritage often have the best parts of everyone. Those of purebred background often inherit the weaknesses more than the strengths.

Hope you have a great spring coming up soon. And perhaps some time this summer, I might be able to travel up your way and have a afteroon enjoying your part of the world.

Tom

[DyerStraits]

DyerStraits,

Remember that the DNA of the British is very mixed. Celts, Gaelics, Germanic tribes and more have lived and died there. So, I imagine it would be surprising to find anyone, anymore, 100 % anything. But remember, those of mixed heritage often have the best parts of everyone. Those of purebred background often inherit the weaknesses more than the strengths.

Hope you have a great spring coming up soon. And perhaps some time this summer, I might be able to travel up your way and have a afteroon enjoying your part of the world.

Tom

Excellent point, Tom. The Vikings left their mark on "Caledonia" and "Hibenia," as did the Germanic tribes on the English, etc. When I did my first "in-depth" research about the Celts--which I suppose originated with my curiosity about the similarity between the words "Gaelic" and "Gallic"--I was struck by how prevalent they once were throughout Britain and Europe. So yes, you're probably right about the benefits of geneological diversity; the Silver Dollar contains a bit of copper for a reason, and the cyclist in me agrees that alloy steel does indeed make a better bike.

We Chicago X-Markers would very much indeed love to meet up with you sometime; we will most likely gather again for the annual Tartan Day Pub Crawl, sponsored by Chicago Scots. The exact date and details should soon be posted at http://www.chicagoscots.org/.

[super8mm]

I found a lot about my ancestors on both sides with DNA testing, I was adopted at birth. I found my mother side of the family with Ancestry and mt-DNA matched my 1/2 sister and shows western Europe for orgins which is correct (Prussia).

My Y-DNA point to Scotland at 67 markers with clan Lamont. I wondered for about 50 years about where my family came from and now I am proud to know.

[DyerStraits]

I found a lot about my ancestors on both sides with DNA testing, I was adopted at birth. I found my mother side of the family with Ancestry and mt-DNA matched my 1/2 sister and shows western Europe for orgins which is correct (Prussia).

My Y-DNA point to Scotland at 67 markers with clan Lamont. I wondered for about 50 years about where my family came from and now I am proud to know.

Good for you! My next kilt will most likely be in Lamont (which happens to be my given name), as my surname is a sept of Lamont. Purely coincidental......I think.

[super8mm]

That is cool, 2 of my matches are Lamont, one is in Ireland and the other is here in the US.

have you checked out the clans Face Book page or the clan forum?

[FinnKilt]

He appears to be just muddled but they are not synonymous.
The Welsh, Cornish, Bretons, Galicians are p-Celts, as were the Pictish/Cumbric peoples.
The Irish, Manx and Scottish q-Celts (i.e. Gaelic speakers) are Gaels.
Of course, many Europaeans would have a good deal of Celtic DNA but would not consider themselves to be Celts.
Alan

But as far as Continental populations are concerned that used (2000-odd years ago) to speak Celtic languages and maybe to follows what archaeologists call Celtic customs, that is a question of culture, not of DNA. There was a news report I saw somewhere very recently (Guardian or BBC, probably) confirming that on-going genealogical research using DNA shows that the European Celts in the broadest sense were not an ethnic group. That doesn't mean, on the other hand, that the Q-Celtic and P-Celtic migrations (broadly speaking a millennium and half a millennium respectively before the Christian era?) wouldn't have each been ethnically relatively homogeneous. But we also need to distinguish fairly sharply between the movements of cultures and of populations – many, perhaps most of the P-Celtic-speaking population of post-Roman Britannia were not 'driven westwards into Wales and Cornwall' but became a slave stratum in early AngloSaxon society. The incoming Germanic culture absorbed the people and over a few generations they lost the memory of this shift – Compare the populations who now speak English (or French, or Spanish, or perhaps most relevantly, Russian) – definitely not all to be identified with the small groups who originated these languages and then gradually spread them to other peoples.

[jf42]

While it may be an unwelcome assertion that there was, or is, no such thing as a 'Celt', it is certainly fair to say that, strictly, speaking one should only refer to Celtic languages and Celtic artefacts. The idea of a person claiming to be a Celt was effectively a Romantic 'nationalist' concept invented by a Welshman called Lloyd in the 18th.

However, while one might not be able to claim to be a Celt as part of a defined DNA group, one can claim Celtic identity, as many do.

[Reiver]

I did that genome project that National Geographic did some years back...the cheek swap etc. then they send you a map showing familial migration and background. No surprises.
However, they had a signed warning that you must be prepared for a different family story than the one you believe.
Many folks find out they are totally 'off' on their verbal family history to the point of ethnicity...many blacks found out they were predominately Caucasian and the other way round.

[Mechamaniac]

Got mine back a while ago from Ancestry DNA, just getting around to posting it. It confirmed some family history I had that said that we were Scots-Irish. I thought I would find some Irish but according to the full results, it's less than 1%.

I think the most surprising aspect is that my father thought we were mostly German, as my last name is German, but according to the DNA, we're mostly Brits, though the range of Great Britain does include some parts of Germany.

[Katia]

It would be an interesting thing to do. We have some (really neat) information about my mother's side of the family, but my dad's side has kept very little track-- to the point that he says he has no idea whatsoever where the ancestors are from (he's got a great amount about his stepdad's side, though! Interesting to know about "adopted" heritage, but doesn't help with what some might consider what a person could "rightfully" claim.) The couple of last names I have-- his biological father's last name, and his mother's maiden name-- aren't much help (it would be nice if they were something obvious like "O'Smith" or "Smithski" or "van der Smith" or "Smithizzioni" or something!) but as best I can figure out, they may be English (*hides behind kilt*, can I admit that here??). DNA testing wouldn't tell me much about people, but it might at least provide a place to start trying to find out who I came from.