Ancestry DNA Trace Regions?

[Eric Hatfield]

Ethnicity estimates are notoriously approximate only. For a start, your ancestors may have come long ago through the Middle East and into Europe, settling, say, in Germany. But then population movements may have seen them move from there to Holland, and later to England. So which timeframe should the ethnicity reflect? The information that you come from a long line of European ancestors will hardly be new, while the more detailed information will only give part of the picture. Also, everyone uses different criteria and gives different answers. It is interesting and sometimes helpful in genealogical research, but we can't put too much faith in the answers.

[a chesters]

It would be interesting to do a DNA check of my wife. I have traced her family back to Cornwall in the mid 1500's. However, family legend has it that the familys came from Spain at some stage. There is "evidence" for this in her colouring, and that many Italians and Greeks ask her where she came from

On My side, the family legend is that on my fathers side I am English, and on my mothers side Roman   I can not trace her side back very far at this time

[hdw]

There is an odd belief in many parts of the UK that dark colouring must indicate foreign origins. But there is no reason to believe that blond hair and blue eyes are typically British. Where I come from, in east Fife, small stature and dark colouring are quite normal and what might be described as "Anglo-Saxon" looks are quite rare. Having lived for several years on the Lower Rhine in Germany, I can tell you that blond hair and blue eyes were conspicuously absent there too. Even in Sweden, where I lived from 1970 to 1972, not everyone was a caricature Scandinavian blond.

In some parts of the UK, especially in Scotland, there are stories about ancestors who were shipwrecked sailors from the Spanish Armada, but there is no evidence to back this up.

Harry

[Guy Etchells]

Ethnicity estimates are notoriously approximate only. For a start, your ancestors may have come long ago through the Middle East and into Europe, settling, say, in Germany. But then population movements may have seen them move from there to Holland, and later to England. So which timeframe should the ethnicity reflect? The information that you come from a long line of European ancestors will hardly be new, while the more detailed information will only give part of the picture. Also, everyone uses different criteria and gives different answers. It is interesting and sometimes helpful in genealogical research, but we can't put too much faith in the answers.

Exactly, the history of the UK tells us the same story.

Anglo-Saxons, these are the descendants of Angles, Saxons and Jutes, or in other words descendants of Germanic invaders.
In addition most of Britain was invaded and colonised by Roman invaders, some of who may have come from Italy but many from other countries that at the time made up the Roman Empire.
To that mix we must also add Viking invaders from the north and perhaps the most influential Viking invaders from the south a little place over the English Channel called France or more precisely Normandy.
Yes the Normans were Vikings and descendants of Viking/French ancestors, is there any surprise that our DNA therefore has a mix of such influences?

Cheers
Guy