How Welsh am I?

[jane k]

I know very little about the Ancestry DNA testing other than that the results are dependant on the number of people around the world who have already taken the test.

My interest is simply that I have a very Welsh maiden name - Howell - but despite tracing my tree back to the 1790s have not found anyone who was actually born there (presumably because they left Wales at some point prior to that to find work in the English midlands).

Would the DNA test tell me if I do actually have Welsh ancestry?  And if so would it single out a particular area of Wales?

(Please bear in mind my lack of knowledge and keep explanations to words of one syllable!)

Many thanks

I think you need to get further back than the 1790s, as this was the period when the "Industrial Revolution" took off and millions of people moved around the British Isles.

I would love to go back further but am not optimistic as my family were impoverished nail makers and as such only appear on parish records - and have very common names for that area (Edward and Howell).

[coombs]

I have Roberts from Bermondsey, there did seem to be a number of Welsh migrants into SE London in the 1700s. Not yet found a Welsh connection but on the other Bermondsey lines I have found a early 1700s line going back to Staffordshire thanks to apprenticeship records, and a surname that sounds Leicestershire.

[Ruskie]

To add to Albufera32‘s excellent reply at #15 …. Some companies lump “England, Scotland and Wales” in togegether, though I believe they are refining this over time.

Living DNA claims to narrow down more prescisely the locations that your ancestors came from in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland …. So you might like to consider upolading your raw data to Living DNA. There is no cost to do so.

[phil57]

Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as Welsh, Irish, Scottish or indeed Viking DNA. Nor, if you read the small print, do companies such as Ancestry claim there is.

An excellent post!

[coombs]

I also agree with Albufera32. No such thing as "Irish DNA" "Scottish DNA" or "Jewish DNA" etc, it is DNA that is found in certain areas of the world due to a certain wave of settlers over the millennia.

[melba_schmelba]

I think people misunderstand, in one way the tests, and two the ethnicity estimates. All the commercial tests such as 23andme, Ancestry, MyHeritage do not sequence your entire genome (known as Whole Genome Sequencing), they analyse maybe under 1% of your overall DNA. Bear in mind that we share about 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees, 98% with gorillas, about 80-90% with cats and dogs and other mammals, and 60% with bananas!!
  These commercial tests analyse particular parts of our DNA where different human populations are known to differ, and that can indicate relationship closeness between one human being and another. Certain sequences of SNPs, segments can be indicative of being part of a certain population, so it can indicate that you have a connection to that population. So whilst it is true that there is no such thing as Welsh DNA or Scottish DNA etc. It is true that there are certain SNPs and segments that are most commonly or uniquely found in those populations, and if you have them, that would indicate you have a genetic connection to that population.
  As regards, Ancestry's ability to detect Welshness, I have found that around 2021, their algorithm significantly improved and someone who I know is around 40% Welsh ancestrally was almost exactly detected as this on Ancestry's estimate.

[Rena]

I know very little about the Ancestry DNA testing other than that the results are dependant on the number of people around the world who have already taken the test.

My interest is simply that I have a very Welsh maiden name - Howell - but despite tracing my tree back to the 1790s have not found anyone who was actually born there (presumably because they left Wales at some point prior to that to find work in the English midlands).

Would the DNA test tell me if I do actually have Welsh ancestry?  And if so would it single out a particular area of Wales?

(Please bear in mind my lack of knowledge and keep explanations to words of one syllable!)

Many thanks

I think you need to get further back than the 1790s, as this was the period when the "Industrial Revolution" took off and millions of people moved around the British Isles.

I would love to go back further but am not optimistic as my family were impoverished nail makers and as such only appear on parish records - and have very common names for that area (Edward and Howell).

Sometimes everything is not at all what it seems.   Until the "Boston Tea Party" British settlements abroad had to buy all their requirements from the UK.  The town of Sheffield did a roaring trade exporting nails to the USA.

I have a nailer in my family.  When he died I discovered that he was in a partnership and the two men owned an inkle factory.   This type of factory produced patterned braids, the braiding was used for trimmings on clothing.

Life wasn't really fair on younger members of a family because the oldest son received everything and the rest of the family members often worked for the oldest sibling.

[coombs]

My Huguenot ancestors in France probably descend from ancient Germanic tribes and Celtic tribes. Apparently there is quite a bit of Roman DNA in Poitou in France where many of my Huguenots came from.

[Nanna52]

Melba_schmelba originally I had what I considered low Welsh ethnicity.  Now I have too much!  Then I found that ancestry included part of Somerset in their calculations (2 great grandparents from Keynsham) so I relaxed a bit.  Now if they could only explain to me why my Scottish count is so high.  Surely it’s not because I married a Scot and like the bagpipes. 🤪🤪🤪