Yep... Still Irish

So, back in late 2017, my father and I both took Ancestry DNA tests. In the three or so years since the test results came back, Ancestry has updated their database a few times which has resulted in slight changes in my DNA profile. My first results came back and I had 83% Ireland/Scotland/Wales, 13% Great Britain, and the rest trace bits of continental Europe. A year or so later, those breakdowns became 97% Ireland/Scotland and 3% England, Wales, and Northwestern Europe. Dad's results went from 93% Ireland/Scotland and 3% England/Wales/Northwestern Europe to 98% Ireland/Scotland and 2% England/Wales/Northwestern Europe. So yeah, no matter how you slice and dice the test, we're Irish.

This past summer, Ancestry did another update to their database, and this time they've been able to filter out differences between Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales, along with other refinements. So, what does this mean this time? Well, Dad's results now show him as 100% Irish. Shocking, I know.

As for me, now my results show 95% Ireland, 2% Scotland, and 3% Germanic Europe. Yep... Still Irish. It was interesting, however, to see the 3% Germanic Europe appear, since we know there is German heritage on my mother's side of the family. The French bit, however, doesn't show up in this most recent update.

In addition to this, my mother also took an Ancestry DNA test last year (yep, she's my mom), and her results show up as 85% Ireland and 15% Scotland. No Germany. No France. The update at Ancestry occurred shortly after her original results came in, so I don't know what they originally were. Her older brother's results are similar, but one of her younger sisters has a bit of French show up in her profile. All in all though, it's pretty close.

Because there's such a significant Scottish percentage with my mother and her siblings, I'm guessing it's from our Muckle ancestry -- they're the Northern Ireland branch of the tree. I believe my uncle has even made some tenuous links to Muckles in Scotland, but I don't have that information handy.

One of the other updates made on this latest round also shows a connection to New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania settlers for both me and my father (I don't have management rights on my mother's test, so don't know if she shows anything similar.) Per the description on Ancestry "members of this community, are linked through shared ancestors. You probably have family who lived in this area for years—and maybe still do." At the moment, the only ancestors I'm aware of having lived in New Jersey are my Coleman great-grandparents and their children from about 1915-1920, so that's not the likely connection. It's possible that some of my Murray ancestors settled in the New Jersey/Pennsylvania area since my great-great grandfather John Murray's obituary asked that "New York papers, please copy," but to date I've not found any direct connection to New York.

The other bit of fun that came with the latest round of updates, is two of my cousins also submitted DNA tests and the results that came back are a bit amusing. Over the years, I actually have had 4 of my Dwyer first cousins submit samples to Ancestry, and all the results turn up as us being first cousins. The interesting bit comes in how much DNA I have in common with my cousins. In first place is one of my cousins in Alaska, the son of my mother's youngest sister. I wasn't particularly surprised by this as he looks somewhat like my brother and could easily pass himself off as such. The second place result is where things get interesting.

My mother's older brother married a woman from Guam, and both of their daughters took the Ancestry DNA test this past summer. Number two on the list of most in-common DNA -- yep, one of my half-Guamanian cousins. In fact, the one who looks entirely Pacific Islander. If you were to see the two of us sitting side by side, you wouldn't have a clue we were related, much less first cousins!

We shared a good chuckle when we realized this, and, in fact, that our blonde-haired, blue-eyed cousin is HER first place match. Just goes to show we're all much more connected than we think and how we look on the outside doesn't always match what you find on the inside.