I am Scandinavian!

I took an Ancestry.com DNA test in February, mainly because I bought it for $49 at RootsTech 2017. Also because, "why not?" 

DNA has always seemed like some kind of magical mystery to me. However, I know that it is the future of genealogical research. It's also my husband's field of study. 

SNP, SNP, SNP, 

those scissors can slip, 

and cut off the tip 

of one of your shiny pink ears! 

Or something like that. "Single-nucleotide-polymorphism" just doesn't have the same rhyme to it.

Anyway, my sweet husband asked me, "So, what will you do if you find out you're not Czech?"

I looked at him in horror. The thought had never crossed my mind. I have been studying and blogging about my Czechs for years. I've spent a lot of time doing proxy temple work for my Czechs. The first long vacation that Danny and I took since we have been married was to the Czech Republic. 

So, yes, horror. 

I asked my Czech friend, "Co budu dělat?!" 

He said, "Learn Hungarian and rename your blog."

Well, fortunately for my blog title, I am not Hungarian. But what I found was quite interesting:

At first glance, it was kind of anticlimactic. Phew, I'm Czech. Yes, I've got Mormon Pioneer ancestors. But then look at this:

According to this, the single largest ethnicity which I have is Scandinavian. 

I think if it was broken down by Danish and Swedish (I have no known Norwegians), then my biggest ethnic group would be Eastern European, i.e. my Czechs (which, yes: my grandpa was 100% Czech, my dad was 50% Czech, and so I am 25% Czech). But it isn't broken down that way, for whatever reason. 

I was really surprised that I wasn't more British. I thought that nearly half of my ethnicity was British. See this cool table from FamilySearch: 

See those purple spots? Those are "early" immigrants to the United States. I assumed most of them were Brits. According to my DNA, it's likely that some were, but others were "Europe West." I didn't know about any "Europe West" ancestors. Like, not even one! Maybe I should learn more about my early American ancestors...

It also looks like I do not have very much Irish blood. This is greatly surprising to me, because I was always told that is where my red hair comes from. I guess not!

Okay, okay - so maybe I have Irish ancestors who are more genetically from Western Europe, Great Britain, or Scandinavia. I don't know.

The other surprising thing was that apparently I am a teeny tiny bit Jewish. Well, at least as Jewish as Irish. But apparently more Caucasus than either Jewish or Irish. I know to take these results with a giant bucket of salt, but still. It was really interesting.

I thought it would be fun to start another blog about my ancestors. This time, about my Danes and Swedes. I usually write about my own ancestors here, but I thought it would be worth it to create a new space to focus on my Scandinavian roots.

I currently know some things about Swedish research. For example, I know that most of the records are excellent, but in Swedish or German. Most of them are accessible through a paid subscription site called Arkiv Digital. The census records, if I remember correctly, are free.

Danish records are similar, I think. The point is, just like Czech records, there are many rich and detailed records accessible online for Scandinavian research. I attended a class on Scandinavian research while at RootsTech. I will have to review my notes...

The point of having a blog is to share my learning with the world in the hopes of connecting with others out there who might be asking the same questions, or have some good answers. It's a way to document my learning, to spread information, and to be honest, it's just something I really love doing. I love writing about my ancestors. I love researching my ancestors. I love helping other people research their ancestors. Maybe I will learn enough to become a Danish and Swedish Genealogy Locality Expert someday!

I fell in love with my Czechs, surely there is room enough for my Danes and Swedes.