Many, many years ago, the genealogy on my mother’s side was researched in length. I feel so fortunate to have been given a copy of that information. It was done long before the internet, so I can’t imagine the leg-work involved. I’ve tried to keep it updated, making notes in the margins whenever I learn of a death, marriage or new baby in our huge family.
Our family was traced back to Jamestown, by way of William Spencer, who arrived on a ship named The Sarah in 1611. He was, therefore, designated as one of the Ancient Planters, a term given to anyone who arrived in Virginia prior to 1616.
Although most in the family don’t seem to think much about it, a few of us (myself, my son, my nieces and a couple of cousins) are pretty darned proud of these deep roots we have in this area.
My niece, Donna, recently gifted me with a DNA test through Ancestry, and the “results are in”. I must admit that I was rather surprised – not so much at my ethnicity – but rather how concentrated it is.
We knew, from the genealogy research, that my mother’s family came from England. My father’s side of the family has also been documented, although in much less depth than my mom’s. And, from that, we learned that his family was from Glasgow, Scotland.
As you can see, I actually have MORE Great Britain ethnicity than do the typical natives there. Donna included a note to me along with the test results, and in it, shared her thoughts about why she believes that to be so. She wrote: “I’m not sure, but I see that the people living there now have had their DNA “diluted” over time by other ethnicities moving in to Great Britain in more modern times. Since we know several branches of our family came to America early and have pretty much stayed in the Surry/Isle of Wight area since then, I’m guessing most of the marrying was done with families who came from similar areas in Great Britain, so much less “dilution”.
After seeing my DNA results, I somehow feel even more grounded by these deep roots than I did before.
~These Days Of Mine~
these days of mine 