Jackson
Regular Member
- Messages
- 222
- Reaction score
- 23
- Points
- 0
- Ethnic group
- English/British Isles
- Y-DNA haplogroup
- I1-L22
- mtDNA haplogroup
- U5a1b4
I was always brought up with the attitude of my dad really, and we both identify most with the Anglo-Saxons - although i didn't really start investigating until a couple of years ago. Upon investigation most of my ancestry is from eastern England(south-east and north-east included), with a bit from Western England(Cheshire), Wales (Pembrokeshire), Ireland (Dublin) and lowland Scotland (Berwickshire), but weighted more towards south-east England.
DNA Wise my y-Haplogroup and surname support an Angle or Viking origin, and my mt-line (comes from Kent the furthest back) could be any nature of things, but given U5a1's weight towards eastern Europe and the higher frequencies in northern Germany and Norway, perhaps Anglo-Saxon is more likely.
Autosomally i seem to be very eastern for a British person, but within the range. The overall impression i get of my north European ancestry is that of being most closely related to English and Dutch. Add in to that a small amount (3% or 6%) of Middle-eastern ancestry, and it is quite an interesting scenario. It's interesting because i have always liked the Dutch people i have known, and there is a small Dutch contingent to my extended family (I think they are Frisian actually) through marriage. This is also interesting when you consider that they appear to be our primary genetic and linguistic link to the continent.
So yes it seems i identify most with the Anglo-Saxons (as a broad term), or with the people's surrounding the north Sea. However, to ignore my Celtic and Middle-Eastern ancestry would be completely unwarranted - My family have generally gone on holiday to the traditionally Celtic areas of Britain, and Ireland - and i very much like them, in particular Ireland. I guess i can't claim to my ancestors from Wales, Ireland and Scotland as being 100% Celtic, being that they are from probably the least traditionally Celtic areas of their respective countries, at least as far back as i have gone, but nevertheless i have a very fond connection with my second favourite group of ancestors. :]
I hope i live to see 2066...
I am also currently working on resolving what my Middle-Eastern ancestry actually is - Of course my first thought was Jewish, as it is by far the most likely given historic Jewish settlement in Western Europe. The trouble i am having with it (especially with more recent iterations of the Eurogenes project), is that the ratios of various components used don't match up with the unusual parts of my components. It seems to definitely be Middle-Eastern, but it is arguably looking less Near-eastern than i would expect. Of course Jewish is still one of my primary options, but i must explore a number of avenues or look for definitive evidence in the paper ancestry.
So yes i find it quite interesting that so far there hasn't been anything unexpected turn up - I knew there was something African or Middle-Eastern already, and i suspected the rest.
I saw someone mention phenotype earlier in the thread. It's not overly important to me, but i guess i fit quite well with my ancestry. Hair is medium-dark brown, was light blond until about 6/7 and then golden blond/brown until about 11 when i finally turned brown for good. My family and ancestors traditionally have brown-dark brown hair with a blond minority (generally a couple of generations back or more), my dad's side and myself have slight reddish or reddish-golden undertones to our hair. Eyes are blue or light-mixed(small green ring around the middle), pretty much all of my dad's side have had blue/light-mixed eyes, and the majority of my mum's side. I'm quite tall (6"1 at the moment, father is 6"4 and a half - i got the short genes ) and me and my dad's side typically have heavy brow-ridges, deep set eyes, tall stature and a heavy build. My father's side also generally have a very heavy jaw and a broad-ish nose, but i didn't get either. My mum's side seem to have pretty much everything under the sun at some point, tall/short dark/fair slim/heavy.
I actually think i am a pretty good average of my family overall - tall but not overly tall, not exceptionally fair or dark, not exceptionally heavy or slim.
But anyway enough about that :].
I remember watching a program recently, an old program with Darcus Howe, i think it was called White Tribe - I agree with him that it is unfortunate that the English seem to be having an identity crisis - I think we should celebrate our heritage and culture in the way that many other countries do - but it is actually hard to define what English culture is. It's sad that often it seems we are either self-guilty and are anxious not to celebrate our identity - After all i think if i went to any other country, and the people were ashamed or afraid of celebrating their culture, i would find that more concerning than if they celebrated it aggressively.
I think a person needs an identity that they are willing to be proud of comfortable/secure about before they can respect the identity of others by allowing them to celebrate it :]. Some people are happy not to identify, but that is their choice, after all we humans are very tribal/group oriented creatures, and i find it ironic that people can be so into individuality that they join groups based around not being part of a group, or a trend. xD
I didn't intend this post to get philosophical, but it's past midnight.
Kind Regards,
Sam Jackson
DNA Wise my y-Haplogroup and surname support an Angle or Viking origin, and my mt-line (comes from Kent the furthest back) could be any nature of things, but given U5a1's weight towards eastern Europe and the higher frequencies in northern Germany and Norway, perhaps Anglo-Saxon is more likely.
Autosomally i seem to be very eastern for a British person, but within the range. The overall impression i get of my north European ancestry is that of being most closely related to English and Dutch. Add in to that a small amount (3% or 6%) of Middle-eastern ancestry, and it is quite an interesting scenario. It's interesting because i have always liked the Dutch people i have known, and there is a small Dutch contingent to my extended family (I think they are Frisian actually) through marriage. This is also interesting when you consider that they appear to be our primary genetic and linguistic link to the continent.
So yes it seems i identify most with the Anglo-Saxons (as a broad term), or with the people's surrounding the north Sea. However, to ignore my Celtic and Middle-Eastern ancestry would be completely unwarranted - My family have generally gone on holiday to the traditionally Celtic areas of Britain, and Ireland - and i very much like them, in particular Ireland. I guess i can't claim to my ancestors from Wales, Ireland and Scotland as being 100% Celtic, being that they are from probably the least traditionally Celtic areas of their respective countries, at least as far back as i have gone, but nevertheless i have a very fond connection with my second favourite group of ancestors. :]
I hope i live to see 2066...
I am also currently working on resolving what my Middle-Eastern ancestry actually is - Of course my first thought was Jewish, as it is by far the most likely given historic Jewish settlement in Western Europe. The trouble i am having with it (especially with more recent iterations of the Eurogenes project), is that the ratios of various components used don't match up with the unusual parts of my components. It seems to definitely be Middle-Eastern, but it is arguably looking less Near-eastern than i would expect. Of course Jewish is still one of my primary options, but i must explore a number of avenues or look for definitive evidence in the paper ancestry.
So yes i find it quite interesting that so far there hasn't been anything unexpected turn up - I knew there was something African or Middle-Eastern already, and i suspected the rest.
I saw someone mention phenotype earlier in the thread. It's not overly important to me, but i guess i fit quite well with my ancestry. Hair is medium-dark brown, was light blond until about 6/7 and then golden blond/brown until about 11 when i finally turned brown for good. My family and ancestors traditionally have brown-dark brown hair with a blond minority (generally a couple of generations back or more), my dad's side and myself have slight reddish or reddish-golden undertones to our hair. Eyes are blue or light-mixed(small green ring around the middle), pretty much all of my dad's side have had blue/light-mixed eyes, and the majority of my mum's side. I'm quite tall (6"1 at the moment, father is 6"4 and a half - i got the short genes ) and me and my dad's side typically have heavy brow-ridges, deep set eyes, tall stature and a heavy build. My father's side also generally have a very heavy jaw and a broad-ish nose, but i didn't get either. My mum's side seem to have pretty much everything under the sun at some point, tall/short dark/fair slim/heavy.
I actually think i am a pretty good average of my family overall - tall but not overly tall, not exceptionally fair or dark, not exceptionally heavy or slim.
But anyway enough about that :].
I remember watching a program recently, an old program with Darcus Howe, i think it was called White Tribe - I agree with him that it is unfortunate that the English seem to be having an identity crisis - I think we should celebrate our heritage and culture in the way that many other countries do - but it is actually hard to define what English culture is. It's sad that often it seems we are either self-guilty and are anxious not to celebrate our identity - After all i think if i went to any other country, and the people were ashamed or afraid of celebrating their culture, i would find that more concerning than if they celebrated it aggressively.
I think a person needs an identity that they are willing to be proud of comfortable/secure about before they can respect the identity of others by allowing them to celebrate it :]. Some people are happy not to identify, but that is their choice, after all we humans are very tribal/group oriented creatures, and i find it ironic that people can be so into individuality that they join groups based around not being part of a group, or a trend. xD
I didn't intend this post to get philosophical, but it's past midnight.
Kind Regards,
Sam Jackson