Stories Of My People

A family of German violinists and pianists farm for a living but live for their music. 

Red-headed and freckle-faced Irishmen bury their noses in poetry books and live with their heads in the clouds.

English folk cherish their simple ways and countryside life.

French Canadian prim and proper Catholics enjoy never-ending broods of children and an affinity for genteel ways.

These are the stories I’ve been told about my ancestors. Probably my imagination has embellished the bare facts but over the years quite an colorful portrait of my family has taken shape in my mind, and I’ve wondered exactly how many of these stories of my people are true.

Today, I learned that the answer is probably quite a few. I got the results of my 23 and Me genetic testing and the findings are spot on

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38% German, strongly affiliated with the region of Bavaria.

37% United Kingdom and Irish, with UK genotypes sprinkles around d England and Scotland, and a dollop of the Irish Counties Limerick and Cork

17% general northwest Europe, which probably reflects the French and Welsh bloodlines that wandered through Canada for several generations.

And here comes a lovely surprise:

2% Swedish. Which explains my passion for snow, forests, and flat box furniture.

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So now I know that the stories of my people are told in the strains of blood that course through my veins. And while I don’t think that any ancestral heritage or cultural background is better than any other, I am fiercely proud that these stories are mine.