Boots Chantilly

It's National DNA Day!

I'm #adopted , so until I had my #DNA tested by 23andMe, AncestryDNA, & FTDNA, I had no idea who or what I was. My adopters told me I was French. Turns out, I'm #Basque , #Finnish , #Norwegian , a little #Irish , a little #English .

Do you know your ethnicity? I find the subject fascinating--prolly bc I was always denied my most fundamental truths re: ancestry & heritage. If you'd like to share, I'd love to hear your story. #NationalDNADay #adoption #AdopteeVoices

Apr 25, 2023 at 6:19pmWeb
Show threadAnneApr 26, 2023
@BootsChantilly it’s all quite fascinating. My mom was adopted and my sisters and I did a dna test. We have connected with some cousins and hope to meet someday.
Show threadBoots ChantillyApr 26, 2023
@annecavicchi Oh, I hope you get to meet! It’s surreal recognizing powerful similarities in folks you’ve never met or known. I was separated from my mother at birth, but we have the same walk & the same laugh. It’s insane. & you bring up something most folks never consider: #Adoption impacts not just one generation, but many. My losses—& my black holes—are also my son’s losses, etc.
Show threadKrystle the ActorApr 26, 2023
@BootsChantilly I'm not adopted, but yes. I'm pretty much what I thought I would be, and then some. Also could be possible that your physical origin country was France even if it's not part of DNA.
Show threadEllenInEdmonton Apr 26, 2023
@clearlykrystle @BootsChantilly
I'm not adopted and the Ancestry ethnicity results really annoy me because I know that at least 1/4 of my ethnicity is German.
They say:
Germanic Europe
11%
also:
Ireland
11%
which is an underestimate to the best of my knowledge.
Meanwhile:
Sweden & Denmark
6%
which is exactly 0% of the many, many ancestors I have identified.
So, take it with a grain of salt, even given that folks migrate frequently.
Show threadBoots ChantillyApr 26, 2023
@EllenInEdmonton @clearlykrystle But if you have 1 German grandparent, it's unlikely they were 100% German, & given how randomly genetics are passed down, 11% could be accurate.
Show threadEllenInEdmonton Apr 26, 2023
@BootsChantilly @clearlykrystle That grandparent was Lancaster County Mennonite as were all of their ancestors for 6 or more generations. And, I have other German ancestry as well.
Show threadBoots ChantillyApr 26, 2023
@EllenInEdmonton @clearlykrystle Ah, I see.
Show threadKrystle the ActorApr 26, 2023
@EllenInEdmonton @BootsChantilly It also has to do with what pieces of what DNA we get from who. Having grandparents from a certain place doesn't mean you will have DNA from there. Your parent could have entirely missed that piece and have nothing or very little to in turn pass on.
Show threadEllenInEdmonton Apr 26, 2023
@clearlykrystle @BootsChantilly
That's true. That's something I often consider when I see that I'm a DNA match for one sibling but not another but I hadn't really thought about it when it comes to the ethnicity estimates. Still, NO idea where the Swedish/Danish mix comes from!!
Show threadBoots ChantillyApr 27, 2023
@clearlykrystle @EllenInEdmonton Yes, thanks! I could not, for the life of me, put that thought together coherently this morning—not enough coffee? But, yeah. My paternal bio half-sister has almost as much Basque DNA as I do—my paternal bio half-brother has hardly any.
Show threadBoots ChantillyApr 26, 2023
@clearlykrystle I was born in Houston—both my bio parents were native Texans. But before I finally identified them, I could’ve been from anywhere! 😉