I Spit in a Vial All in the Name of Research for the AncestryDNA Test

My Ancestry Map.
Grandpa and Grandma Huber in 1968
Grandpa and Grandma Huber in 1968

Who do I think I am? AncestryDNA helped me figure that out. When it comes down to genealogy, I thought I knew who I was based on what my family told me over the years. My father’s side is German with possible Austrian while my mother’s is Irish and Slovakian.

That's Me in 1971 with the Family Dog, Ahern. I Was About 1!
That’s Me in 1971 with the Family Dog, Ahern. I Was About 1!

Last May while attending the AARP Life @50+ event in Boston, I was introduced to the Ancestry.com people and their AncestryDNA kit. Basically, DNA is mailed in, analyzed and added to a database. If there are any matches, Ancestry.com lets you know and you have the ability to connect with that relative.

My Ancestry Map.
My Ancestry Map.

I was actually surprised by the results because as you can see by the analysis, German doesn’t rank high. In fact, it’s in the 4% “Trace Regions” segment. This process has also introduced me to a distant relative on my paternal grandmother’s side and I’ve been learning more about that side of the family. Now, I’m even more curious to really explore Europe.

As a result of going through this process, I was interviewed by a student researcher and it made me realize that what I’m sharing in my blog and through social media may be the only information my ancestors down the road will know about me. In fact, I feel social media influences my life so much that I do things in order to maintain expectations others have of me.

For instance, when in 2008 I was named a top 50 Travel Twitterer to Follow, I felt as though I needed to post more travel-related content. With this blog called “Solo Travel Girl,” there are expectations that I want to be alone which couldn’t be more further from reality.

Here’s a video I began in June 2014 and finished last night about the kit and my results. If the video doesn’t play view it on YouTube.

Have you taken the AncestryDNA test? If so, were you surprised by the results?

Related: Embracing My Family Heritage Through Ireland’s Food

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Jenn

Jennifer A. Huber is an award-winning travel and outdoor blogger and writer in Southwest Florida. Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., a hiking trail led her to a career path in the tourism industry for more than 30 years. She spent a decade with a park management company in Yellowstone, Death Valley, and Everglades National Parks. She founded the travel blog, SoloTravelGirl.com with the goal of inspiring others to travel alone, not lonely. The unexpected death of her former husband in 2008 reminded her how short life is. His passing was a catalyst for sharing her experiences with the goal of inspiring and empowering others to travel solo. Jennifer holds a Travel Marketing Professional certification from the Southeast Tourism Society, is a certified food judge, member of the NASA Social community, and alum of the FBI Citizens Academy. When not traveling, she is either in the kitchen, practicing her photography skills, or road tripping with her dog, Radcliff.

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