{"id":11804,"date":"2025-04-21T11:58:51","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T16:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/?p=11804"},"modified":"2025-04-21T11:58:51","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T16:58:51","slug":"dna-ethnicity-meets-traditional-genealogy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/dna-ethnicity-meets-traditional-genealogy\/","title":{"rendered":"DNA Ethnicity Meets Traditional Genealogy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"boldgrid-section\">\n<div class=\"container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"boldgrid-section\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\" style=\"padding-top: 26px; padding-bottom: 14px;\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<p class=\"\">DNA and associated analysis tells us a lot about our ancestry.&nbsp; It is a relatively new field, but I can no longer imagine doing genealogy without it.&nbsp; Much of my work with DNA has focused on finding matches to breakdown brick walls.&nbsp; This article touches on information DNA provides about our ethnicity.&nbsp; I compare results from 3 different companies using my dad&#8217;s DNA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"boldgrid-section\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\" style=\"padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px;\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-3 col-md-5 col-sm-6 col-xs-12\">\n<h1 class=\"\">Ethnicity Estimates<\/h1>\n<p class=\"\">Ethnicity estimates is an area of DNA analysis that is an evolving science.&nbsp; Each company has slightly different regions.&nbsp; In addition, each company has a growing and changing base of data that is used to determine a person\u2019s ethnicity.&nbsp; Thus, the estimates and even regions that apply to a person continue to be in flux.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Ethnicity estimates are based on unique elements of DNA that evolved over time.&nbsp; Thus, they don\u2019t necessarily align with where a person lives or where their ancestors most recently lived.&nbsp; Ethnicity provides clues to where a family lived 1,000 or more years ago.&nbsp; For example, someone might have family that immigrated from Germany.&nbsp; However, their ethnicity from a DNA company might indicate some percentage Russian.&nbsp; That simply means that one or more of their ancestors was originally from Russia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"\">Expectations From Traditional Genealogy<\/h1>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">For people like Rod&#8217;s mom, her expected ethnicity makeup is quite clear as her grandparents all immigrated to the United States from Germany.&nbsp; However, when your ancestors have been in the United States a long time, your expected ethnicity makeup is a bit more complicated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">In Dad&#8217;s case, it is very complicated as his earliest known ancestor in America arrived in 1621.&nbsp; Most of his family lines arrived in America by 1800. The last branch of his family to arrive in the United States left Europe 200 years ago, but took a bit of a detour through Canada before making their way southward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Thus, a lot of generations and a lot of different families join together to form Dad&#8217;s family tree.&nbsp; It isn&#8217;t feasible to discuss all of them with regards to expected ethnicity.&nbsp; Therefore, this article focuses on what traditional genealogy says about where his great-grandparents&#8217; direct paternal family line&#8217;s may have lived before coming to the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-6 col-md-7 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 color3-background-color color-3-text-contrast bg-background-color\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\">\n<div>\n<h2>The 8 Key Family Lines<\/h2>\n<h3>McCracken<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">Genealogy research indicates that our McCracken ancestors most likely moved to the United States from Ireland.&nbsp; However, the name McCracken is derived from the Clan McNaughton in Scotland.&nbsp; Thus, it seems we may have ancestors in both Scotland and Ireland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\">\n<div>\n<h2 class=\"\">Matteer<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">According to census records, Mathias Matteer, our earliest confirmed Matteer ancestor, was the son of immigrants. His father was born in France and his mother in Canada.&nbsp; Although not proven, it appears that it may have been his grandfather, rather than his father, who was born in <span class=\"userCardEventDetail factBirth\"><span class=\"birthPlace\">Alsace, France.&nbsp; In either case, genealogy would indicate that he had ancestry in the region along the French-German border.&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\">\n<div>\n<h3>Ellis<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">Our Ellis relatives in Europe are unknown.&nbsp; People with the name Ellis or other forms of it lived in many different places.&nbsp; However, the name seems to have originated in England.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\">\n<div>\n<h3>nicholson<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">Our Nicholson family also dead ends in the United States.&nbsp; It was very common in the British Isles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\">\n<div>\n<h3>Peelle<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">Lawrence Peelle sailed to America from England.&nbsp; He appears to have sailed on the Margaret and John over the winter of 1620-1621.&nbsp; The belief is that he was born in England.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Peel Castle is on St. Patrick&#8217;s Isle which is connected to Isle of Mann, which has a town named Peel.&nbsp; Additionally, Piel Castle is on Piel Island off the cost of northwest England.&nbsp; Whether Lawrence had a connection to either of these places is unknown.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\">\n<div>\n<h3>Johnson<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">According to <em>House of Names<\/em>, Johnson is the second most common surname in the United States. The name was common in England, but our knowledge of the family ends in North Carolina.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\">\n<div>\n<h3>Jury<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">The Jury family immigrated first to Canada and then to the United States.&nbsp; They were from Sussex, England.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\">\n<div>\n<h3>Willett<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">The Willett family immigrated to Canada.&nbsp; Then, Ellenor (Ellen) (Willett) Jury immigrated with some of her children to the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"boldgrid-section\">\n<div class=\"container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"boldgrid-section\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\" style=\"padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px;\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<h1 class=\"\">1 Person &#8211; 3 Different Views<\/h1>\n<p class=\"\">This section takes a look at Dad&#8217;s ethnicity as provided by 23andMe, MyHeritage, and Ancestry.&nbsp; As you look at them, you will note significant differences in both the ethnicity and the detail provided.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\" style=\"text-align: center;\">23andMe<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row color1-border-color color2-background-color color-2-text-contrast bg-background-color\" style=\"padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; border-style: double; border-width: 2px;\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-6 col-md-6 col-sm-6 col-xs-12\">\n<h3 class=\"\">Regions<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">The areas highlighted in color indicate the regions 23andMe has identified as locations associated with unique attributes of Dad&#8217;s DNA.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11807\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11807\" style=\"width: 604px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11807 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"604\" height=\"652\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23.jpg 604w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23-278x300.jpg 278w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23-250x270.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23-550x594.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23-167x180.jpg 167w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23-463x500.jpg 463w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11807\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: 23andMe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The graph shows that they have identified Dad as basically being a Northwestern European. They further break down the categories to show more specific (sub)regions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-6 col-md-6 col-sm-6 col-xs-12\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The (sub)regions focus his ancestral roots in on being British and Irish with small amounts of the other areas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11824 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23andmeregions-1024x617.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23andmeregions-1024x617.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23andmeregions-300x181.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23andmeregions-768x462.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23andmeregions-250x151.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23andmeregions-550x331.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23andmeregions-800x482.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23andmeregions-299x180.jpg 299w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23andmeregions-498x300.jpg 498w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23andmeregions-830x500.jpg 830w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23andmeregions.jpg 1508w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11825 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23sub-1024x782.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23sub-1024x782.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23sub-300x229.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23sub-768x587.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23sub-250x191.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23sub-550x420.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23sub-800x611.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23sub-236x180.jpg 236w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23sub-393x300.jpg 393w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23sub-654x500.jpg 654w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/23sub.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">This chart is something I could have guessed from traditional genealogy given most of his 8 key family lines have likely ties to the UK.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\" style=\"padding-top: 53px; padding-bottom: 0px;\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<h2 class=\"\" style=\"text-align: center;\">MyHeritage<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row color-2-text-contrast color2-background-color\" style=\"padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; border-style: double; border-width: 2px;\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<h3 class=\"\">Regions<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">The regions on the MyHeritage map are shown in various colors.&nbsp; The areas that are grayish and outlined are genetic groups.&nbsp; Those will be discussed in the following section.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11806\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11806\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11806 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-1024x570.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"570\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-1024x570.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-768x428.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-250x139.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-550x306.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-800x445.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-323x180.jpg 323w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-539x300.jpg 539w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-898x500.jpg 898w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage.jpg 1516w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11806\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: MyHeritage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11834 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritageRegions-1024x617.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"405\" height=\"244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritageRegions-1024x617.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritageRegions-300x181.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritageRegions-768x462.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritageRegions-250x151.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritageRegions-550x331.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritageRegions-800x482.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritageRegions-299x180.jpg 299w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritageRegions-498x300.jpg 498w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritageRegions-830x500.jpg 830w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritageRegions.jpg 1508w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 405px) 100vw, 405px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The regions highlighted are those that MyHeritage has determined for Dad.&nbsp; The chart shows the percentages for each region.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">If we look at Dad&#8217;s key families, we would expect French, Irish, Scottish, and English. In addition to these families, I know of connections to Germany.&nbsp; Thus, I was not surprised by Germanic and related regions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">This leaves us with the surprise regions of Norwegian and Breton.&nbsp; Dad has no known connection to Norway.&nbsp; However, the distance between Norway and several of the other regions is not large.&nbsp; Thus, one or more ancestors could have easily migrated to one of the other regions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Brittany, France (Breton) is on the opposite side of France from where Dad&#8217;s Matteer ancestors are believed to have lived.&nbsp; It seems most likely that they migrated to England.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The other surprise is the small percentage Irish.&nbsp; With the name McCracken, even knowing it had roots in a Scottish Clan, we always thought of ourselves as being a good percentage Irish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11845\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11845\" style=\"width: 447px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11845 \" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-Locations-1024x885.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"447\" height=\"387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-Locations-1024x885.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-Locations-300x259.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-Locations-768x664.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-Locations-250x216.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-Locations-550x476.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-Locations-800x692.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-Locations-208x180.jpg 208w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-Locations-347x300.jpg 347w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-Locations-578x500.jpg 578w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MyHeritage-Locations.jpg 1508w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 447px) 100vw, 447px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11845\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: MyHeritage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n<h4>Location of DNA matches<\/h4>\n<p class=\"\">MyHeritage also provides the number of DNA matches a person has in each country. This provides an interesting view when you consider it along with the regions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The chart shows a list of countries and number of matches in each to Dad.&nbsp; Only countries with 10 or more matches are included in the chart.&nbsp; Countries with a green bar are in countries represented by the regions MyHeritage identified.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\">Genetic Groups<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">MyHeritage also provides what they call genetic groups.&nbsp; These are areas where a person shows strong genetic associations to other people that live or lived in the area.&nbsp; My Heritage identified five genetic groups.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li>UK and Ireland<\/li>\n<li>Northeastern and Midwestern USA<\/li>\n<li>Midwestern USA #9<\/li>\n<li>Northeastern and Midwestern USA and Canada (Ontario) #2<\/li>\n<li>Southern USA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\">For each genetic group, MyHeritage used thousands of DNA kits and they state that they have high confidence in each group.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">All of these groups has its specific makeup of settlers.&nbsp; However, all of them include settlers from the UK. All these genetic groups&nbsp; except the &#8220;UK and Ireland&#8221; group include German backgrounds.&nbsp; Each of the genetic groups include places that Dad&#8217;s ancestors lived.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"boldgrid-section\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\" style=\"padding-top: 37px; padding-bottom: 25px;\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<h2 class=\"\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Ancestry<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row color-2-text-contrast color2-background-color\" style=\"padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 12px; border-style: double; border-width: 2px;\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<h3 class=\"\">Regions<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11811\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11811\" style=\"width: 426px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11811 \" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Ethnicity.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"426\" height=\"445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Ethnicity.jpg 704w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Ethnicity-287x300.jpg 287w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Ethnicity-250x261.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Ethnicity-550x575.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Ethnicity-172x180.jpg 172w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Ethnicity-478x500.jpg 478w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 426px) 100vw, 426px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11811\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Ancestry.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The regions highlighted are those that Ancestry has determined for Dad.&nbsp; You will note that the regions are somewhat similar to those of MyHeritage. Yet, there are also differences.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The chart shows the percentages for each region. Ancestry also provides a range.&nbsp; For example, Scotland is 18%.&nbsp; The range, however is 11% to 32%.&nbsp; My understanding is that in comparisons to their data, 18% is the most likely scenario.&nbsp; However, Ancestry found it possible, but less likely, in other parts of&nbsp; the range.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">If we look at Dad&#8217;s key families, traditional genealogy would lead us to&nbsp; expect the regions of Ireland, Germanic Europe, Scotland, and England &amp; Northwestern Europe.&nbsp; Within the Scotland region, Ancestry ties Dad to the Scottish Highlands and Central Lowlands subregion.&nbsp; The only other subregion Ancestry identifies for Dad is the French and German Switzerland subregion, which is likely attributed to the Matteer family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Beyond these regions, Wales also seems likely since Peel Castle is in the vicinity of Wales.&nbsp; You will later see how this reasonable assumption is debunked and why Wales must come into play another way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11849\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11849\" style=\"width: 424px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11849 \" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ancestry-regions-copy-1024x615.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"424\" height=\"254\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ancestry-regions-copy-1024x615.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ancestry-regions-copy-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ancestry-regions-copy-768x462.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ancestry-regions-copy-250x150.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ancestry-regions-copy-550x331.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ancestry-regions-copy-800x481.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ancestry-regions-copy-299x180.jpg 299w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ancestry-regions-copy-499x300.jpg 499w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ancestry-regions-copy-832x500.jpg 832w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ancestry-regions-copy.jpg 1504w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 424px) 100vw, 424px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11849\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Ancestry.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Ancestry associated Dad with the region of Sweden; whereas, MyHeritage associated him with Norway.&nbsp; Although traditional genealogy has yet to uncover a connection to either place, it seems likely that each company is picking up on a DNA attribute, but associating it to different countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Denmark and Iceland are the additional surprise regions.&nbsp; Denmark is close to both the German region and Sweden. Thus, the region of Denmark does not seem like a stretch.&nbsp; MyHeritage also identified this area.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Iceland, however, is a huge surprise.&nbsp; I am wondering if it is one of those regions that comes and then goes again as more is learned about the region.&nbsp; Only time will tell.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"\">Ethnicity &#8211; Split By Parent<\/h4>\n<p class=\"\">Ancestry takes ethnicity a step further and splits it between ethnicity that can be attributed to a person&#8217;s mother and a person&#8217;s father.&nbsp; The following chart shows Dad&#8217;s ethnicity makeup on the right.&nbsp; On the left, it shows the split between his mother and his father.&nbsp; From this we can check to see if he really inherited ethnicity from whom we think he did.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11812\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11812\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11812 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents-1024x416.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents-1024x416.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents-300x122.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents-768x312.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents-1536x624.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents-250x102.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents-550x223.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents-800x325.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents-443x180.jpg 443w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents-739x300.jpg 739w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents-1231x500.jpg 1231w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Parents.jpg 2024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11812\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Ancestry.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11856\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11856\" style=\"width: 407px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11856 \" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-parent-percent-copy-1024x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"407\" height=\"179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-parent-percent-copy-1024x450.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-parent-percent-copy-300x132.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-parent-percent-copy-768x338.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-parent-percent-copy-250x110.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-parent-percent-copy-550x242.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-parent-percent-copy-800x352.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-parent-percent-copy-410x180.jpg 410w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-parent-percent-copy-683x300.jpg 683w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-parent-percent-copy-1138x500.jpg 1138w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-parent-percent-copy.jpg 1479w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 407px) 100vw, 407px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11856\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Percentage of Ethnicity Received From Each Parent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">Each of his parents provided approximately 50% of Dad&#8217;s DNA.&nbsp; However, DNA inherits randomly.&nbsp; Thus, from a given parent&nbsp; you might not get any DNA that indicates one ethnicity, some of another, and all of another.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">If we consider the key families, it is definitely no surprise that Dad&#8217;s mother, Nellie (Peelle) McCracken, provided a good amount of England &amp; Northwestern Europe DNA as her mother&#8217;s ancestors all came from England and her father&#8217;s early ancestors also came from England.&nbsp; Traditional genealogy for key families of Dad&#8217;s father, Joseph Andrew McCracken, haven&#8217;t uncovered the same strength of ties to England.&nbsp; However, traditional genealogy has uncovered some more distant families with ties to England.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Scotland is a bit opposite as I would expect more of Scottish DNA to come from Dad&#8217;s paternal side.&nbsp; Matter of fact, I don&#8217;t know where that much Scottish DNA would have come from on his maternal side.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Germanic Europe is no surprise.&nbsp; Dad&#8217;s Matteer family may fall into that category as they were from an area in France along the border with Germany. Additionally, the Storm(s)(es)\/Sturm family that married into the Ellis line was from Germany and based on a huge number of matches to this family, I am sure they are contributors to the German percentage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The two other regions of interest are Iceland and Wales.&nbsp; From this data, we find that the tie to Iceland was on Dad&#8217;s mom&#8217;s side. Similarly, we learn that the tie to Wales is on his father&#8217;s side.&nbsp; Thus, the assumption made earlier that Wales might be tied to the Peelle family is ruled out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"\">Ethnicity &#8211; Split By Chromosomes<\/h4>\n<p class=\"\">Ancestry also provides a map of the ethnic regions to the chromosomes.&nbsp; The following image shows the mapping of the regions to Dad&#8217;s DNA.&nbsp; The top bar on each chromosome pair represents Dad&#8217;s father&#8217;s side and the bottom bar represents his mother&#8217;s side.&nbsp; The dominance of England &amp; Northwestern Europe is quite evident.&nbsp; And, we can see that the Iceland region is associated with chromosome #15.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Ancestry also provided the ability to compare<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11861 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chrom3-934x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"934\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chrom3-934x1024.jpg 934w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chrom3-274x300.jpg 274w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chrom3-768x842.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chrom3-1400x1536.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chrom3-250x274.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chrom3-550x603.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chrom3-800x878.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chrom3-164x180.jpg 164w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chrom3-456x500.jpg 456w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chrom3.jpg 1734w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 934px) 100vw, 934px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<h4 class=\"\">Ethnicity Comparisons<\/h4>\n<p class=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-11863 \" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chromfamily-1024x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"394\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chromfamily-1024x532.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chromfamily-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chromfamily-768x399.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chromfamily-250x130.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chromfamily-550x286.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chromfamily-800x415.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chromfamily-347x180.jpg 347w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chromfamily-578x300.jpg 578w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chromfamily-963x500.jpg 963w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chromfamily.jpg 1525w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 394px) 100vw, 394px\" \/>Ancestry also provides the capability to compare your regions with those of your DNA matches.&nbsp; The chart shows the DNA regions for Dad, my sister, and myself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">A couple new regions are added, which would have come from my mom&#8217;s side.&nbsp; Additionally, several ethnic regions drop out in my sister and me.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Despite the fact that Mom never did a DNA test, several things can be learned about my mom&#8217;s ethnic regions.&nbsp; First, we know that her ethnic regions must greatly overlap with dad&#8217;s regions.&nbsp; We also know that at minimum Mom has 18% England &amp; Northwestern Europe since my sister has 80% in this region.&nbsp; However, it is likely that she has much more.&nbsp; We also know she had ancestors from Scotland, Finland, and Norway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<h3 class=\"\">Journeys<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">Ancestry&#8217;s &#8220;Journeys&#8221; are similar to MyHeritage&#8217;s &#8220;genetic groups.&#8221;&nbsp; They are areas where a person matches or is expected to match a number of people because their ancestors and other relatives lived in the location.&nbsp; Generally, journeys are more recent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">To date, Ancestry has identified three Journeys for Dad:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li>Easte<span style=\"color: #000000;\">rn South East England, Delaware Valley<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Chesapeake &amp; Midwest Settlers<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">St. Louis, Missouri &amp; Western U.S. Settlers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"subCommunitiesContainer\">\n<p class=\"subCommunitiesListTitle\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"subCommunitiesList\">\n<h4 id=\"journeyOverview\" class=\"title\" data-testid=\"journey-title\">Eastern South East England<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11809 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-England-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-England-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-England-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-England-250x187.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-England-550x411.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-England-800x598.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-England-241x180.jpg 241w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-England-401x300.jpg 401w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-England-669x500.jpg 669w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-England-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-England.jpg 904w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/h4>\n<p class=\"\">Ancestry specifically ties Dad&#8217;s family to&nbsp; two specific areas within this Journey.&nbsp; The West Sussex, West Surrey &amp; Eastern Surrey &amp; Kent&nbsp; area (darkest green) is definitely tied to the Jury and Willett families.&nbsp; They moved from this area to Canada before coming to the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The other specific place is Greater London to Brighton (medium green).&nbsp; This is likely also tied to these families, possibly through people who married into the family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11808\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11808\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11808 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-East-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-East-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-East-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-East-250x166.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-East-550x366.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-East-271x180.jpg 271w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-East-451x300.jpg 451w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-East-752x500.jpg 752w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-Regions-East.jpg 788w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11808\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Ancestry.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4 class=\"timelinePeriodTitle\" data-testid=\"timeline-period\">Delaware Valley, Chesapeake &amp; Midwest Settlers<\/h4>\n<div class=\"overview\" data-testid=\"timeline-overview\">According to Ancestry.com, &#8220;The Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River valleys were popular destinations for colonial migrants from England, Scotland, and German-speaking territories.&#8221; The following of Dad&#8217;s 8 key families lived in the areas shown:&nbsp; McCracken, Matteer, Ellis, Nicholson, Peelle, and Johnson.&nbsp; Thus, Dad has a very strong connection to this Journey.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"timeline-overview\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<div data-testid=\"timeline-overview\"><\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11810\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11810\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11810 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-regions-West-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-regions-West-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-regions-West-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-regions-West-250x187.jpg 250w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-regions-West-550x411.jpg 550w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-regions-West-800x598.jpg 800w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-regions-West-241x180.jpg 241w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-regions-West-401x300.jpg 401w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-regions-West-669x500.jpg 669w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-regions-West-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ancestry-regions-West.jpg 904w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11810\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Ancestry.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4 id=\"journeyOverview\" class=\"title\" data-testid=\"journey-title\">St. Louis, Missouri &amp; Western U.S. Settlers<\/h4>\n<p class=\"timelinePeriodTitle\" data-testid=\"timeline-period\">This area includes much of Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa.&nbsp; At least one member of each of the key families lived within this journey.&nbsp; Despite the fact that none of Dad&#8217;s direct ancestors lived in the northwest, this was a very common destination for people that passed through Kansas and Missouri. I have found people in many different families that had one or more family members that moved to the northwest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-testid=\"timeline-period\">So, what is missing in these journeys?&nbsp; Probably the area that I would expect most is North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky.&nbsp; Regions containing them might show up eventually.&nbsp; However, it is possible that they don&#8217;t show up because much of our family left those areas 200 or more years ago.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"overview\" data-testid=\"timeline-overview\">\n<p class=\"\">Ancestry provides more information about the regions, journeys, and examples of people that lived in each of the regions.&nbsp; <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They also provide details about their processes and research.<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"boldgrid-section\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12\">\n<p class=\"\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DNA and associated analysis tells us a lot about our ancestry.&nbsp; It is a relatively new field, but I can no longer imagine doing genealogy without it.&nbsp; Much of my work with DNA has focused on finding matches to breakdown brick walls.&nbsp; This article touches on information DNA provides about our ethnicity.&nbsp; I compare results from 3 different companies using my dad&#8217;s DNA. Ethnicity Estimates Ethnicity estimates is an area of DNA analysis that is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,49,51,34,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dna","category-ellis","category-johnson","category-mccracken","category-peelle"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>DNA Ethnicity Meets Traditional Genealogy - Family History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/dna-ethnicity-meets-traditional-genealogy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DNA Ethnicity Meets Traditional Genealogy - Family History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DNA and associated analysis tells us a lot about our ancestry.&nbsp; It is a relatively new field, but I can no longer imagine doing genealogy without it.&nbsp; Much of my work with DNA has focused on finding matches to breakdown brick walls.&nbsp; This article touches on information DNA provides about our ethnicity.&nbsp; I compare results from 3 different companies using my dad&#8217;s DNA. 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