This month we’re focusing on Making it Meaningful with our friends at Ancestry. Last year, we both took Ancestry DNA tests and then got to compare our results.
Ancestry, the global leader in family history and consumer genomics, harnesses the information found in family trees, historical records, and DNA to help people gain a new level of understanding about their lives.
We were shocked to learn that although we are identical twins, our Ancestry DNA test results were different! You can read the full post here.
Since we are trying to make connections to our ancestors and learn about some of their individual stories, we decided to compare DNA results with our parents as well. They both took Ancestry tests last year as well.
More than 20 billion records have been added to the site over the past two decades, and Ancestry adds an average of two million records to its website each day based on the average of record growth over the last five years.
#1 The results will surprise you!
We were expecting to see very similar results, but to our surprise, everyone’s is different. It’s absolutely amazing to see how detailed the results on Ancestry’s website are.
When I was discussing results with my parents, my mom mentioned that she always thought she was 100% from England and Scotland, but was surprised to find a large part of her DNA was from France. She has always felt a special connection to France, so it was really meaningful to her.
#2 Connect to your roots
I’m amazed at how a detailed map can make you feel more fully yourself. It’s something that happens when you start learning about ancestors. I have started to feel more complete as a person. To know that all of these stories of those who have gone before you really are there for you to learn from.
It makes you feel more globally connected to realize we all came from somewhere. It is really special to recognize where your ancestors came from and the lives that they led. You might even find yourself finding a new hero or heroine to look up to.
#3 Honor your ancestors
For me, it’s become a way to honor my ancestors and all of the sacrifices they made. If they hadn’t made many of those sacrifices, I would not have the privileged life I do.
In my travels and education, it became clear that Americans fall behind when it comes to cultures and places where ancestors are revered and honored. I realized that in my home, ancestors were largely forgotten.
That’s the entire reason for the Make it Meaningful challenge. Not forgetting those who came before and honoring them by learning about their lives and stories.
I’ve done this largely on the Ancestry website where it is so simple to create a family tree and learn more about ancestors.
Ancestry members have created 100 million family trees containing more than 13 billion ancestral profiles and have uploaded and attached more than 330 million photographs, scanned documents, and written stories to their trees.
It is so amazing to put a face with a name. It really makes my DNA results and family history come alive for me. The photo above is my Great Great Grandmother Margaret Jarvis. So fascinating to find out that she worked as a midwife in Boston and then had one daughter when she was 37 years old.
Here are a couple of fascinating facts:
- Ancestry users can access records dating back to the 13th century.
- Ancestry has over 6 billion historical records for the United States.
- Ancestry hosts records from over 80 countries worldwide.
So, I challenge you to go over DNA results with your loved ones and learn about one ancestor from each of your results.
