Had my DNA tested a few years back. There was a surprise swimming in my gene pool.
Around the time I was born, it was said that if you had one drop of “black” blood that you were black. My dad and I had dishwater blond hair and light blue eyes. From his side of the family I inherited 1% Cameroon/Bantu people. A few months after my test result came back, I received a call from a first cousin I haven’t met. She received her DNA result and it was very similar to mine.
Dad was the one who always said mom’s hair was so coarse he wondered if one of her ancestors was black. From her I inherited 1% Native American.
Wish I’d had testing done by the company that tells you how much Neanderthal blood is haunting my genome. Wonder what percentage of Neanderthal a person has to be before s/he is considered an endangered species?
I had a surprise as well. Apparently, my maternal great-great grandfather was “King Carter” a multi-millionaire plantation owner in N.C. about whom much has been written. He owned over 500 slaves; what good news for me in this woke world. Not!
Based upon the sexual activity going on in these environments, who knows how many related siblings I may have?
On this note, I found it quite interesting that Sally Hemming’s progeny by Jefferson were freed and chose to move northward and reinvented both their names and background. They were determined to “pass” and apparently did so. This is why we know so little about them.
I read that not all had dropped the Jefferson name. I do know that Jefferson, and many others, wanted to free their slaves but didn’t do so for reason that would put her or him in jeopardy if a clear “owner” wasn’t known. Jefferson and several others wanted to free their slaves. The times made it almost impossible. As an analogy, if you are discovered to be homosexual in parts of the middle east you could be publicly executed. In the USA, people are no longer thrown into asylums because of it. The times and culture a person lives in can be an unforgiving master. The fact that his children by Sally Hemming could pass for white back in those days had to be protected, even if it meant making a new name for themselves.
My sister had her DNA tested, too. She has the Native American, but she didn’t inherit the Camaroon/Bantu people gene. Oddly, she is the one with dark brown hair and brown eyes, and she has my dad’s build.
I know of several people who had their DNA tested that didn’t have any surprises in the gene pool other than some additional European nations the didn’t expect to find living inside their bodies. 😅
I have,always meant to do it, but never get around to it. My father always said that my mother’s maiden name sounded French, and it kind of does, although both her parents came from Ireland. But lots of different ethnic groups passed through Ireland over the years-you can tell just by looking at most of my relatives that they aren’t totally Irish, although supposedly, we are. One of these days, I will get around to it 🙂
That was a surprise to me, too. My paternal grand father and grand mother were Irish. My maternal grand mother was Irish and my maternal grandfather was French Canadian. I expected to be 3/4 Irish and 1/4 French. Instead, it’s 45% Scottish, 29% English & NW Europe (including France), 18% Ireland and 6% Wales. It makes me wonder if the criminal in the LeGendre family that escaped to Canada actually killed the real LeGendre and took his identity, leaving his real identity on the dead man. (Please forgive my writer’s mind. It often goes into overdrive).
“I read that not all had dropped the Jefferson name.”
Correct. One son hung in there and he is the reason we know any of this history but he refused to disclose any of the names of his siblings.
Also, I support what that family did to protect themselves. Three of them all agreed to change their last names so there would be no association with their parents.
Sally Hemmings was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson’s father-in-law and sent to TJ as a wedding gift! She was technically a half-sister of our third president’s wife.
Oy… But Sally was determined her children would succeed in life and enjoy freedom because they were able to “pass.”
People are funny about that but apparently successful mulattos and tri-racials (Barack Obama and Tiger Woods par exemple) are identified solely as African-Americans.
As an aside here, BHO chose to go down the African-American path for political reasons and married an A-A woman even though he was engaged to a Caucasian girl at Harvard. The hypocrisy simply gags me.
In the meantime, for all his personal foibles, at least Tiger never identified as anything but a world class golfer!
FYI my too white 4 d’Sisters daughter’s African American blood would have mostly come her way via Jamaica, man, with additional spices added in Costa Rica (CR).
She was able to meet her maternal grandmother in CR and converse with complete and total fluency in Spanish with gramma. RIP She was one helluva cook!
ST UnWoke! 
Things that make me go hmm.
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And while we’re talking about nonsense…
Had my DNA tested a few years back. There was a surprise swimming in my gene pool.
Around the time I was born, it was said that if you had one drop of “black” blood that you were black. My dad and I had dishwater blond hair and light blue eyes. From his side of the family I inherited 1% Cameroon/Bantu people. A few months after my test result came back, I received a call from a first cousin I haven’t met. She received her DNA result and it was very similar to mine.
Dad was the one who always said mom’s hair was so coarse he wondered if one of her ancestors was black. From her I inherited 1% Native American.
Wish I’d had testing done by the company that tells you how much Neanderthal blood is haunting my genome. Wonder what percentage of Neanderthal a person has to be before s/he is considered an endangered species?
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Lol, too funny 🙂
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It was rather hilarious. I showed the results to some of the people in the office — of all shade and sizes. They thought it was hilarious, too.
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I had a surprise as well. Apparently, my maternal great-great grandfather was “King Carter” a multi-millionaire plantation owner in N.C. about whom much has been written. He owned over 500 slaves; what good news for me in this woke world. Not!
Based upon the sexual activity going on in these environments, who knows how many related siblings I may have?
On this note, I found it quite interesting that Sally Hemming’s progeny by Jefferson were freed and chose to move northward and reinvented both their names and background. They were determined to “pass” and apparently did so. This is why we know so little about them.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I read that not all had dropped the Jefferson name. I do know that Jefferson, and many others, wanted to free their slaves but didn’t do so for reason that would put her or him in jeopardy if a clear “owner” wasn’t known. Jefferson and several others wanted to free their slaves. The times made it almost impossible. As an analogy, if you are discovered to be homosexual in parts of the middle east you could be publicly executed. In the USA, people are no longer thrown into asylums because of it. The times and culture a person lives in can be an unforgiving master. The fact that his children by Sally Hemming could pass for white back in those days had to be protected, even if it meant making a new name for themselves.
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I don’ know NAWTHIN’ ‘bout testin’ genes, but my BMD sez these companies ALWAYS say you have a drop of African blood, just in case…
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Lol, you are too funny too, Hypatia 🙂
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My sister had her DNA tested, too. She has the Native American, but she didn’t inherit the Camaroon/Bantu people gene. Oddly, she is the one with dark brown hair and brown eyes, and she has my dad’s build.
I know of several people who had their DNA tested that didn’t have any surprises in the gene pool other than some additional European nations the didn’t expect to find living inside their bodies. 😅
LikeLiked by 2 people
I have,always meant to do it, but never get around to it. My father always said that my mother’s maiden name sounded French, and it kind of does, although both her parents came from Ireland. But lots of different ethnic groups passed through Ireland over the years-you can tell just by looking at most of my relatives that they aren’t totally Irish, although supposedly, we are. One of these days, I will get around to it 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
That was a surprise to me, too. My paternal grand father and grand mother were Irish. My maternal grand mother was Irish and my maternal grandfather was French Canadian. I expected to be 3/4 Irish and 1/4 French. Instead, it’s 45% Scottish, 29% English & NW Europe (including France), 18% Ireland and 6% Wales. It makes me wonder if the criminal in the LeGendre family that escaped to Canada actually killed the real LeGendre and took his identity, leaving his real identity on the dead man. (Please forgive my writer’s mind. It often goes into overdrive).
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Wild! 🙂
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“I read that not all had dropped the Jefferson name.”
Correct. One son hung in there and he is the reason we know any of this history but he refused to disclose any of the names of his siblings.
Also, I support what that family did to protect themselves. Three of them all agreed to change their last names so there would be no association with their parents.
Sally Hemmings was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson’s father-in-law and sent to TJ as a wedding gift! She was technically a half-sister of our third president’s wife.
Oy… But Sally was determined her children would succeed in life and enjoy freedom because they were able to “pass.”
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My middle daughter found out that her +25% “African American” blood did not make her black enough for the sisters on some (church?) field trip.
Intersectionality has been a difficult science since day one.
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People are funny about that but apparently successful mulattos and tri-racials (Barack Obama and Tiger Woods par exemple) are identified solely as African-Americans.
Go figure.
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As an aside here, BHO chose to go down the African-American path for political reasons and married an A-A woman even though he was engaged to a Caucasian girl at Harvard. The hypocrisy simply gags me.
In the meantime, for all his personal foibles, at least Tiger never identified as anything but a world class golfer!
LikeLiked by 2 people
FYI my too white 4 d’Sisters daughter’s African American blood would have mostly come her way via Jamaica, man, with additional spices added in Costa Rica (CR).
She was able to meet her maternal grandmother in CR and converse with complete and total fluency in Spanish with gramma. RIP She was one helluva cook!
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What could be more ‘white’ than dating a white girl?
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Curiosity.
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