As I have discussed in other posts, my DNA indicates that according ancestry.com DNA ethnicity estimate I am: Scandinavian-30%; Western European-26%; Great Britain-24%; Ireland-17%; and others- Finnish/Northern Russia region, Iberian Peninsula-3%.
So, why is my Scandinavian DNA higher than 25%? Well, I have been following again my grandmother Nellie's family tree, and I have discovered that her tree leads me to the Vikings and the Normans of France, who had Viking roots also.
But according to my family tree, I should be 25% Scandinavian since my maternal grandfather, Elof Malmgren, is of Swedish roots. I discussed his family in my post titled My Swedish Roots. Elof's wife, Florence English was of Irish roots, both my paternal grandparents had English and European roots, as I have discussed before.
The other reason I am interested right now is my is watching the second season of the cable mini-series, "The Vikings". It is about the legendary person and character who was a Norse leader and hero, Ragnar Lodbrok, who may or may not be a real person and may or may not be my ancestor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar_Lodbrok:
Also, it is about Rollo, Robert, Hrólfr, Rolf, 1st Duke of Normandy, my 33rd GGF and great-great-great-grandfather of William the Conqueror, whom both, I can reach through more than 50 branches of my family tree. As a character based on the historical Rollo, he is played by Clive Standen, as Ragnar Lodbrok's brother.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollo
So, why is my Scandinavian DNA higher than 25%? Well, I have been following again my grandmother Nellie's family tree, and I have discovered that her tree leads me to the Vikings and the Normans of France, who had Viking roots also.
But according to my family tree, I should be 25% Scandinavian since my maternal grandfather, Elof Malmgren, is of Swedish roots. I discussed his family in my post titled My Swedish Roots. Elof's wife, Florence English was of Irish roots, both my paternal grandparents had English and European roots, as I have discussed before.
The other reason I am interested right now is my is watching the second season of the cable mini-series, "The Vikings". It is about the legendary person and character who was a Norse leader and hero, Ragnar Lodbrok, who may or may not be a real person and may or may not be my ancestor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar_Lodbrok:
Also, it is about Rollo, Robert, Hrólfr, Rolf, 1st Duke of Normandy, my 33rd GGF and great-great-great-grandfather of William the Conqueror, whom both, I can reach through more than 50 branches of my family tree. As a character based on the historical Rollo, he is played by Clive Standen, as Ragnar Lodbrok's brother.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollo
Again, discrepancies between DNA and family trees are explained by ancestry.com: "Your family tree may go back hundreds of years, but there could be more to your family’s story that’s just out of reach of paper documents and conventional research. Ancestry DNA can reach back hundreds, maybe even a thousand years, to tell you things that are not in historical records—things you might have never known otherwise. Although our ethnicity algorithms and prediction models will continue to improve over time, there are a few reasons why your ethnicity may not be exactly what you expected: 1. Your genetic ethnicity may go back further than your family tree. 2. While your ancestors lived in a certain country, there may have been genetic influence from other places. 3. You don’t necessarily share common DNA with all of your ancestors. "
Rollo, First Duke of Normandy
I can follow my family tree to another Viking leader, Eystein Ivarsson, (810-872), Glumra (the Clatterer), a Norwegian Jarl, Earl of Oppland and Hedmark, Nord-Trondelag, Norway, who was the ancestor to a lot of Jarls or Earls of Orkney, and Scotland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eystein_Ivarsson
I can follow my family tree to another Viking leader, Eystein Ivarsson, (810-872), Glumra (the Clatterer), a Norwegian Jarl, Earl of Oppland and Hedmark, Nord-Trondelag, Norway, who was the ancestor to a lot of Jarls or Earls of Orkney, and Scotland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eystein_Ivarsson
