So much has changed!

So a few years ago I decided to try out the new Ancestry.com DNA test. Why? I was curious about my ethnicity. My results showed 95% British Isles and 5% unknown.  That seemed about right based on what my grandmother had told me. I did notice that other people had more in-depth results and really wished that mine had been that way too. 

Later on I read that Ancestry.com recommends that you check back periodically as they are always adding new world areas to their DNA database. I figured that mine would stay the same, but thought what it is going to hurt to give it a quick check, so I did.

I have to say that I saw quite a change in my blood line.  I was amazed at all the different areas of the world my ancestors came from.  First off it showed that I was overall 99% European and 1% Native American.  We have always been told that there was Cherokee in our family, so now finally the proof. It is a small amount, but we will take it!

They then took that 99% European and broke it down to areas of Europe and percentages of each. According to my results I am:

48% Western Europe: Primarily located in: Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein

18% Scandinavia: Primarily located in: Sweden, Norway, Denmark

15% Great Britain: Primarily located in: England, Scotland, Wales

9% Iberian Peninsula: Primarily located in: Spain, Portugal

9% Ireland: Primarily located in: Ireland, Wales, Scotland






I have always been super interested in my family ancestry. I would imagine where they came from, the lives they left behind, why they left those lives, etc. I wish that they had written journals or letters so that we could have the knowledge of them.  I can just see the path of immigration that they took. If you really take the time to think about it all these countries were filled with immigrants too. I think about the Roman Empire and how far it extended out or about the Vikings and how they explored out into other parts of Europe. These two groups of people extended their bloodline and it became part of their new country of residence. I have to admit that finding out we had just a wee bit of Viking blood in us was both surprising and thrilling. 

 Before our trip to France I checked back into my family tree and discovered some French ancestors who later went to England. It made me feel a stronger connection while I was there. It was like finding a little piece of myself in a far off land. I have always wanted to travel the world and maybe someday I can visit all the other amazing countries that my family came from. 

I think this is so cool!!

"That's my 'two-cents worth', what's yours?"



The Contoversy of the Confederate Flag

I am sure by now you have heard about this huge mess involving the Confederate flag. I just felt as if I had to deal with this issue in not one, but two separate post. Today I will deal with the controversy about the flag. This post will be short and to the point, but I still feel that it needs addressing.

 



In school we are taught that this flag was flown by a group of men fighting to keep their slaves.

 

 

 

  That these men were willing to die to make sure that their free labor stayed on the plantation and worked until they died.

 

 



We know  that it is being used by men and women who believe that the white race is better than any other. That they have chosen this flag as a symbol for their organization and for what they believe in.

 

 

I can understand how a person, after being taught so much bad about a flag and seeing so many people use it for their own evil, could find it to be offensive. I think about how many things I have seen or been exposed to that I have found offensive over my lifetime. 

 

Can I just let you know that the Confederate flag is not a symbol of hatred, but one of heritage.  I am sure you will not believe that statement, but I ask you to take the time to educate yourself. Please don't just believe everything you are told. Do not allow yourself to be indoctrinated by today's PC crowd. My next blog will be on the flag it self and what it really and truly means and I hope you will take the time to read it and maybe even learn something new.



 



 

 

 

 

 

"That's my 'two-cents worth', what's yours?"

 

 

 



On This Day In History

On this day in History 152 years ago General Robert E. Lee gave the order for one last charge at Gettysburg. This charge was under the command of General George Pickett and would take the Confederate Army up to  Cemetery Ridge to face the Union, under the command of General George Meade.  If you google this day you will get the basic facts about it, but having been to Gettysburg two years ago for the 150th anniversary, I have a little more insight into what that day was like and I want to share it with you.

July 3, 1863

After two days of hard fought battle, General Lee decided to attack the Union middle with a group of 15,000 men. These men would be under the command of General George Pickett. The goal was to attack the middle of the Yankee line, therefore splitting them up and making it easier to win. The day dawned and those Confederates were ready. According to multiple journal entries, of Union soldiers, this is what they saw.

We looked down from Cemetery Ridge to see a large number of Confederates ready to battle. As we watched these men begin to form a line. The stood shoulder to shoulder a mile wide, armed and ready to fight. All at once a yell pierced through the air and the charge began. It was such a sight that we just stood and watched. To see all those men, with no fear of what was to come, just ready to fight for what they believed in, for their South. It was a sight to see.



Of course at the end of the day the Confederates were not able to defeat the Union and General Lee headed back to Virginia on July 4th. In the end over 50,000 men had been lost to death, wounded or disappeared. It was the hardest and harshest battle of the War. My 3X great grandfather, Peter Hicks was wounded in battle on the first day and was kept as a prisoner in a Yankee prison in Maryland until he was released. My 2x great grandfather, James Tilley, was at Gettysburg for the entire battle and was part of Pickett's charge on that final day. I am so very proud of my Confederate Ancestry and always will be.

"That's my 'two-cents worth, what's yours?"