DNA

Bernie and I had our DNA tested through Ancestry.com. The test we had is called an autosomal DNA test which is a basic test to check for your ethnicity (what countries and regions your ancestors come from) and to find other people who match your DNA who have taken the autosomal DNA test with that company. I also had that test done through 23andMe.com, with almost the same results of ethnicity but a different database of people who had taken their autosomal DNA test. These autosomal DNA tests are great for finding your estimated ethnicity and people who share our DNA. One of my main goals of taking these DNA tests is to find relatives who have unknown father's. There are three fairly close in distance: Eric Bernhard Christoffersson's father, who is unknown by records because his mother had him out of wedlock in Stora Tuna, Dalarna, Sweden in 1866. Lillian Alexandra Larsen (see Genealogy Mystery page to see how I solved that question). Finally, the third is Brita Katarina Johansdotter born in 1849 in Varnum, Sweden (she is Gerda's mother - Grandma Söderling's mother). Finding Brita father is going to be very hard. I have some hope for Eric's father.

There are more specific DNA tests that check for direct lineage through your father's male relatives called Y-DNA tests. Y-DNA tests only look for male ancestors' chromosomes directly through your father, his father and his father etc. They are expensive tests - I did the most comprehensive and it cost over $400 with FamilyTreeDNA. Only males can take Y-DNA tests because females do not have Y chromosomes. There are also tests that only look for your mother's mother and so on. These tests are called mtDNA or Mitochondrial DNA. Anyone can take these tests because we all have X chromosomes (basic science review Men = xy chromosomes, Female = xx chromosomes). I had an mtDNA test done through FamilyTreeDNA also, those are cheaper (@$160).

So, What is DNA and how does it help with genealogy, ancestry and other questions?

Each of us receives two sets of 23 chromosomes - one set from each parent so we receive 50% of our chromosomes from mom and 50% from dad. Click here to see a breakdown of my DNA by the two sets of 22 chromosomes - only 22 of 23 are tested. That graphic is from 23andMe, each pair is one from mom and one from dad that is why they are grouped in pairs. Ancestry.com actually allows you to identify which parents are which and which part of the chromosome is attached to a particular country also- click here for Ancestry's graphic. Here is a smaller side by side comparison - click either one to see a larger view. Because they use different groupings for ethnicity there will be difference in lengths of ethnicity estimated in each chromosome.

DNA tests can find relatives and determine how close they are to you based on the percentage of DNA you share. Sometimes it is very specific, like Bernie and I are listed as "Brother" (see below) Aunt Patty Branson is listed as my "Aunt," Patrick Branson is my "1st cousin," and Bruce Scovern (Sal's son) my "2nd cousin." If you look closely, you can see that relationship is determined by the centimorgans (cM), or amount, of DNA we share. Bernie and I share 2,551 cM, which is a lot. You may ask why is it not 100% since we have the same two parents and inherit 50% from each? The answer is each sibling might inherit different parts of our mom and/or dad's full DNA since we only inherit 50% of their DNA. So, I may inherit more of mom's Norwegian genes and Bernie gets more of her Dutch genes - in fact, that is the case, as we will see further below. For now, here is a listing of my closest relatives on Ancestry.com:

The fewer cM you have in common with a relative generally makes them more distant in generations or cousins. You can see that these cousins below are quite distant, 5th-8th cousins with only 10cM shared. Note that Ancestry helps delineate between "Paternal" and "Maternal" which will help when you try to figure out how you may be related. Also, since DNA testing is relatively new only people who have been tested in the last decade or so are going to be listed. You may find how you are related to the person by looking for common ancestors if they have filled out a family tree, or by who else is in your list of matches and match with them but I won't go into that now. If you want to know more let me know.

The estimates on ethnicity are based on analyzing data for millions of people and their location. The estimates vary from one company to another. For example, Ancestry.com says I am 54% Swedish and 14% Norwegian while 23andMe has it as broken down differently and I am 62% Scandinavian with further breakdowns by counties within the two countries (by the way, there are pretty darn accurate with that breakdown based on my genealogical work).

I want to share the results I have with Ancestry.com and 23andMe tests with you. I am still trying to figure out the Y-DNA and mtDNA results from FamilyTreeDNA, it seems one needs a degree in DNA to decipher these - ha - but I am going to have a go at it ASAP. I am spending my time working on this website and uploading photos and videos currently.

My Ancestry Autosomal DNA Ethnicity Results

23andMe Autosomal DNA Ethnicity Results

23andMe Scandinavia Breakdown

As you can see there are differences between the two companies but mostly agree that we are about 70-75% Scandinavian when you include Finland. You may notice by the map of Sweden and Norway above we have a very strong tie to Central Sweden (darkest län or county), an area called Dalarna - it is famous for the Dalarna horses. I have a few in my home - see below. This is where Eric Bernhard Christoffersson and Caroline Berggren come from, mostly near Borlänge. Gerda Allard and Knut Söderling come from the next darkest area below them: Västra Götland, the most common city for that line is Motala. Sivert comes from Møre og Romsdal in the lower central part of Norway, just south of Tronheim. Anna's family hails from the northern part of Norway called Troms. The closest city is Ibestad. See the History, Language and Geography page to see maps and other information on where all our Scandinavian relatives came from.

We can further breakdown ethnicity by parents using Ancestry.com here are the estimated ethnicities for Larry Christopher and Patty Branson including an estimate for each parent. Patty's Parent 1 is her mother (Lillian), and Parent 2 is her father (Gib). Remember we don't always inherit all of our parent's DNA. Here is a good example. I don't have Germanic Europe (which is Dutch from Ackermans) yet Patty has 10% from her dad.

Final DNA graphic is the comparison with Bernie, Patty and Larry. Notice that Bernie and I are pretty close but he has the Germanic and Scottish blood I don't. Also, this is an updated mix for Patty Branson from the one above. Ancestry.com updates its estimates periodically. This is from April 16, 2024.

Final notes: Remember the regions are estimates and usually come with a range (like my Swedish can range between 47-66% according to Ancestry.com). Although these estimates are pretty accurate, they do have some other varitions. For example, Norway, Sweden and Finland are very close geographically and there has been much intermingling of DNA so the exact Norway/Sweden/Finland mixtures might be off by a bit. Anna comes from Northern Norway and as you can see on a map that is in very close proximity to Northern Sweden and Finland. Autosomal DNA usually is pretty accurate back 500 years or so. That takes us to about 1500 where most document trails end. We are lucky in that most of the countries our ancestors come are from kept good records, albeit hard to read at times, beginning around 1500 (England, Scotland, Norway, Sweden and Finland). There are some pre-Viking records that go back to 500 A.D. The Viking Era is considered by most to be from @800 A.D. to 1066 A.D. I have traced some of Anna's roots that far back and farther. 42 GENERATIONS AND 1500 YEARS! Here is the earlies branch in our tree (click on graphic to see larger version):

Here are the major takeaways from DNA analysis:

- We are mostly Swedish, roughly 50%, not just from Bud, but Karen has some Swedish also based on both Patty Branson's DNA and the parent mixture estimates for Karen. This is a bit humorous if you recall Grandma Ackerman loved to tease Swedes and was fond of saying "Ten thousand Swedes ran through the weeds chased by one Norwegian" This matches with the genealogical research I have done. All four of Bud's grandparents came directly from Sweden and with Lillian's grandmother coming from Northern Norway there is likely Swedish DNA in her she passed down to us.

- We are about 14% Norwegian. not just from Karen but it should be noted that Bud has Norwegian DNA also. This also matches genealogy. Karen's grandmother, Nana, came from Norway.

- We are @20-25% British (England, including Wales and Scotland to a much smaller extent). Again, this matches my genealogical research. The Dolphs, Lamberts, Bridgman and many other branches of our tree trace back to England. I haven't found many who come from Wales but there could be some ancestors from Western England also impacting that result?

- We have Dutch relatives. Ackerman is a Dutch name which traces way back to ancestors coming to the North America in @1640s. That is about the same time many of our English ancestors came over also. I may not have much Dutch according to Ancestry.com but 23andMe says that I have some Northwest Europe and Germanic (which includes the Netherlands).

- 23andMe finds that I have some Greek and Balkan DNA that goes way back. I am dubious of this finding but not dismissing it for sure. It also claims I have a small trace amount of Mesopotamia and Persa, 0.4%. This is likely a carryover from the migration of humans out of Eastern Africa through the Middle East into Europe and other places.

- I was able to confirm that Adonijah Dolph Jr. was Lillian A. Larsen's father through DNA even though her birth certificate and public records show he did not marry Rose (Nana) until 2 years after her birth. See the Genealogy Mystery page to see how I was able to use both document research and DNA to verify Adonijah is our great-grandfather.

- My next DNA research will be to try to find Eric Bernhard Christoffersson's father. He was born Aprill 22, 1866 to Johanna Lundberg in Stora Tuna, Dalarna with the father listed as "Okänt" or unknown translated to English. Unlike Lillian, we have no clue who the father might be. On a side note, I have had a man from Sweden contact me to help him find out if one of the Söderlings was his ancestor. Sadly, so far there is no DNA connection with us Söderlings but he has a lead that his great-grandmother worked at the same factory as one of the Söderlings and it was family lore that he was the father. In the pre-DNA testing days that would have been what was passed on, now, we can use DNA to confirm, or reject, those family yarns about ancestors who might be...

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