Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Finding my Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather through @ancestrydna 100% Irish

Recently I had the Ancestry DNA test done to add the results to my family tree. I was looking forward to finding more family connections and also learning about DNA testing. Several years ago I had the National Geographic DNA test done (unfortunately the results of this could not be imported into an Ancestry tree) - this told me I was 42% Northern European, 37% Mediterranean, 19% South-west Asian, and 2% Native American. Clearly the National Geographic test goes back a long time, and is no use for  a family tree. 

So - what do the latest results reveal? Are there any skeletons in the family closet? Would I find new relatives?

First - not surprisingly I am 100% Irish! I was interested to find that Munster is where I am predominantly from (darker colours on map to right). This is my Dad's side of the family. My Mum's family were from Tipperary and Wexford, though this does not show up as strong in the map. 

I did know that my Great-Grandmother Margaret Coburn on my Mum's side was from Kildare, and that she was a Protestant. What I did not know was that her parents and ancestors were Northern Protestants from the Lisburn/Hillsborough area in Co Down. There's Northern Protestant blood in my veins! Cool!


My DNA was matched with another Ancestry user with whom Margaret Coburn's parents are a common ancestor. I have a new 3rd cousin who lives in England and is a descendent of Margaret's sister Eliza. On her tree I was able to find Margaret's Grandfather Moses, whose father in turn was David Coburn born around 1805. David is therefore my 4th Great-Grandfather - the furthest I have been able to go back. I hope to find out more about my Coburn connections. Here's the direct line of descent from David to me:



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