Forewarning. This is Veronica, the other Genealogy Sister, writing today. You’ll be glad to know that Maryann who writes 99.9% of the posts will be back online with a new post very soon. I decided to make a rare appearance on the Genealogy Sisters blog to talk about my recent experience with Ancestry.com new DNA feature “Genetic Communities,” which is now available for those who purchase and submit an autosomal DNA test.

According to Ancestry.com

“Genetic Communities™ are groups of AncestryDNA members who are connected through DNA most likely because they descend from a population of common ancestors, even if they no longer live in the area where those ancestors once lived.

For example, some Genetic Communities trace their roots back to groups of people who were isolated geographically. Mountains, rivers, lack of roads, or other barriers made it likely that each new generation would marry someone who lived close to home. Others have their roots in groups who typically married others of the same religion or ethnic group. In each case, these groups came to share a significant amount of DNA. Modern-day descendants who inherited some of that DNA make up Genetic Communities.”

I was so excited when I read the announcement and was looking forward to knowing more from my DNA test than the more ancient origins, which until now is what was available to researchers on Ancestry.com. From those results I had learned what I pretty much already knew: I am 99% European (35% Irish, 50% Eastern Europe, 5% Western Europe, & 9% other) and what I didn’t know: 1% Southern Asia.

The new Genetic Communities results show that my Irish roots from past few hundred years are primarily within 2 subgroups: Connacht Irish (60% confidence level), Irish in Cork (20% confidence level) To a lesser degree, my DNA test indicates I also belong to the Irish subgroups from  Mayo, Galway, and Munster.  So basically despite the Dorans living for a long time in Belfast, Ireland our clan most likely migrated there for work. All making the story Sal Rafferty told her cousins that the Dorans came from the West of Ireland, perhaps from County Clare more likely true than not.

Map of Ireland download courtesy of http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ruairc/ireland.htm

For my 50% Eastern Europe roots I did expect to see the Polish Community from Lesser Poland Malopolska  but the inclusion of Swietokrzyskie  was a surprise (20% confidence level for both).  I do not appear to have Polish roots from the rest of Poland.

Our primary research into church records has shown our Polish family lived in the same villages, and usually in the same homes, for at least 200 years (1700s through early 1900s). The villages were located in the Carpathian foothills between the modern cities of Tarnow, Golice, and Bobowa. Roughly 50 – 60 miles east of Krakow, Poland.

Map download courtesy of FamilySearch.org URL https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/File:Poland_map_with_English.png

Have you submitted a DNA sample yet to Ancestry.com or FamilyTree DNA or some other genetic testing service? Which one(s)?  Did you find out anything you didn’t already know? Have any of your DNA connections pointed you in a new direction of family research? Let us know how it turned out for you.