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Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Am I really Hispanic? Ancestry.com helped me figure that out


Being adopted comes with a lot of questions. One of the big ones is… What is my heritage/ancestry? In the past nobody would know unless told. I was told some, I was told that I was ½ Cuban from my biological father’s side, and from seeing pics of my biological mother I presumed Europe was a big factor. Fast forward to me being 29 years old (ok 34, but a girl can stop time, right?). Anyway, I wanted to dig deeper and had a great opportunity to work with Ancestry.com and find some of those answers.




The kit is very easy to understand. Once you register and set up your account you pretty much just spit into the tube, add the additive and you are done. Then all there is left is mailing it back and waiting or the results. Typically, you will get the results back in 6-8 weeks, via email.  So I waited patiently, ok not so patiently for the email to come, and finally it did.



What I saw right away confused me as I didn’t see. Any South American countries or Islands that would make it scream HISPANIC like I was told. Upon further discover, like simply clicking on the “Iberian Peninsula”, Ancestry showed me that those countries are Spaniards, Cubans, Dominicans & Venezuelans. So, it made much more sense. Much like Europe South. There is even 8% Nigeria in the mix, which would still make sense as so many of Cuba is really other countries settling, thus making the mixed ethnicity.



I know some of my biological mother’s side so the Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland) etc came at no shock, but still very cool to see.



When you are going through the different ethnicities you can click on “overview” and it talks about that area. Also there is a map that shows your highlighted areas and you can view how and where your ancestries migrated over time.



Since I’m adopted, I have never done a real family tree, at least not a biological one. It’s a joke in our house that our family tree would be a forest as out of 5 of us kids, 4 of us are adopted. So, with the help of ancestry and talking to a few bio relatives, I was able to create a family tree of my bio mother’s side. I have no information on my bio father so that is left blank. Once you start filling some in, Ancestry helps you out with hints. With those hints you can get in touch with family you didn’t know you have. They actually matched me with a first cousin, funny enough, I already knew who she was and am friends with her on facebook.

One of the few pics I have from when I was a baby. 2 of my cousins with me




One last thing to mention is that Ancestry does give you the raw DNA file so you can upload that to read it if you are interested. This gives you some information on genetics. Please do remember that this is only info and not to be used to diagnose anything.

my girls 



Taking the whole site and experience into account and I’m so glad I did this. It doesn’t change who I am as Katrina, it just gives me a better understanding of where I came from. My oldest daughter is 15, and her bio father is from Mexico. She’s really interested in doing this for her, so I think I will buy a kit soon, that way she can see her ancestry as well. We know my youngest’s but who knows, one day she may want to see more in depth.


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Disclosure: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. Top Notch Material blog will always provide honest opinions, beliefs or experiences on products reviewed. We will only recommend products or services that we feel are of benefit to our readers. If you have any questions, please contact me at katrina dot gehman {at} gmail com. The disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. 

17 comments:

  1. I love this. Super cool that you were able to get this information. I've always wanted to do this because I don't know everything about my parents' backgrounds.

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  2. It is so wonderful to have a deeper connection to your blood ancestors by way of DNA testing. I hope that you have found you come from a long line of humans that have thrived before you and that you are worthy of caring literally, the family genes. My blessings to you!! Xo, Evelyn, PathofPresence

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    1. Sorry, the link for commenting below is giving me some kind strange error message. This is meant to be my comment, not a reply to Evelyn Lo Foreman.

      So anyway, that's really interesting. I've always wanted to do ancestry testing. I've read some other stuff about how companies such as ancestry & 23andme have data security issues. So I guess I'm a little nervious...But this is an awesome read! I definitely enjoyed the post. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  3. Ive always wanted to do ancestry ad see my results. Its amazing to have a connection with your roots.

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  4. I have seen this on commercials, and I'm really interested. I wasn't sure if it was worth it, but your first-hand experience has sold me!

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    1. I have always wanted to try this too after seeing the commercials. I want to know how much percentage of Portugeuse I am.

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  5. I have always wanted to do my ancestry. This is so very interesting!

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  6. My husband has been working on his ancestry. It's amazing what you can learn!

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  7. This is so cool. I am pretty sure I know my background, but I would love to see for sure.

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  8. If I were adopted I would definitely do the DNA test with ancestry. I have traced my family back pretty far.

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  9. How awesome! I have been thinking about doing something like this. I have no idea where I am coming from

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  10. I loved doing mine! I found out I am definitely where I am from but, with a whole bunch of interesting extras from all over. I love it.

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  11. Toni | Boulder LocavoreFriday, June 29, 2018

    That sounds really cool! Would be interested to find out my roots!

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  12. I think this is so neat. I have wanted to do this for a while now too. I'm sure I'd learn a lot of interesting things as well.

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  13. My husband and I just did ours. My DNA favored my dad side so much more than my mom's which made me sad since I knew more of my mom's history. It's still really cool.

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  14. It is great that you were able to find out your ancestry! I did not do mine but i know there is some italian, swiss and german blood!

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  15. Wow! This is amazing. I remember when David and I were in still in the US, we've been seeing this on TV for awhile. I'm always amazed (until now) on how this really works for people who want to know and learn their backgrounds.

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