Dutch & French results

Introduction

As the name already implies this blog is dedicated to Tracing African Roots. However many if not most Afro-descendants actually also have additional non-African ancestry. And for some people this part of their DNA might also be interesting to explore further. I have therefore started a new survey featuring the AncestryDNA results of persons from all over Europe. In order to improve correct interpretation of AncestryDNA’s regions by comparing results with persons from verified backgrounds. I shall eventually publish new sections for other parts of the world as well (West Asia, Asia & Pacific, Native Americans). Follow these links for more details:

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Selection of Dutch, French & French Canadian AncestryDNA results 

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FRANCE

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On this page I will feature the AncestryDNA results of people with either a Dutch or French background. In addition i will also post French Canadian results as well as a few results from Belgium and Germany. The Netherlands and France are both situated in Western Europe. Going by the regional format of AncestryDNA some people might therefore expect that both countries are only included in the socalled “Europe West” category. However as shown in the charts above and the following screenshots below it turns out that generally speaking Dutch & French DNA cannot be described as merely being 100% “Europe West”. According to Ancestry’s info a “typical native” from Western Europe  (based on their own 416 samples) would only score 48% “Europe West”. Which makes it one of the most admixed regions AncestryDNA has on offer. This is pretty much in line with my own findings. Even if based on a much smaller sample size (see chart 1).

Despite having some degree of shared origins (especially by way of the Franks) the Dutch and French are clearly distinctive populations. Both countries (but more so France) also display genetic substructure within their borders, usually corresponding with geography. It appears that ancient migrations still have their genetic repercussions on Dutch and French DNA. For more details see:

“Europe West” only 48% for “typical native”

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Source: Ancestry.com

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Source: Ancestry.com

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The “typical native” is naturally to be understood within the context of Ancestry’s Reference Panel and its 416 samples taken from various (unspecified!) parts of Western Europe. It remains to be seen how representative these samples might be to capture the genetic diversity existing within the Netherlands and especially within France. Aside from “Europe West”, which is only primary for the Dutch sofar,  socalled “Great Britain” and “Scandinavia” cover both Dutch and French ancestry and in addition socalled  “Ireland”, “Iberian Peninsula” and “Italy/Greece” can describe French ancestry as well. These last three regions most likely represent shared origins with respectively Celtic speaking people and South Europeans. While the first three regions represent various overlapping Germanic origins, absorbed within the Dutch & French genepool many centuries or even millennia ago. This outcome might surprise many people at first and can even be misleading without correct interpretation. But it is very useful to be aware of this circumstance as it also has implications for the results of Afro-descendants of either Dutch or French descent. I will discuss this in greater detail in the last section of this page.

In order to avoid any jumping to premature conclusions i highly recommend that you atleast browse through some of the topics mentioned in the following links:

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AncestryDNA regions compatible with either Dutch or French ancestry

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Source: Ancestry.com

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Source: Ancestry.com

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Source: Ancestry.com

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Source: Ancestry.com

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Source: Ancestry.com

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Source: Ancestry.com

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The basic lesson to be learnt is that the country name labeling by AncestryDNA is not intended to be taken literally! The regional percentages reported by AncestryDNA firstmost signal close genetic similarity to the samples taken from the countries after which the regions have been named. And not actual descent or some kind of blood quantum as is too often assumed.

Ethnicity is a construct which evolves across time due to ethnogenesis. Generally speaking therefore ethnic groups do not possess unique DNA markers. Especially in comparison with neighbouring ethnic groups or from within the same wider region. The most common scenario being a genetic gradient which causes ancestral components to gradually fan out. As can be verified from the maps above as well as chart 1.

However by closely studying the regional combinations being reported for Europeans and for the Dutch and the French in particular we can still learn a great deal. Inspite of individual variation group averages do tend to provide more solid ground to make meaningful inferences when specifying someone’s ancestral origins. Also finding out where a specific region is most prominent or rather most subdued holds valuable lessons. Obviously my survey findings are not intended to reflect any fictional national averages. They should be taken as mere indications given individual variation, limitations of sampling, overrepresentation of certain migrant areas of provenance etc. etc.

As far as I was able to verify all of these screenshots below are from persons of fully either Dutch, French or French Canadian descent. But naturally i did not have absolute certainty in all cases. Practically all results have been collected by me from public websites or social media.1 I like to thank all my survey participants for having tested on AncestryDNA and sharing their results online so that it may benefit other people as well!

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Dutch results

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The above chart shows in greater detail some key statistical aspects for my Dutch sample group. As expected for 6 out of 10 results “Europe West” was reported as biggest region. But instead “Great Britain” turned up as biggest region for no less than 3 out of 10 persons! Also for one person a convincing “Scandinavia” score resulted in a primary ranking. Several results showed a predominant (>50%) score for just one single region. But many others also showed a combination of usually 3 or 4 main regions needed by AncestryDNA to describe their Dutch origins. In almost all cases “Europe West” & “Great Britain” & “Scandinavia” in varying proportions. But at times also the secondary regions “Ireland” and “Iberian Peninsula” are reported with considerable amounts (see maximum values). Interestingly this might suggest some minor degree of non-Germanic DNA, which nonetheless might have been existing within the Dutch genepool for many centuries/millennia already. All the other regions are merely showing up at trace level if at all (see median scores).

Within my admittedly very minimal samplegroup are included both Dutch-born individuals (atleast 5) as well as persons of Dutch migrant descent from the USA, Canada and New Zealand. As far as i was able to verify they are all fully Dutch (atleast within the last 2 generations). Even when several people in my Dutch sample group did show a rather similar breakdown as reported for many British people. The biggest discrepancy being that the “Ireland” scores are usually much more subdued for the Dutch. Which is in accordance with the usual assumption of minimal Celtic influences in the Netherlands (however not always!) and a much more prominent Celtic genetic contribution across the UK.

From scientific studies it has already been established that the Dutch and the English are genetically quite similar. Which is not surprising given that the Germanic migrations into post-Roman Great Britain are partially deriving from the exact same source populations as for the Dutch. Traditionally the Dutch people are said to descend from the Frisians, the Franks and the Saxons. The Saxons of course also being prominent among the Anglo-Saxon settlers of Great Britain! While the Frisian language is said to be most similar to modernday English. The Frankish component being more restricted to the Netherlands, eventhough the Norman invasion might also have introduced some Frankish derived geneflow into the UK.

Intriguingly two of my Dutch samples who had “Great Britain” as primary region are quite possibly hailing from the eastern part of the country, neighbouring the original Saxon homeland in Germany.  They are from the Gelderland & Overijssel provinces where the Dutch-Saxon linguistic legacy is still most noticeable. This might just be sheer coincidence. And obviously due to limitations of samplesize it is too early to draw any conclusions. Still one might wonder: Is there any (rough) correlation between the regions “Great Britain” and presumedly Saxon origins for both the Dutch and the English? This would make a very fascinating research question indeed! Continuing the same line of thought could “Europe West”  (very roughly) be indicative of mostly Frankish lineage? Afterall sofar this region does seem to peak in western/southern Netherlands, Flanders and western Germany where socalled Low Franconian languages/dialects are still spoken. And might “Scandinavia” possibly then be most prevalent among Dutch people with Frisian origins? Not limited to the currentday province of Friesland or even West Friesland however! Due to (pre)historical assimilation many Dutch people from other parts of the country (and even Flanders) could have very distant/ancient Frisian origins they are no longer aware of. The oftmentioned “Viking scenario” probably being merely sensationalist and less likely (at least as principal contributor). Naturally all these simplified historical interpretations are liable to seriously underestimate complicated and messy population genetics 😉

It is noteworthy that 23andme also describes Dutch DNA as a mixture of “West European”, “British” and “Scandinavian” categories. Again the labeling of these ancestral categories should not be taken literally! As unfortunately many people keep doing… Instead this outcome is a testimony on how difficult it is to distinguish the various closely interrelated populations of Northwestern Europe. Their shared origins being the result of ancient migrations rather than any recently mixed lineage verifiable by family tree research.

For more details follow these links:

I have ranked the screenshots below based on the amount of highest to lowest score for “Europe West”. I also mention their regional origins within the Netherlands. But only whenever these details were available to me and obviously only meant as an approximation of recent family locations (within the last 2 generations).

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NETHERLANDS  (Gelderland/Brabant/Zeeland)

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Sofar this is the highest “Europe West” score i have encountered for a Dutch person. A very convincing score for just one single region. Many other Dutch results might likewise score high amounts of this “Europe West” region. However as can be seen further below other Dutch breakdowns are more varied. And at times “Europe West ” can even be quite minimal for a still “native” Dutchman. The screenshot was taken from this very insightful website:

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NETHERLANDS (Dutch-Canadian) 

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NETHERLANDS  

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Somewhat atypically socalled “Iberian Peninsula” appears as a main region, even if only with a minor amount. It is the highest such score i have observed sofar among my Dutch samples. Some people might (wildly) speculate that it is to be connected with the Spanish occupation of the Netherlands in the 16th century. However this seems to be merely sensationalist thinking which doesn’t take into account inevitable dilution across the generations (see this useful chart). A much more likely explanation would be the distant French family lineage this person was already aware of. As can be verified further below socalled “Iberian Peninsula” is in fact a genetic component which is reported with substantial amounts for native French people. Which serves as a reminder that the country name labeling of ancestral categories should not be taken too literally!

For more details see also this informative blogpost by the person whose DNA results are being displayed below:

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NETHERLANDS (Utrecht)

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NETHERLANDS  (Noord-Holland)

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While the European breakdown looks typical enough for my Dutch sample group, the minor yet striking African admixture is quite uncommon. Amazingly the single West African ancestor (1750-1825) from whom this 4% African DNA was inherited has been traced back in plentiful documentation! I have written a separate blog series to this impressive research effort in the second link below. For more details see also this excellent and highly recommended website:

 

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NETHERLANDS  (Dutch-American)

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The following results all have in common that they no longer show “Europe West ” as primary region. Instead socalled “Great Britain” and to a lesser degree also “Scandinavia” are reported with the highest amounts. It is important to underline yet again that these are all native Dutch persons (as far as i know) without any recent family ties to either Great Britain or Scandinavia! Rather these breakdowns are reflective of genetic overlap and ancient migrations across Northwestern Europe.

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NETHERLANDS  (Overijssel)

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NETHERLANDS (Gelderland)

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One of the highest “Great Britain” scores sofar. For more details see also this informative blogpost by the person whose DNA results are being displayed below:

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NETHERLANDS (Dutch New Zealander)

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The highest “Scandinavia” score sofar combined with the lowest “Europe West” amount. Could just be because of overlap between these two regions. But possibly it is also indicative of an increased degree of Frisian origins (not per se recent ones, restricted to currentday Friesland but possibly also ancient ones). More Frisian samples are needed to clarify this issue.

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BELGIUM (Vlaanderen)  

Sofar i have seen two Belgian AncestryDNA results. The screenshot below provides the breakdown for a person from Flanders, the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. It fits very well within the variation of the Dutch results shown above. It is interesting though and probably telling that “Iberian Peninsula” and especially “Italy/Greece” seem to be a bit more pronounced. Even when they are only reported as trace regions. As already discussed these regions are not per se to be linked with recent lineage. Or even to be traced back within a historical timeperiod. Generally speaking they are more likely to signal ancient shared origins with the French and South European people.

I do not have a screenshot for it but i have also seen the results of a person from Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium. “Europe West” is still predominant with an amount of 66%. But “Iberian Peninsula” (10%) and “Italy/Greece” (4%) are again on the increase, possibly illustrating the gradual shift from “Dutch” to “French” genetics. More samples are needed to verify if this pattern is indeed valid despite inevitable individual variation. Obviously given languageshift, intermarriage, recent migrations and shared ancient origins it’s more likely that Belgian genetics is really about a continuum and not any drastic genetic divide corresponding with the language border. Even so it is very fascinating to imagine how (pre-)Roman history and its aftermath might still possibly have genetic repercussions. For more background details:

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GERMANY (north & east)

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Sofar the only German AncestryDNA results i have seen. Naturally given Germany’s history, territorial & population size a greater variation is to be expected, most likely corresponding with geography. It will be very fascinating to see especially in which areas “Europe West” and socalled “Great Britain”  might peak. The relatively high “Scandinavia” score for this person is in accordance with this person’s northern German background. The substantial “Europe East” amount of 20% is something i have also noticed for other Germans who tested on 23andme.  However i have never observed such pronounced East European scores for Dutch results on either Ancestry or 23andme. Therefore I suppose it might serve as a distinguishing marker even if the Dutch and Germans (especially northwestern ones) are obviously closely interrelated. Geographically it would make sense of course. Genetically i suppose both recent and quite ancient connections might be implied. Interestingly Ancestry’s Genetic Communties tool currently also has one which unites people of German, Belgian, Luxembourgian and Dutch descent. However with a greater representation of Dutch and German customers within Ancestry’s database certainly a finer specification will be made possible in the near future.

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French results

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The above chart shows in greater detail some key statistical aspects for both my French and French Canadian sample groups. Even despite minimal sample size it is already pretty clear that the French are among the most regionally “mixed” people when applying the AncestryDNA format.  Without any convincing primary region sofar. The French group averages are pretty much balanced out between not only “Europe West” but also “Iberian Peninsula”, “Italy/Greece”, “Great Britain” and “Ireland”. Going by the additional French Canadian results i would not be surprised if also “Scandinavia” will show a considerable group average eventually when my sample size increases. Given that France is located at the very crossroads between southern and northwestern Europe this regional mélange makes perfect sense. Especially when taking into consideration not only the absorption and blending in of various waves of migrating people in the distant past (Gauls/Celts, Romans, Franks and other Germanics, Vikings etc.)  but also the assimilation of more recent immigrants  from mostly southern and eastern Europe (late 1800’s-1900’s).

A further aspect to keep in consideration is that due to its geography and different local histories there will be a great degree of genetic differentiation within France. In my very limited survey sofar we can therefore already observe a more pronounced Mediterranean imprint in southern parts of France (as measured by “Iberian Peninsula” and “Italy/Greece”). While northwestern parts of France are as expected moreso characterized by Atlantic influences (as measured by “Great Britain”, “Ireland” and “Scandinavia”). Northeastern France is perhaps most likely to show the greatest prevalence of “Europe West”. Only more samples from all over France will be able to clarify any of these preliminary patterns obviously. It is noteworthy that sofar none of my samples, which are quite spread out over France, are entirely without any clearly noticeable Mediterranean genetic footprints. Suggesting perhaps that despite its heterogeneity France is mostly a “Latin” country afterall.

Because my French sample group is so minimal (apparently there are legal restrictions against DNA testing in France itself, so all my samples are recent French migrants, mostly living in the UK) it is insightful to compare with the French Canadian samples i was able to collect. As far as i was able to verify they are all fully French Canadian but naturally i cannot rule out any partial foreign lineage for some individuals. Generally speaking though it is known that the French Canadians have traditionally been quite endogamous because of their minority status within an Anglo-Saxon dominated North America. It is also known that despite various origins within France the French Canadians are mostly descended from western France. Which makes their group averages all the more interesting as they might be representative of especially western France. Again despite minimal samplesize we can already observe that socalled “Great Britain”, “Ireland” and to a lesser degree “Scandinavia” seem to be more pronounced for French Canadians. Nonetheless “Iberian Peninsula” and “Italy/Greece” are still substantial and consistent sofar as well.

In chart 1 i have also included the group averages for 29 French samples from the HGDP database. I copied these averages from an attachment to a recent paper done by the Ancestry research team and published in Nature (“Clustering of 770,000 genomes reveals post-colonial population structure of North America” , 2017). Regrettably the breakdown is not complete and i also do not know where exactly these 29 French samples are from within France. However it is interesting to see that  their averages are more similar to my French Canadian samples than my French ones.

As a final note it might be useful to know that on 23andme French DNA is likewise described as a mixture of Northwestern & Southern European origins. Even despite their socalled “French & German” category many of 23andme’s French customers receive additional and sometimes even primary scores for the “British & Irish” as well as the “Iberian” categories. Given the complexity of French genetics it has proven very difficult sofar for all DNA testing companies to create a single ancestral category which is able to accurately predict recent French lineage. Instead much more ancient affiliations tend to show up. Hopefully after some updating Ancestry’s Genetic Communities tool will prove to be better equipped to detect recent French connections.

For more background information follow these links:

I have ranked the screenshots below based on the amount of highest to lowest score for “Europe West”. I also mention their regional origins within France. But only whenever these details were available to me and obviously only meant as an approximation of recent family locations (within the last 2 generations).

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FRANCE (1/2 Alsace & 1/2 northwestern France)

Sofar the only breakdown with a predominant score for “Europe West”. Given the family locations for this person perhaps not all too surprising. It will be interesting to see if  “Europe West” Is indeed mostly correlating with northern French origins. Notice that socalled “Iberian Peninsula” is still getting a secondary score.

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FRANCE (Normandie)

A more Atlantic leaning compostion can be seen below. Even when again the socalled “Iberian Peninsula” score is very substantial. It seems to be more or less in line with this person’s northwestern French background. However no “Scandinavia” showing up to corroborate any possibly Viking lineage. It might be because he’s from a more interior part of Normandy (Orne).

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FRANCE (Bretagne)

Very interesting given the preserved Celtic legacy of the Breton people. The socalled “Ireland” score is indeed one of the highest scores i have seen sofar.  Nevertheless socalled “Italy/Greece” is the primary region and seems to be indicative of a more complex genetic situation in Bretagne than people might assume.

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FRANCE (southwest?)

I have no certainty about this person’s background. But judging from the rather unique surname as well as the striking results i highly suspect southwestern French origins, most likely from near the Pyrenees mountains. The socalled “Iberian Peninsula” amount is by far the highest i have seen not only among my French samples but in fact also among my Portuguese and Spanish survey participants!  Despite the labeling this socalled Iberian region actually appears to be reported with substantial amounts all across France and particularly in southwestern France. This seems to be testimony of the close genetic similarities existing across the Pyrenees (dating from ancient timeperiods mostly!). But especially it seems to be caused by the circumstance that on average Basque people might score close to 100% “Iberian Peninsula” when tested on Ancestry, as to be verified in this attachment, published in Nature (2017), based on 24 Basque samples from the HGDP database. To be sure this does not mean that “Iberian Peninsula” is an indicator of actual Basque descent. However it does seem to suggest that an ancestral component is being detected which is based firstmost on shared origins with the Basque people, quite likely deriving from other pre-Indo-European speaking populations now gone extinct.

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FRANCE (Central)

Sofar this profile is the most Mediterranean shifted one i have seen. I found no indications of recent migrant background though. The person who took the test is hailing from Blois (Centre-Val de Loire). It remains to be seen how typical such compositions might be for Central France. I suspect for southeastern France it would not be uncommon at all though. It is crucial to underline yet again that the country name labeling on AncestryDNA should not be taken as gospel!

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All of the following screenshots would belong to French Canadians. I have no absolute certainty about their pedigree though. Many of them did however make statements that as far they know all of their family lines trace back to France and they especially expressed great astonishment at the generally high “Great Britain” scores. Understandably so given the historical rivalry between the French and the English 😉 Again i will keep repeating that the country name labeling of ancestral categories should not be taken as markers of modernday ethnic identity! Rather consider them to be rough proxies of geographical origins as well as reflective of various migrations (Celtic, Roman, Germanic, Vikings etc) in and out of France dating back from possibly thousands of years ago. As explicitly mentioned by Ancestry themselves!

A great display of regional variation to be seen in these results but overall still a more or less balanced mix of Atlantic and Mediterranean influences.

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Youtube Videos

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NETHERLANDS 

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FRANCE 

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FRANCE (Italian grandparents)

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Implications for Afro-Diasporans:

 1) “Europe West” does not cover full extent of Dutch DNA

  • The Dutch ancestry of Dutch Caribbeans, Surinamese as well as South African Coloureds are described by AncestryDNA not only by “Europe West” but also additionally by  “Great Britain” and “Scandinavia”. There will be a great overlap with English & German DNA generally speaking. However if you wish to make any distinction substantial amounts of “Ireland” and “Europe East” might more solidly indicate non-Dutch ancestry.

2) “Europe West” does not cover full extent of French DNA

  • The French ancestry of French Caribbeans, Haitians, Louisiana Creoles and Indian Ocean Islander Creoles are described by AncestryDNA not only by “Europe West” but also additionally by “Iberian Peninsula”, “Italy/Greece”,  “Great Britain” , “Ireland” and “Scandinavia”. There will be a great overlap with other types of Western or Southern European DNA generally speaking. Almost impossible to make the distinction based on admixture analysis only. Even when French DNA seems to usually feature Atlantic and Mediterranean regions appearing combined and at the same time.

3) “Europe West” does not exclusively refer to Dutch/French origins 

  • African Americans & West Indians (from former English colonies) who receive “Europe West” scores often will not have any genuine ancestral ties to either the Netherlands or France (exceptions made for those with certified Dutch/French lineage obviously). Rather this outcome will usually be indicative of minor British origins.

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AncestryDNA breakdown for European “natives”

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Predictive accuracy AncestryDNA’s Reference Panel

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This section is intended especially for Dutch & French Caribbeans, Haitians, Surinamese, South African Coloureds as well as Louisiana & Indian Ocean Creoles (Mauritus, Reunion, Seychelles). However for other Afro-Diasporans of partial or suspected Dutch or French descent it might be valid too of course. The one thing i would like to emphasize is: Don’t assume your Dutch or French origins are measured only by “Europe West”!  It is much more complex than that. As seen in the screenshots directly above the predictive accuracy of each region on AncestryDNA is variable. Socalled “Europe West” being only able to cover 48% of the “typical native”.

There are several additional regions on AncestryDNA which are perfectly compatible with having either Dutch or French lineage. After going through this whole page it should be clear that on average AncestryDNA describes the DNA of “native” Dutch and French not as “100% Europe West” but rather as a combination of various regions. For the Dutch it is basically a stew with “Great Britain” and “Scandinavia” serving as additional main ingredients. While on average the French are a mélange of “Europe West” , “Iberian Peninsula”, “Italy Greece”,  “Great Britain”, and “Ireland”.  Especially for the northwestern French also “Scandinavia” might appear with substantial amounts. As explained already this outcome is mostly reflective of ancient migrations & overlapping genetics/geography rather than any recent lineage  (within the last 500 years or so).

All the same this does imply that usually the socalled “Italy/Greece”, “Iberian Peninsula” , “Great Britain”, “Ireland” scores are actually derived from French ancestors , when reported for Haitians and other French descended Afro-Diasporans. While socalled “Great Britain” and “Scandinavia” scores reported for Surinamese and other Dutch descended Afro-Diasporans would actually be derived from Dutch ancestors in many cases. Naturally context is everything. It is known historically that in both former Dutch and former French colonies European settlers of various background were residing, even if usually as a minority. Also of course you might have more recent European lineage from the post-Colonial period. Without any solid independent evidence suggestive of such ancestral ties i would not make any assumptions though. As again all of the above highlighted regions are very frequently reported not only for the French & the Dutch. But also in fact for my Haitian survey group i have already demonstrated this:

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“Europe West” is also compatible with British ancestry

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Source: Ancestry.com

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For many African Americans and West Indians (from former English colonies) some minor degree of “Europe West” is often also reported. Sometimes convincingly as a main region but perhaps more typically among a bewildering range of other Trace Regions. Appropriately termed “Low Confidence” regions by Ancestry since their latest update. It can be said that European DNA is also a melting pot if you go back far enough in time. Receiving a multitude of European (Trace) regions does therefore not imply that you have a confusingly diverse European background. Rather it suggests that your European ancestors were themselves genetically diverse! But still these ancestors could have been from just one or two ethnic groups only.

The genetic diversity existing among native Europeans has been abundantly demonstrated on this page as well as the other European AncestryDNA sections. This circumstance however does lead to potentially misleading results. I will keep repeating therefore that it is crucial not to take the country name labeling of AncestryDNA’s regions too literally! If you keep this in mind you can still obtain insightful information as long as you adopt a broader perspective on European genetics.

Historical plausibility as well as known family genealogy should be leading when you want to correctly interpret your European breakdown. In the case of African Americans and  Anglo-Caribbeans an ultimately British source for socalled “Europe West” scores will usually be the most relevant scenario. Afterall many British people also receive substantial and sometimes even primary “Europe West” amounts (in my survey on average 18,8%, see chart 1, (see also this page). This seems to be the result mostly of ancient Germanic connections with Northwestern Europe. These DNA markers can be assumed to have been present in the British genepool for many centuries already and do not represent any recent continental lineage. Naturally this doesn’t rule out other ancestral scenarios involving possible Dutch or French ancestry. Historically speaking their presence has been plentifully noted in the USA as well as across the English speaking Caribbean.

But rather than make assumptions based on AncestryDNA’s ethnicity  *estimates* it might be a better strategy to search your AncestryDNA matches by birth location for confirming or disproving any Dutch or French lineage.  Simply type in the Netherlands or France and see what shows up among the results. Obviously you will want to verify if your match is indeed either Dutch or French on all family lines. Either through their public family trees or the information they are willing to share with you. Even so a myriad of other ancestral options might still be possible as well if you have no certainty on how these matches would exactly be related to you or your MRCA. If you are genuinely interested in finding out the truth you will have to be extra careful & patient in your investigation and resist the temptation to jump to conclusions or seek out “exotic” lineage  😉

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Notes

  1. I like to express my sincere gratitude to all the persons whose online posting of their results has made this survey possible! Almost all of my samples were collected by me from public websites or social media. As i found them to be of potentially great educational benefit for others. I have asked for prior consent whenever i could but regrettably wasn’t able to do so in all cases. I have naturally taken great care to cut away any name details in order to safeguard everyone’s privacy. Apologies in advance to anyone who recognizes their results and is not comfortable with this blog page featuring them. Please send me a PM and i will remove them right away.
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