My Ancestry Surprise

I know that usually on Mondays I blog about my weekend – and I had a really great one – but this news is too exciting not to share. A few weeks ago Richard Bonomo bought me one of those DNA analysis kits to answer the question of whether I have some Jewish ancestry. (Don’t ask me why I’ve always felt part Jewish, but somehow I’d gotten this idea into my head.) There was a mystery in my family with my maternal grandmother, who was very dark even though her parents were both blond and blue-eyed. I thought that must be where the Jewish blood had crept in, but today my analysis came back, and guess what? I am Irish, English, and some German, exactly as my parents had always said. (Some Danish too, which seems kind of random but could just be the Jutes coming over to England.) However, there was a wonderful surprise: six generations ago, I had a sub-Saharan African ancestor! Yes, I am 1% black. Too bad I’m completely unable to tan… And the bad news is, I don’t have any Jewish ancestry. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Famous Hat