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My maiden name is McRoberts. I can trace my father's side back as far as right before the revolutionary war. I did this with pretty reliable ancestry.com genealogy results backed up with family history including old books written about family members and accounts from relatives. My father is exclusively Scotch-Irish as far back as I can determine. (I traced them back to Scotland.)
My mother's side is a lot more confusing. My mother (Her maiden name is Pollard) and I know very little about her fraternal side... and not much more about her paternal side. My grandmother was a bastard. Her mother's (great-grandma) patronage wasn't much more clear. All of my pursuits have led me to believe both sides have always been in the Indiana/Missouri/Illinois area. My Grandfather was a bit more open about his history but he died relatively young. So north... No one in my history that I can find ever owned slaves.
I took the DNA test because my mother claimed that her grandmother told her that we had an American Indian (Blackfoot as I recall) on her side. I was trying to get past a few blockades so I took a DNA test.
My results were quite surprising. 4% Indigenous American, 18% sub-Saharan African and the rest European. From what I have been reading, most people have "surprise DNA" but it usually accounts for less than 5%. 18% seems rather excessive for someone who doesn't know of any black relative...
So my question is, is this common and I'm just blowing it out of proportion or is this rather strange and I should look into this more?
Just an aside, the results don't bother me and I don't feel like it changes anything but it does make me curious.
What company did you test with? FTDNA's results can be very misleading in my experience. But in general, 18% is rather high for someone who had no known African ancestry. It does not necessarily have to have anything to do with slavery.
You may want to upload your raw data to Getmatch.com for tree, they have several admixture calculators you can use to get a second opinion.
I would be careful about relying on old history or lineage books to trace your ancestors - these books can contain errors.
My maiden name is McRoberts. I can trace my father's side back as far as right before the revolutionary war. I did this with pretty reliable ancestry.com genealogy results backed up with family history including old books written about family members and accounts from relatives. My father is exclusively Scotch-Irish as far back as I can determine. (I traced them back to Scotland.)
My mother's side is a lot more confusing. My mother (Her maiden name is Pollard) and I know very little about her fraternal side... and not much more about her paternal side. My grandmother was a bastard. Her mother's (great-grandma) patronage wasn't much more clear. All of my pursuits have led me to believe both sides have always been in the Indiana/Missouri/Illinois area. My Grandfather was a bit more open about his history but he died relatively young. So north... No one in my history that I can find ever owned slaves.
I took the DNA test because my mother claimed that her grandmother told her that we had an American Indian (Blackfoot as I recall) on her side. I was trying to get past a few blockades so I took a DNA test.
My results were quite surprising. 4% Indigenous American, 18% sub-Saharan African and the rest European. From what I have been reading, most people have "surprise DNA" but it usually accounts for less than 5%. 18% seems rather excessive for someone who doesn't know of any black relative...
So my question is, is this common and I'm just blowing it out of proportion or is this rather strange and I should look into this more?
Just an aside, the results don't bother me and I don't feel like it changes anything but it does make me curious.
Thanks to anyone who may shed light on this.
That is strange.
at 20% non-european you should be able to see it in somebody. Have you met all of your grandparents? Did they all look white?
What company did you test with? FTDNA's results can be very misleading in my experience. But in general, 18% is rather high for someone who had no known African ancestry. It does not necessarily have to have anything to do with slavery.
You may want to upload your raw data to Getmatch.com for tree, they have several admixture calculators you can use to get a second opinion.
I would be careful about relying on old history or lineage books to trace your ancestors - these books can contain errors.
I used AncestryByDNA. I'm not sure how reputable they are but I haven't seen a way to retrieve the raw data. I suppose when I get the money I will use another company and compare the results. My mother isn't interested in taking a DNA test and my father is no longer alive. (She swears I am my father's daughter)
One thing I can say is that my son could be my paternal grandfather's twin (it's scary) even though my father looks nothing like his father or brother. I didn't have much contact with my father so I only know a few stories he told me... thing is... he is Scotch-Irish but had black hair and dark olive toned skin. But, no African features I can see.
My mother is a natural red head as is one of my sons, my other son is blonde.(The one that looks like my paternal grandfather) This is getting more confusing the more I think about it. But since I lose track of my lineage early on on my mother's side anything is possible.
I used AncestryByDNA. I'm not sure how reputable they are but I haven't seen a way to retrieve the raw data. I suppose when I get the money I will use another company and compare the results. My mother isn't interested in taking a DNA test and my father is no longer alive. (She swears I am my father's daughter)
Don't waste anymore money on a test for you. Test your mother, or a father's relative (does he have any siblings still living?), so you can be sure about where it is coming from.
18% is a lot. That's gotta be some kind of record for a white american.
at 20% non-european you should be able to see it in somebody. Have you met all of your grandparents? Did they all look white?
I met my mother's parents and my father's mother. I have pictures of his father. They all have Caucasoid features.
What started all of this was that my mother said we had an American Indian grandmother about two to three generations back (from her) but she knows very little about her family on either side. She did meet her father's parents (my great-grandparents) who she says looked white but that she never really thought about it. She met my grandmother's mother but never met her father(They don't know who he was.)
I'm not sure if this would account for it but if that "American Indian" were really a light skinned black "passing" as American Indian, that would at least account for some of the results... just not sure it would be that high a percentage.
I'm thinking the only way to really tell is to do another test through a different company and make mom take one as well and maybe my brother too.
I met my mother's parents and my father's mother. I have pictures of his father. They all have Caucasoid features.
What started all of this was that my mother said we had an American Indian grandmother about two to three generations back (from her) but she knows very little about her family on either side. She did meet her father's parents (my great-grandparents) who she says looked white but that she never really thought about it. She met my grandmother's mother but never met her father(They don't know who he was.)
I'm not sure if this would account for it but if that "American Indian" were really a light skinned black "passing" as American Indian, that would at least account for some of the results... just not sure it would be that high a percentage.
I wouldn't discount the American Indian stories just because the African percentage is higher. Your Indian ancestry is also unusually high. At a whole 4% Native American, you are more Indian than 90% of white americans with cherokee grandmother oral histories.
Don't waste anymore money on a test for you. Test your mother, or a father's relative (does he have any siblings still living?), so you can be sure about where it is coming from.
18% is a lot. That's gotta be some kind of record for a white american.
That's the conclusion I'm coming to as well. I have only ever met my father's mother. His brother and father died before I was born. His brother had two daughters before he died but I don't know anything about them or where they live.. so the simple answer is no.
I'm leaning toward the test being flawed somehow.. but I'm not sure how likely that is.
I wouldn't discount the American Indian stories just because the African percentage is higher. Your Indian ancestry is also unusually high. At a whole 4% Native American, you are more Indian than 90% of white americans with cherokee grandmother oral histories.
That's very interesting as well. I'm driving my mother crazy with this information. My job is complete.
My step-father is much more interested and he is a history enthusiast so he is delving into this as well. I really appreciate the help. I think I am going to order the tests, any suggestions on which tests for which people and by which company?
I met my mother's parents and my father's mother. I have pictures of his father. They all have Caucasoid features.
What started all of this was that my mother said we had an American Indian grandmother about two to three generations back (from her) but she knows very little about her family on either side. She did meet her father's parents (my great-grandparents) who she says looked white but that she never really thought about it. She met my grandmother's mother but never met her father(They don't know who he was.)
I'm not sure if this would account for it but if that "American Indian" were really a light skinned black "passing" as American Indian, that would at least account for some of the results... just not sure it would be that high a percentage.
I'm thinking the only way to really tell is to do another test through a different company and make mom take one as well and maybe my brother too.
You will get the most information by testing your mother in this situation. She is the one with the most ambiguity in her tree and the most opportunities for a source for the admixture. I would suggest using 23AndMe. You could then move the raw results to FamilyTreeDNA for a lower cost than completely retesting with FamilyTreeDNA. GEDMatch is free, but it is a volunteer site and sometimes you have to wait while they clear backlogs to upload to them.
If you test your brother, have him do Y-DNA with FamilyTreeDNA. That will give you information on your paternal line, probably confirming what you already know.
P.S. Remember to update us when you get the results!
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My job is complete. 
