Genealogy Helps and Lookups: AF-1157: Genealogy MythBusters: Was Your Ancestor Truly 100% One Ethnicity?

Many of us grow up hearing stories about our family’s background. Maybe your grandmother insisted her side of the family was “pure Irish.” Or perhaps your grandfather proudly declared that his ancestors were “completely German, no mixture at all.” In some households, there is even the belief that one particular ancestor was “full-blooded Cherokee,” “100 percent Scottish,” or “pure Italian.”

These stories are often told with pride. They give families a sense of identity and belonging. But when we hold them up to the light of history and genealogy, a different picture emerges. The idea that an ancestor was “100 percent” one ethnicity is rarely true, and it is almost never as simple as the stories make it sound.

The myth of pure ethnicity is powerful because it speaks to human longing. People like neat boxes and clear categories. We want to know where we come from. We want to say, with confidence, “My ancestors were entirely Irish,” or “We have nothing but German blood.” The problem is, history is messy, borders change, and people have always moved, married, and mixed.

In this essay, we are going to explore why the myth of pure ethnicity exists, where it came from, how DNA testing complicates it, and what the records really show. By the end, you’ll see that your ancestors, like everyone else’s, were part of a long story of blending, migration, and mixing. And that makes your family history far more interesting than the myth of “100 percent” purity...

Podcast Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/pure-ethnicity-ancestor-myth/

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