My DNA Origins from Ancestry.com

By William Thomason, November 1, 2018

According to my DNA results from Ancestry.com, I’m around 30% white/caucasian.

We’ve all seen the commercials on the Internet, TV or our mobile phones. They are everywhere now. Urging us to find our family origins and background. Its as easy as spitting into a tube and throwing it in the mail.

So, I finally did it.

But what finally pushed me to do it?

My mothers side of the family are the Hicks and the Watts. This summer (July 2018) was our family reunion in Pensacola, Florida. I couldn’t make it, but my cousin Myron Watts and his wife and daughter went. We’ve been talking about our family history for years. Ancestry.com was having a sale and we decided to buy four kits after they came back and told me all about the experience. Myron and I wanted to connect the “family dots”.

I was shocked by the results I got. And its no surprise that I had white/caucasian ancestry in my family bloodlines on both sides of my family – paternal and maternal. But I didnt expect 30%. Honestly though – I don’t know what percentage I was expecting.

Now if we are being truthful here, its highly doubtful that any Black/African American born in the US is 100% African. I’m not including my many brothers and sisters who are from the Caribbean and other parts of the African diaspora. I’m talking about your American Black or African American, who like me can trace their ancestry to American slavery. Its no secret that many of the American white/caucasian slave owners raped their female African slaves and bore children. And lets be clear I said rape! Do you think any of these slave women could of said “No” I don’t want to have sex with you to the white man that owned them?

I know very little about my fathers side of the family. My parents divorced when I was around four years old and my father was never a real part of my life after that. I know they are from New Orleans (N’awlins) and the other coastal cities along the Gulf of Mexico.

My African Heritage

The largest percentage of my DNA comes from the Western and Southern parts of Africa. This is of course historically where most of the slaves where taken from.

25% from Cameroon, Congo, and Southern Bantu Peoples and 

23% from Benin/Togo.

What was also a surprise was that I have no Native American blood in my DNA. I was always told that I have Native American ancestry on my mothers maternal and paternal side.

So whats next?

There are two things I plan to do.

First, I’m going to write about what I learn about the peoples from Cameroon, Congo, Southern Bantu, Benin and Togo. Do I share anything today with my ancestors?

Next, I’m going to reach out to some of my “cousins” especially the white ones that are also in my family tree on Ancestry.com.

Stay tuned.