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Learning about my Jewish that I grew up not knowing that I had

 I am a 51 year old Multicontinental American that is highly multiethnic. Both my mother and I grew up not knowing about having any Jewish ancestry.


It was only back in 2011 that I have learned that I have Jewish ancestry. My mother grew up never knowing her late mother Beverly Floy Walker nor her side of the family. My mother told me that Beverly's ancestry was English, German, French, and Italian.


We first learned about the names of my maternal great grandparents back in 1994 when I obtained Beverly's birth certificate. They were Harold George Walker born in Oregon and Ruth Rosenthal born in Nebraska. Because of her name, we started suspecting that my maternal grandmother's mother was Jewish.


Back in 2009, I did Ancestry's Mitochondrial DNA Test which told me that I belong to Haplogroup J and that it was European Travelers. Somebody told me about my mutations and informed me that my Haplogroup is J1c.


My mother and I did 23andme testing in 2011, and we were confirmed to have Jewish DNA. We have the Ashkenazi DNA and the DNA relative matches. One of the Ashkenazi Jewish DNA relative matches helped me with my family tree and told me about the names and birthplaces of Ruth's parents through the Census Records. They were Max Rosenthal born in Romania and Irene Hosias born in Latvia.


In 2013, I connected to Beverly's side of the family. At 23andme, my mother and I matched a man that ended up being Harold's maternal first cousin Thomas Kasinger who was named after their grandfather/my 3rd Great Grandfather. I learned that Harold's ancestry was Colonial European American of mainly English with German, Scottish, Swiss, Irish, Welsh, Dutch, and Frisian. Thomas told me that my grandmother died back in 2011 which definitely greatly disappointed and saddened my mother and me. On the bright side, he got in touch with my mother's 13th month older maternal half sister, and we met her for the first time. She confirmed everything about what I learned about Ruth. My mother and I also found out that my grandmother had another daughter 9 years after my mother was born. She ended up contacting me after she found something that I left on Beverly's internet gravesite. Now, my mother and I have a good relationship with her. There is actually a strong resemblance between my mother and her younger maternal half sister that everybody noticed. I hope to connect with more of my close Jewish relatives. Ruth had many siblings including even a twin.


That same year 2013, I used James Lick's mitochondrial DNA analysis tool. I found out that I had the mutations for J1c14. In 2016, I did FamilyTree DNA's Full Mitochondrial DNA test, and my refined mitochondrial haplogroup was reported as J1c14. My Mitochondrial DNA relative matches are people of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. One of them is Joshua Robbin Marks who is a full Ashkenazi Jewish who has a youtube channel and facebook page named after a book that he wrote called 'Seed of Israel'. FamilyTreeDNA Mitochondrial DNA video says that J1c14 is found in its highest frequency in Central Europe and was formed approximately 11,200 - 16,000 years. It also says that it also seen in lower rates in Near East, Caucasus, and North Africa. I have 5 0-Step matches with matrilineal origins in Russian Federation, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, and Austria. J1c14 is listed among the Jewish haplogroups at jewishdna site.


My mother grew up as a Roman Catholic because it was the faith of her late father Everett Andrews. Everett's father Peter Andrade was the son of Cape Verdean immigrants (Portuguese and Sub Saharan African). Everett's mother Marion Ocacio was the the daughter of a Puerto Rican (Spanish, Sub Saharan African, Taino) man and a woman who was Hawaiian born daughter of Madeiran immigrants (Portuguese with Sub Saharan African. Therefore, my mother and I also could have Sephardic Jewish ancestry.


I have a little Acadian (French in Nova Scotia) ancestry on the side of my African American father who was a 7th generation Louisianan. One of my Acadian ancestors was Abraham Dugas (my 10th great grandfather once, 11th great grandfather once), who was an ancestor of most current living Cajuns/Acadians. Genetic testing revealed that his Y DNA haplogroup was a J-Z15977 (a J2a3 haplogroup) which makes some of his descendants suspect that he was of Sephardic Jewish ancestry. The closest Y DNA match is a Druze man in Lebanon. What I found even more interesting is that Abraham's wife Marguerite Doucet had a mitochondrial DNA haplogroup that was found in an ancient sample in Israel. Marguerite Doucet's Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup was T2b7a2. Eupedia had it being of Italy. Then later on, it had it being of Tel Megiddo, Israel.


I also found out that the Y DNA haplogroup of my maternal grandmother's father's patrilineal British Virginian ancestor William Walker (my 6th great grandfather) was J-PH3125 (a J2a4h2 haplogroup).


23andme has me as being 9.3% Ashkenazi Jewish, my mother being 22.7% Ashkenazi Jewish

AncestryDNA has me as being 14% European Jewish, my mother being 24% European Jewish

FamilyTreeDNA has me as having no Jewish ancestry, my mother as being 12% Ashkenazi Jewish

MyHeritage has me as having no Jewish ancestry, my mother as being 17.3% Ashkenazi Jewish.

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