Unveiling Unexpected Ancestral Roots: A Personal Revelation through an iGENEA DNA Test
Family name Ward
This report narrates my personal journey exploring my ancestral lineage through a DNA test conducted by iGENEA. The test revealed my Ward family's surprising roots beyond Ireland, spanning Scandinavia, Europe's Sephardic Jewish community, and even North Africa, altering my understanding of who I am.
The DNA test I undertook at iGENEA has radically transformed my understanding of my family history, specifically my lineage traced via the Ward family. I had long assumed the Wards were largely of Irish descent, given the prevalence of this surname in Ireland. However, the results have unveiled a intriguing tapestry of geographical origins and genetic influences far beyond my initial understanding.
To my surprise, DNA markers trace the Ward lineage back to not only Ireland, but also Scandinavia. The Viking influence in the Ward gene pool caught me completely off guard. Considering that between the 8th and 11th centuries, Vikings invaded and settled in Ireland, this finding was an enlightening historical tie. This ancestry link has reshaped the way I perceive the Ward lineage; We were not only farmers in Ireland, but perhaps warriors from Scandinavia.
Another unexpected finding was the Sephardic Jewish lineage within the Wards. This augmented my understanding of the Wards' religious and cultural composition. Historically, Sephardic Jews were expelled or fled from Spain and Portugal during the 14th and 15th centuries. They spread across Europe, including Ireland, which made this newfound connection a lot more plausible. Adding Sephardic Jew to the family identity has graced the family's history with a more diverse palette of cultural influences than I initially assumed.
Furthermore, the iGENEA test exposed some North African ancestry that threw me for a loop. The likely linkage between the Wards and Northern African Berber populations was a real revelation. Many Berbers converted to Judaism before the Islamic conquest of North Africa, which might explain the link with the earlier discovered Sephardic Jewish lineage.
Overall, the iGENEA DNA test has provided me with a more comprehensive perspective regarding my genealogy through the Ward family. It's opened up new avenues of personal understanding and altered my self-perception. The vaults of history hold hidden continuums and while the Wards bear Irish names, their genetic backdrop is an unexpected blend of Viking, Sephardic Jew, and Berber influences.
P. Ward