Lowell Heritage Project: Maryalene’s DNA Prediction

You can read more about the Lowell Heritage Project at the start of Amanda’s prediction.

 

Can we talk about race without the politics for a moment? Can we set aside the notion of white privilege and all the perks that come from being a member of the majority?

Because that aside, I have to say being white – or at least my non-descript European sort of white – is extremely boring. As a kid growing up in what felt like an all-white town and going to a 99 percent white school, you got tired of blending into the wall of white that surrounded you. Now, I’m sure some people might be rolling their eyes. Poor baby, you say. But if we’re going to be real here, the reality is growing up white felt very blah.

So as a kid, I latched onto the one part of my ancestry that felt a bit more exotic. And I’m a little worried the Lowell Heritage Project might take that away from me.

What I Know About My Past

I really don’t know much about my family’s past. However, I do know that my great-grandfather came directly from Norway. I’m told my maiden name – Bergh – is derived from the city of Bergin…which really doesn’t make much sense since there is no ‘h’ in Bergin. Plus, I was informed all the really cool Norwegians kept their ‘h’ when immigrating while the conformists dropped it. (Ok, my parents didn’t really put it that way, but as a 10-year old, I knew what they meant.)

So great-grandpa, who I hear had a peachy personality (sarcasm) that may have left him no choice but to leave Norway, traveled to Canada. He married a French Canadian woman and then traveled by canoe across the water at Sault Ste. Marie to Michigan.

Again, not really sure if that’s accurate. It would be around the turn of the 20th Century. Could you just canoe into a country and declare yourself to be here? I don’t know. But as a kid I loved the story, and in it, I found my answer to boring whiteness.

Rather than being something common like French or German or (heaven forbid) English, I was something really unique. I was Norwegian.

My DNA Prediction

My whole life I have claimed to be Norwegian. Growing up, I figured I must have been half Norwegian because that was all I knew of my dad’s side of the family. I was told my mom’s side of the family was Welsh which sounded suspiciously a lot like English so I didn’t think much of it. That said, there was an interesting story of someone on my mom’s side doing a family tree all the way back to Italian gypsies and then deciding she didn’t want to learn anymore.

But back to my prediction. So while I’d like to say I’m 50 percent Norwegian and leave it at that, I’m going to try to make a more intelligent guess. Since I don’t have any other stories to rely upon for family history, I can only turn to my grandparents’ last names for guidance:

• Bergh
• Davis
• Sturdevant
• Fea

Much to my chagrin, three of those sound awfully English. So being a little more realistic and with a nod to my gypsy ancestors, here’s what I’m predicting:

• English: 60 percent
• Norwegian: 20 percent
• French Canadian (is that even an ethnic group?): 10 percent
• Italian: 5 percent
• Miscellaneous unknown-to-me origin: 5 percent

Check back next week for my results. Here’s hoping I’m wrong (whispers: please let me be Norwegian, please let me be Norwegian, please let me be Norwegian).