I recently submitted a saliva sample to Ancestry.com for DNA testing. I got my results back and there was a small surprise. I found out that I am 91% British Isles, which I would have thought would be 100% and 9% Scandinavian, which was the surprise. I wonder where that might come from. As I go farther back in my family tree, I’ll undoubtedly find out.

The most interesting thing to me about my results was the link from myself to any others who share the same DNA. If we share the same DNA and are also on Ancestry.com, Ancestry lets me know our shared ancestor. They also have a mechanism for communication between people so we can discuss our shared ancestors. I have already heard from two “cousins”, one of which is in my Shipp line I am descended from Richard Shipp through his first son, Ambrose. This “cousin” is descended from Richard Shipp through his fourth son, John.

This cousin tell me his research shows that we are both related to Harry S. Truman from the Shipp line. I’ll have to research that claim. I’ll let you know what I find out.